For such a small file, a simple text solution should be enough, no need to use databases. However take care not to lose data because of an error in the script.

Let me give an example code. This code deletes gorge and changes John's age to two less. 

perl -i~ -we '$_=<>; @f= split; print; while (<>) { @a{@f}= split or w
+arn next; $a{stdNam} eq "John" and $a{stdAge}-= 2; $a{stdNam} eq "gor
+ge" and next; print join ("\t", @a{@f}), $/; }' file

[download]

Update: as an alternative, just open the file in your editor, and filter the whole text through the same perl command just without the -i~ switch and the filename. I use perl one-liners a lot of times this way. This is convenient as you can immediately see the result, and undo the changes if the script does not work at first. (In vi, you just press gg!G and type the command, starting with perl. In emacs, use ^[<^[>^U^[|. In joe, ^KB^KK^K/.)

In reply to Re: updating Input file by ambrus
in thread updating Input file by Anonymous Monk

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