How do I search a file using “less” for a value with a decimal point?












4















So I less my file:



less myFile.log


Then I try to search for a value:



/70.5


I've since learned less uses regex, so . is a wildcard. I've tried to escape it with no success.






regular-expression less







share|improve this question




















  • 11





    How did you "try to escape it with no success" without using a backslash?

    – Xen2050
    2 days ago
















4















So I less my file:



less myFile.log


Then I try to search for a value:



/70.5


I've since learned less uses regex, so . is a wildcard. I've tried to escape it with no success.






regular-expression less







share|improve this question




















  • 11





    How did you "try to escape it with no success" without using a backslash?

    – Xen2050
    2 days ago














4












4








4


1






So I less my file:



less myFile.log


Then I try to search for a value:



/70.5


I've since learned less uses regex, so . is a wildcard. I've tried to escape it with no success.






regular-expression less







share|improve this question
















So I less my file:



less myFile.log


Then I try to search for a value:



/70.5


I've since learned less uses regex, so . is a wildcard. I've tried to escape it with no success.






regular-expression less




regular-expression less






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 2 days ago









Rui F Ribeiro

39.5k1479133




39.5k1479133










asked 2 days ago









xeon48xeon48

1314




1314








  • 11





    How did you "try to escape it with no success" without using a backslash?

    – Xen2050
    2 days ago














  • 11





    How did you "try to escape it with no success" without using a backslash?

    – Xen2050
    2 days ago








11




11





How did you "try to escape it with no success" without using a backslash?

– Xen2050
2 days ago





How did you "try to escape it with no success" without using a backslash?

– Xen2050
2 days ago










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















28














/70.5


will do the trick (inside less).






share|improve this answer



















  • 5





    Alternatively: /70[.]5.

    – jamesdlin
    2 days ago



















38














You can turn off regex mode by hitting Ctrl+R before typing the pattern:




          ^R     Don't interpret regular expression metacharacters; that is,

                 do a simple textual comparison.






share|improve this answer
























  • Amazing trick, thanks for this! Is it specific to less?

    – xeon48
    2 days ago











  • @xeon48 likely it is - at least, I don't think more supports it (although other pagers may provide something equivalent)

    – steeldriver
    2 days ago











  • Thanks steel, I'll play around with it when I get a chance :)

    – xeon48
    2 days ago











  • @xeon48 : it seems specific to less, but there are some alternatives (fgrep "something" file(s) : will look for the exact string "something" in the file(s), doing a car by car comparison and not as a regexp)

    – Olivier Dulac
    yesterday



















3














Two search expressions for numbers in less



/.*[0-9]+.*     # for numbers



/[0-9]*.[0-9]+   # for numbers with a decimal part


Regex to search for numbers (with or without a decimal)



This regex works in less but also in other cases where the same regex syntax is used.



.*[0-9]+.*


You start the search engine with /, so if you want to find decimal numbers, but avoid text with dots (like file.txt) or periods between sentences, I think the following string is rather good,



/.*[0-9]+.*



Test file



There are several ways to use a dot. Here are some examples:



- 'Period' finishing a sentence

- Short for current directory or 'source' command in linux shells

- Separator between the name and extension of a file

- Separator in between the integer part and decimal part of a number

- Separator in special numerical or litteral strings (for example IP adress)



The following regex expression is rather simple and can identify

- numbers

- numerial strings



.*[0-9]+.*



.bashrc

hello-0

170.5

text.txt

170

170.

.551

asdf 170.5 qwerty

192.168.1.1

file.000

file.001


enter image description here



Regex to search for numbers with a decimal part



This regex works in less but also in other cases where the same regex syntax is used.



[0-9]*.[0-9]+


The corresponding search command is



/[0-9]*.[0-9]+



It will also find numerical strings (for example IP address), in general digits after a dot (including digits before the dot, if any).






share|improve this answer


























  • Thanks for this, it will come in useful. Though the lesson learned here is brush up on my regex :)

    – xeon48
    2 days ago






  • 1





    [0-9]*.[0-9]* matches on a single .. * matches on zero or more.

    – Stéphane Chazelas
    2 days ago











  • @StéphaneChazelas, Yes, I know, and I am busy trying to get around that without getting a complicated expression ...

    – sudodus
    2 days ago






  • 1





    [0-9]+(.[0-9]*)? or even [0-9]+(.[0-9]+)? maybe?

    – Stephen Kitt
    2 days ago











  • @StephenKitt, I think your first expression finds the same 'candidates' as my first string .*[0-9]+.* in the current version of the answer. Your second string will exclude some of dots (which may be good or bad depending on what the user wants to see).

    – sudodus
    2 days ago













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3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes








3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









28














/70.5


will do the trick (inside less).






share|improve this answer



















  • 5





    Alternatively: /70[.]5.

    – jamesdlin
    2 days ago
















28














/70.5


will do the trick (inside less).






share|improve this answer



















  • 5





    Alternatively: /70[.]5.

    – jamesdlin
    2 days ago














28












28








28







/70.5


will do the trick (inside less).






share|improve this answer













/70.5


will do the trick (inside less).







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 2 days ago









Stephen KittStephen Kitt

167k24376454




167k24376454








  • 5





    Alternatively: /70[.]5.

    – jamesdlin
    2 days ago














  • 5





    Alternatively: /70[.]5.

    – jamesdlin
    2 days ago








5




5





Alternatively: /70[.]5.

– jamesdlin
2 days ago





Alternatively: /70[.]5.

– jamesdlin
2 days ago













38














You can turn off regex mode by hitting Ctrl+R before typing the pattern:




          ^R     Don't interpret regular expression metacharacters; that is,

                 do a simple textual comparison.






share|improve this answer
























  • Amazing trick, thanks for this! Is it specific to less?

    – xeon48
    2 days ago











  • @xeon48 likely it is - at least, I don't think more supports it (although other pagers may provide something equivalent)

    – steeldriver
    2 days ago











  • Thanks steel, I'll play around with it when I get a chance :)

    – xeon48
    2 days ago











  • @xeon48 : it seems specific to less, but there are some alternatives (fgrep "something" file(s) : will look for the exact string "something" in the file(s), doing a car by car comparison and not as a regexp)

    – Olivier Dulac
    yesterday
















38














You can turn off regex mode by hitting Ctrl+R before typing the pattern:




          ^R     Don't interpret regular expression metacharacters; that is,

                 do a simple textual comparison.






share|improve this answer
























  • Amazing trick, thanks for this! Is it specific to less?

    – xeon48
    2 days ago











  • @xeon48 likely it is - at least, I don't think more supports it (although other pagers may provide something equivalent)

    – steeldriver
    2 days ago











  • Thanks steel, I'll play around with it when I get a chance :)

    – xeon48
    2 days ago











  • @xeon48 : it seems specific to less, but there are some alternatives (fgrep "something" file(s) : will look for the exact string "something" in the file(s), doing a car by car comparison and not as a regexp)

    – Olivier Dulac
    yesterday














38












38








38







You can turn off regex mode by hitting Ctrl+R before typing the pattern:




          ^R     Don't interpret regular expression metacharacters; that is,

                 do a simple textual comparison.






share|improve this answer













You can turn off regex mode by hitting Ctrl+R before typing the pattern:




          ^R     Don't interpret regular expression metacharacters; that is,

                 do a simple textual comparison.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 2 days ago









steeldriversteeldriver

35.5k35286




35.5k35286













  • Amazing trick, thanks for this! Is it specific to less?

    – xeon48
    2 days ago











  • @xeon48 likely it is - at least, I don't think more supports it (although other pagers may provide something equivalent)

    – steeldriver
    2 days ago











  • Thanks steel, I'll play around with it when I get a chance :)

    – xeon48
    2 days ago











  • @xeon48 : it seems specific to less, but there are some alternatives (fgrep "something" file(s) : will look for the exact string "something" in the file(s), doing a car by car comparison and not as a regexp)

    – Olivier Dulac
    yesterday



















  • Amazing trick, thanks for this! Is it specific to less?

    – xeon48
    2 days ago











  • @xeon48 likely it is - at least, I don't think more supports it (although other pagers may provide something equivalent)

    – steeldriver
    2 days ago











  • Thanks steel, I'll play around with it when I get a chance :)

    – xeon48
    2 days ago











  • @xeon48 : it seems specific to less, but there are some alternatives (fgrep "something" file(s) : will look for the exact string "something" in the file(s), doing a car by car comparison and not as a regexp)

    – Olivier Dulac
    yesterday

















Amazing trick, thanks for this! Is it specific to less?

– xeon48
2 days ago





Amazing trick, thanks for this! Is it specific to less?

– xeon48
2 days ago













@xeon48 likely it is - at least, I don't think more supports it (although other pagers may provide something equivalent)

– steeldriver
2 days ago





@xeon48 likely it is - at least, I don't think more supports it (although other pagers may provide something equivalent)

– steeldriver
2 days ago













Thanks steel, I'll play around with it when I get a chance :)

– xeon48
2 days ago





Thanks steel, I'll play around with it when I get a chance :)

– xeon48
2 days ago













@xeon48 : it seems specific to less, but there are some alternatives (fgrep "something" file(s) : will look for the exact string "something" in the file(s), doing a car by car comparison and not as a regexp)

– Olivier Dulac
yesterday





@xeon48 : it seems specific to less, but there are some alternatives (fgrep "something" file(s) : will look for the exact string "something" in the file(s), doing a car by car comparison and not as a regexp)

– Olivier Dulac
yesterday











3














Two search expressions for numbers in less



/.*[0-9]+.*     # for numbers



/[0-9]*.[0-9]+   # for numbers with a decimal part


Regex to search for numbers (with or without a decimal)



This regex works in less but also in other cases where the same regex syntax is used.



.*[0-9]+.*


You start the search engine with /, so if you want to find decimal numbers, but avoid text with dots (like file.txt) or periods between sentences, I think the following string is rather good,



/.*[0-9]+.*



Test file



There are several ways to use a dot. Here are some examples:



- 'Period' finishing a sentence

- Short for current directory or 'source' command in linux shells

- Separator between the name and extension of a file

- Separator in between the integer part and decimal part of a number

- Separator in special numerical or litteral strings (for example IP adress)



The following regex expression is rather simple and can identify

- numbers

- numerial strings



.*[0-9]+.*



.bashrc

hello-0

170.5

text.txt

170

170.

.551

asdf 170.5 qwerty

192.168.1.1

file.000

file.001


enter image description here



Regex to search for numbers with a decimal part



This regex works in less but also in other cases where the same regex syntax is used.



[0-9]*.[0-9]+


The corresponding search command is



/[0-9]*.[0-9]+



It will also find numerical strings (for example IP address), in general digits after a dot (including digits before the dot, if any).






share|improve this answer


























  • Thanks for this, it will come in useful. Though the lesson learned here is brush up on my regex :)

    – xeon48
    2 days ago






  • 1





    [0-9]*.[0-9]* matches on a single .. * matches on zero or more.

    – Stéphane Chazelas
    2 days ago











  • @StéphaneChazelas, Yes, I know, and I am busy trying to get around that without getting a complicated expression ...

    – sudodus
    2 days ago






  • 1





    [0-9]+(.[0-9]*)? or even [0-9]+(.[0-9]+)? maybe?

    – Stephen Kitt
    2 days ago











  • @StephenKitt, I think your first expression finds the same 'candidates' as my first string .*[0-9]+.* in the current version of the answer. Your second string will exclude some of dots (which may be good or bad depending on what the user wants to see).

    – sudodus
    2 days ago


















3














Two search expressions for numbers in less



/.*[0-9]+.*     # for numbers



/[0-9]*.[0-9]+   # for numbers with a decimal part


Regex to search for numbers (with or without a decimal)



This regex works in less but also in other cases where the same regex syntax is used.



.*[0-9]+.*


You start the search engine with /, so if you want to find decimal numbers, but avoid text with dots (like file.txt) or periods between sentences, I think the following string is rather good,



/.*[0-9]+.*



Test file



There are several ways to use a dot. Here are some examples:



- 'Period' finishing a sentence

- Short for current directory or 'source' command in linux shells

- Separator between the name and extension of a file

- Separator in between the integer part and decimal part of a number

- Separator in special numerical or litteral strings (for example IP adress)



The following regex expression is rather simple and can identify

- numbers

- numerial strings



.*[0-9]+.*



.bashrc

hello-0

170.5

text.txt

170

170.

.551

asdf 170.5 qwerty

192.168.1.1

file.000

file.001


enter image description here



Regex to search for numbers with a decimal part



This regex works in less but also in other cases where the same regex syntax is used.



[0-9]*.[0-9]+


The corresponding search command is



/[0-9]*.[0-9]+



It will also find numerical strings (for example IP address), in general digits after a dot (including digits before the dot, if any).






share|improve this answer


























  • Thanks for this, it will come in useful. Though the lesson learned here is brush up on my regex :)

    – xeon48
    2 days ago






  • 1





    [0-9]*.[0-9]* matches on a single .. * matches on zero or more.

    – Stéphane Chazelas
    2 days ago











  • @StéphaneChazelas, Yes, I know, and I am busy trying to get around that without getting a complicated expression ...

    – sudodus
    2 days ago






  • 1





    [0-9]+(.[0-9]*)? or even [0-9]+(.[0-9]+)? maybe?

    – Stephen Kitt
    2 days ago











  • @StephenKitt, I think your first expression finds the same 'candidates' as my first string .*[0-9]+.* in the current version of the answer. Your second string will exclude some of dots (which may be good or bad depending on what the user wants to see).

    – sudodus
    2 days ago
















3












3








3







Two search expressions for numbers in less



/.*[0-9]+.*     # for numbers



/[0-9]*.[0-9]+   # for numbers with a decimal part


Regex to search for numbers (with or without a decimal)



This regex works in less but also in other cases where the same regex syntax is used.



.*[0-9]+.*


You start the search engine with /, so if you want to find decimal numbers, but avoid text with dots (like file.txt) or periods between sentences, I think the following string is rather good,



/.*[0-9]+.*



Test file



There are several ways to use a dot. Here are some examples:



- 'Period' finishing a sentence

- Short for current directory or 'source' command in linux shells

- Separator between the name and extension of a file

- Separator in between the integer part and decimal part of a number

- Separator in special numerical or litteral strings (for example IP adress)



The following regex expression is rather simple and can identify

- numbers

- numerial strings



.*[0-9]+.*



.bashrc

hello-0

170.5

text.txt

170

170.

.551

asdf 170.5 qwerty

192.168.1.1

file.000

file.001


enter image description here



Regex to search for numbers with a decimal part



This regex works in less but also in other cases where the same regex syntax is used.



[0-9]*.[0-9]+


The corresponding search command is



/[0-9]*.[0-9]+



It will also find numerical strings (for example IP address), in general digits after a dot (including digits before the dot, if any).






share|improve this answer















Two search expressions for numbers in less



/.*[0-9]+.*     # for numbers



/[0-9]*.[0-9]+   # for numbers with a decimal part


Regex to search for numbers (with or without a decimal)



This regex works in less but also in other cases where the same regex syntax is used.



.*[0-9]+.*


You start the search engine with /, so if you want to find decimal numbers, but avoid text with dots (like file.txt) or periods between sentences, I think the following string is rather good,



/.*[0-9]+.*



Test file



There are several ways to use a dot. Here are some examples:



- 'Period' finishing a sentence

- Short for current directory or 'source' command in linux shells

- Separator between the name and extension of a file

- Separator in between the integer part and decimal part of a number

- Separator in special numerical or litteral strings (for example IP adress)



The following regex expression is rather simple and can identify

- numbers

- numerial strings



.*[0-9]+.*



.bashrc

hello-0

170.5

text.txt

170

170.

.551

asdf 170.5 qwerty

192.168.1.1

file.000

file.001


enter image description here



Regex to search for numbers with a decimal part



This regex works in less but also in other cases where the same regex syntax is used.



[0-9]*.[0-9]+


The corresponding search command is



/[0-9]*.[0-9]+



It will also find numerical strings (for example IP address), in general digits after a dot (including digits before the dot, if any).







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 2 days ago

























answered 2 days ago









sudodussudodus

1,30616




1,30616













  • Thanks for this, it will come in useful. Though the lesson learned here is brush up on my regex :)

    – xeon48
    2 days ago






  • 1





    [0-9]*.[0-9]* matches on a single .. * matches on zero or more.

    – Stéphane Chazelas
    2 days ago











  • @StéphaneChazelas, Yes, I know, and I am busy trying to get around that without getting a complicated expression ...

    – sudodus
    2 days ago






  • 1





    [0-9]+(.[0-9]*)? or even [0-9]+(.[0-9]+)? maybe?

    – Stephen Kitt
    2 days ago











  • @StephenKitt, I think your first expression finds the same 'candidates' as my first string .*[0-9]+.* in the current version of the answer. Your second string will exclude some of dots (which may be good or bad depending on what the user wants to see).

    – sudodus
    2 days ago





















  • Thanks for this, it will come in useful. Though the lesson learned here is brush up on my regex :)

    – xeon48
    2 days ago






  • 1





    [0-9]*.[0-9]* matches on a single .. * matches on zero or more.

    – Stéphane Chazelas
    2 days ago











  • @StéphaneChazelas, Yes, I know, and I am busy trying to get around that without getting a complicated expression ...

    – sudodus
    2 days ago






  • 1





    [0-9]+(.[0-9]*)? or even [0-9]+(.[0-9]+)? maybe?

    – Stephen Kitt
    2 days ago











  • @StephenKitt, I think your first expression finds the same 'candidates' as my first string .*[0-9]+.* in the current version of the answer. Your second string will exclude some of dots (which may be good or bad depending on what the user wants to see).

    – sudodus
    2 days ago



















Thanks for this, it will come in useful. Though the lesson learned here is brush up on my regex :)

– xeon48
2 days ago





Thanks for this, it will come in useful. Though the lesson learned here is brush up on my regex :)

– xeon48
2 days ago




1




1





[0-9]*.[0-9]* matches on a single .. * matches on zero or more.

– Stéphane Chazelas
2 days ago





[0-9]*.[0-9]* matches on a single .. * matches on zero or more.

– Stéphane Chazelas
2 days ago













@StéphaneChazelas, Yes, I know, and I am busy trying to get around that without getting a complicated expression ...

– sudodus
2 days ago





@StéphaneChazelas, Yes, I know, and I am busy trying to get around that without getting a complicated expression ...

– sudodus
2 days ago




1




1





[0-9]+(.[0-9]*)? or even [0-9]+(.[0-9]+)? maybe?

– Stephen Kitt
2 days ago





[0-9]+(.[0-9]*)? or even [0-9]+(.[0-9]+)? maybe?

– Stephen Kitt
2 days ago













@StephenKitt, I think your first expression finds the same 'candidates' as my first string .*[0-9]+.* in the current version of the answer. Your second string will exclude some of dots (which may be good or bad depending on what the user wants to see).

– sudodus
2 days ago







@StephenKitt, I think your first expression finds the same 'candidates' as my first string .*[0-9]+.* in the current version of the answer. Your second string will exclude some of dots (which may be good or bad depending on what the user wants to see).

– sudodus
2 days ago




















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Alcedinidae

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Alcedinidae Martin-pêcheur à dos bleu ( Alcedo azurea ) Classification (COI) Règne Animalia Embranchement Chordata Sous-embr. Vertebrata Classe Aves Ordre Coraciiformes Famille Alcedinidae Rafinesque, 1815 Les Alcédinidés ou Alcedinidae forment une famille d'oiseaux plus connus sous les noms de martins-pêcheurs et martins-chasseurs. Sommaire 1 Description 2 Répartition et habitat 3 Systématique 3.1 Liste alphabétique des genres 3.2 Liste des espèces 4 Chez les Anciens : l'alcyon 4.1 Étymologie (Littré) 4.2 Oiseau « fabuleux » ? 5 Notes 6 Articles connexes 7 Liens externes 7.1 Bibliographie Description | Ce sont des oiseaux compacts de taille petite à moyenne (10 à 46 cm), au bec droit et long, en forme de poignard. Leurs pattes sont courtes, et ils portent un plumage aux couleurs vives. Répartition et habitat | Cosmopolites, ils fréquentent surtout ...
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Origin of the phrase “under your belt”?

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.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0; } 17 1 Today, I found myself discussing what students should have "under their belts" during a lecture, and I wondered to myself if there was some inappropriate undertone here that I might be unaware of. Question : What is the origin of the phrase "under your belt"? A google search revealed some webpages (e.g. [1]) that assert its origin is related to consumption of food -- once a meal has been eaten, it's under your belt (which is a relief). However, with such websites, I have no way to determine fact from "random guy on the internet making stuff up". etymology idioms ...
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