Re: pattern match -vs- *ix grep


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Re: pattern match -vs- *ix grep

by VSarkiss (Monsignor)

on Apr 07, 2005 at 14:07 UTC ( [id://445675]=note: print w/replies, xml )

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in reply to pattern match -vs- *ix grep

Can anyone tell me of a better way to do this?

Yes. Check your arguments. This little snippet could cause havoc if called with

$ snippet.pl '| rm -rf *' 'ouch'
[download]

Take a look at Two-arg open() considered dangerous for details.

My point is that specialized utilities that have been around for a long time, like grep, have more than speed going for them. In general, they'll handle edge cases better.

If you want to demonstrate "the power of Perl", remember that power can be used for good or evil. :-)

Do not rebuke them with harsh words ... but rather lead them gently - with URLs - so that they may learn wisdom.

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Re^2: pattern match -vs- *ix grep by Anonymous Monk on Apr 07, 2005 at 14:29 UTC
Sillyness. Anyone typing in `$ snippet.pl '\| rm -rf ' 'ouch'` [download] could as well have typed `$ rm -rf ` [download] No point in checking the arguments.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^3: pattern match -vs- *ix grep by VSarkiss (Monsignor) on Apr 07, 2005 at 17:05 UTC
You're missing the point. In addition to any performance differences, the snippet has other subtle differences from `grep`, some of which are undesirable. Typing `$ grep '\| rm -rf ' 'ouch'` [download] would not have done anything unexpected at all. If you want to demonstrate that a simple Perl program is better or faster than a long-standing utility, you need to put more thought into what that utility does. Otherwise the comparison is unfair or meaningless. Do not rebuke them with harsh words ... but rather lead them gently - with URLs - so that they may learn wisdom.*	[reply] [d/l] [select]

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