Text Size
- Home
-
News
Advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, other ACM resources, and from around the Web.
- Blogs
- Opinion
-
Browse by Subject
Recent articles from Communications organized into categories that encompass the broad scope of computing.
-
Magazine Archive
-
Careers
Jump-start your career with information on trends, opportunities and jobs – in both industry and academia.
- ACM Resources
-
Subscribe
Receive the benefits of ACM membership with a subscription to its flagship publication, Communications of the ACM.
This Article
ACM TechNews
Usenix: Dartmouth Updating Diff, Grep Unix Tools
![[article image]](/system/assets/0000/6742/121211_Jon_Gilbert_Fox_Darthmouth_College.large.jpg?1323721961&1323721959 "Darthmouth College")
Credit: Jon Gilbert Fox for The New York Times
Dartmouth University researchers are updating the grep and diff Unix command line-based text analysis tools available in all Linux and Unix distributions to handle more complex types of data.
The updates are needed because "we now tend to have more model-based configuration languages that have meaningful constructs spanning more than one line," says Dartmouth graduate student Gabriel Weaver.
The researchers say the updated tools will enable administrators to extract meaningful data from configuration files, log files, and other sources of operational data. The output from either of these programs can be linked to other utilities, enabling them to be incorporated into scripts that automate routine system administration tasks.
The new programs, called Context-Free Grep and Hierarchical Diff, will provide the ability to parse blocks of data rather than single lines. For each new type of data structure, a vendor would provide a pattern library identifying the basic structure of the data, which the software would then use to "extract the constructs of interest from the document," Weaver says.
From IDG News Service
View Full Article
Post a comment...
Tools For Readers
Related ACM Resources
Conferences:
- MobiSys 2012: The Tenth International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services - June 25 – 29, 2012; Windermere, United Kingdom
Courses:
- Realistic Time Management Goals (Includes Simulation) - In this course, you will identify strategies for improving your use of time. You will identify some strategies for pursuing effective time-management skills, including defining …
About Communications |
Join ACM 
|
Renew |
Subscribe |
Sign In |
For Authors |
For Advertisers |
Privacy |
Site Map |
Help |
Contact Us |
Mobile Site
Copyright © 2012 by the ACM. All rights reserved.