8.4.36 tr command (outputs character strings input from the standard input to the standard output while replacing or deleting characters on a byte-by-byte basis) : JP1 Version 11 JP1/Advanced Shell Description, User's Guide, Reference, and Operator's Guide

Syntax

Syntax 1

tr [-cst] [--check-multi-byte] character-string-1 character-string-2

Syntax 2

tr -d [-c] [--check-multi-byte] character-string-1

Syntax 3

tr -s [-c] [--check-multi-byte] character-string-1

Syntax 4

tr [-ds] [--check-multi-byte] character-string-1 character-string-2

Description

This command outputs character strings input from the standard input to the standard output while replacing or deleting characters on a byte-by-byte basis.

The command specified in syntax 1 replaces the character strings input from the standard input, and then outputs the results to the standard output. During replacement, each byte in character-string-1 contained in character strings in the standard input is replaced with a byte in character-string-2. If character-string-1 is longer than character-string-2, the last character of character-string-2 is assumed to be repeated until its length reaches character-string-1.

The command specified in syntax 2 deletes the characters (bytes) in character-string-1 contained in character strings input from the standard input, and then outputs the results to the standard output.

The command specified in syntax 3 replaces the character strings input from the standard input, and then outputs the results to the standard output. During replacement, if the character strings in the standard input contain characters (bytes) in character-string-1 in succession, consecutive identical characters are compressed into a single character.

The command specified in syntax 4 deletes and replaces the character strings input from the standard input, and then outputs the results to the standard output. During deletion, characters (bytes) in character-string-1 contained in character strings in the standard input are deleted. If the character strings after deletion of characters in character-string-1 contain characters (bytes) in character-string-2 in succession, consecutive identical characters are compressed into a single character.

Arguments

-c

--complement: Replaces character-string-1 with the complement of character-string-1 (that is, all characters not contained in character-string-1 ).

-d

--delete: Deletes the input characters existing in character-string-1 from the character strings in the standard input.

-s

--squeeze-repeats: In the character strings for which all deletion and replacement processes are complete, this option compresses consecutive identical characters (bytes) into a single byte. For syntax 1 and syntax 4, the character string to be replaced consists of characters (bytes) specified in character-string-2. For syntax 3, the character string to be replaced consists of characters (bytes) specified in character-string-1.

-t

--truncate-set1: If character-string-1 is longer than character-string-2, character-string-1 is truncated to the length of character-string-2 by deleting characters. Then, the character string is replaced.

--check-multi-byte: If a multibyte character is contained in character-string-1 or character-string-2, an error results.

character-string-1, character-string-2

Specify the character string to be replaced or deleted for the character strings input from the standard input. The character string is processed byte by byte.

You can specify a set of characters for character-string-1 and character-string-2 by using the following expression.

Specification format	Meaning
`\ooo`	Define ASCII code characters displayed in octal notation with 1 to 3 digits.
`character-1-character-2`	Range specification. Specify a character (one byte) in ASCII collating sequence.
Escape character	`\a`	Alert character (bell)
	`\b`	Backspace character
	`\f`	Formfeed character (page break)
	`\n`	Linefeed character
	`\r`	Carriage return character
	`\t`	Tab character
	`\v`	Vertical tab character
`[:character-class:]`	For `character-string-1` and syntax 4 `character-string-2`, you can specify the following character classes. For syntax 1 `character-string-2`, you can specify `lower` or `upper` if all the following conditions are satisfied: - The `-c` option is not specified. - In `character-string-1`, specify `lower` or `upper` in the same position as `character-string-2`
	`alnum`	Alphanumeric character
	`alpha`	Alphabetic character
	`blank`	Space characters (spaces and tabs)
	`cntrl`	Control character
	`digit`	Numeric character
	`graph`	Character that can be displayed (excluding spaces)
	`lower`	Lowercase character
	`print`	Character that can be displayed (including spaces)
	`punct`	Punctuation
	`space`	Space character
	`upper`	Uppercase character
	`xdigit`	Hexadecimal number
`[#*n]`	This has the same meaning as specifying `n` characters specified in `#`, where each character is one byte. This format is used for `character-string-2` in syntax 1. If `n` is omitted or if `0` is specified, the value of `character-string-2` is assumed to have the same length as `character-string-1`, and characters exceeding that length are ignored. If the value of `n` begins with 0, the value is assumed to be an octal number. For other cases, the value is assumed to be a decimal number.

Return codes

Return code	Meaning
`0`	Normal termination
`1` or greater	Error termination

Notes

This function replaces or deletes characters on a byte-by-byte basis. Therefore, if character-string-1, character-string-2, or a character string input from the standard input contains multibyte characters, unexpected output results might be obtained. To replace or delete a character string containing multibyte characters, use the sed command.
If input characters are linefeed characters [CR]+[LF], [CR], and [LF] are processed separately.

Examples

Example 1: Character strings input from the standard input are replaced according to the specifications of character-string-1 and character-string-2. In this example, character strings of different types of brackets are unified as square brackets ([ ]).

Contents of file1

[apple],{banana}
[orange],<peach>,{cherry}

Command execution results

$ tr  '{}<>' '[][]' < file1
[apple],[banana]
[orange],[peach],[cherry]

Example 2: The complement of character string-1 is replaced with character-string-2, and then consecutive characters are compressed into one character. In this example, alphabetic characters are obtained from the character strings input from the standard input.

Contents of file1

[apple],{banana}
[orange],<peach>,{cherry}

Command execution results

$ tr -s -c '[:alpha:]' '[\n*]' < file1

apple
banana
orange
peach
cherry

Example 3: Character strings input from the standard input are deleted according to the specifications of character-string-1. In this example, brackets are deleted.

Contents of file1

[apple],{banana}
[orange],<peach>,{cherry}

Command execution results

$ tr -d '{}<>[]' < file1
apple,banana
orange,peach,cherry

Example 4: Character strings input from the standard input are replaced according to the specifications of character-string-1 and character-string-2, and then consecutive characters are compressed. In this example, brackets are replaced with commas (,) and then the commas (,) are compressed into one character.

Contents of file1

[apple],{banana}
[orange],<peach>,{cherry}

Command execution results

$ tr -s '{}<>[]' ','< file1
,apple,banana,
,orange,peach,cherry,

Example 5: Characters in character-string-1 are deleted from the character strings input from the standard input, and then consecutive characters are compressed according to character-string-2. In this example, parentheses are deleted and commas (,) are compressed.

Contents of file1

[apple],{banana}
[orange],<>,{cherry}

Command execution results

$ tr -ds '{}<>[]' ','< file1
apple,banana
orange,cherry

Example 6: character-string-1 is truncated to the same length as character-string-2, and then characters are replaced as specified. In this example, curly brackets ({ }) are replaced with square brackets ([ ]). Angle brackets (< >) are not replaced.

Contents of file1

[apple],{banana}
[orange],<peach>,{cherry}

Command execution results

$ tr -t '{}<>' '[]'< file1
[apple],[banana]
[orange],<peach>,[cherry]