[SOLVED] Search and replace backslash variable combination using sed works with CLI but not script

petersfreeman · 09-30-2021, 10:38 AM

I'm using Pandoc to convert a LaTeX file of a play to markdown. Pandoc unfortunately does not treat the specialized backslash commands used by the Dramatist package properly, eliminating all of the dialogue.

To get around this problem, I wrote a bash script to pre-process the LaTeX text file.

I'm having a peculiar problem with the use of sed to change a backslash-charactername combination to an upper-case version of the charactername. For example, I want this line:

\direct{\Benjamin goes to the door and lets \Noah in}

to be converted to:

\direct{BENJAMIN goes to the door and lets NOAH in}

As I am producing a book of twelve plays, there are over a hundred character names all told. My bash script reads the character names from a file and uses variable substitution to change each character name from its backslash proper case version to a non-backslashed upper-case version. When I test the sed line in a CLI environment, it works; when I test it in the script it doesn't.

If I type these lines in a CLI environment it works:

Code:

Input_File="Test.tex"
Character="Benjamin"
Upper_Case_Character="${Character^^}"
cat "${Input_File}" | sed "s/\\\\${Character}/${Upper_Case_Character}/g"

If I write a script with this code, it doesn't work.

Code:

Input_File="Test.tex"
while IFS="" read Character; do
  Upper_Case_Character="${Character^^}"
  cat "${Input_File}" | sed "s/\\\\${Character}/${Upper_Case_Character}/g"
done < "${Char_File}"

I've tried increasing the number of backslashes to no avail.

Here is the contents of the file Test.tex:

Code:

\documentclass{article}

\usepackage[lnps]{dramatist}

\title{Sample Play}
\author{Peter Freeman}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
	
	\maketitle

	\Character[\Noah{} -- Noah is a gangling teenager.]{Noah}{Noah}
	\Character[\Benjamin{} -- Benjamin is a solidly built teen.]{Benjamin}{Benjamin}
	
	\DramPer
	
	
	\act
	
	\scene
	
	\StageDir{\Benjamin's bedroom is part of a recreational basement.}
	
	\begin{drama}
		\speaker{Noah} Whatcha doin', Benj?
		
		\direct{\Noah walks into \Benjamin's basement bedroom.}

		\direct{\Benjamin looks up over the smudged pair of glasses he always wears when reading.}
		
		\speaker{Benjamin} I'm figuring out how to build a time machine.
		
		\direct{\Noah throws himself down on an old bean bag that sits against the wall opposite \Benjamin's desk.}
		
		\speaker{Benjamin} Yeah\ldots{}but that's sus. They don't really figure it out properly. There's rules.
		
		\direct{\Benjamin uses his pencil to emphasize his point.}
		
		\speaker{Noah} Sure. You gotta make sure you don't change things, right?
	\end{drama}
	
\end{document}

Thank you,

Peter

pan64 · 10-01-2021, 11:32 AM

yes, because the problem is not the sed, but the handling of stdin.
I guess you can try something like this:

Code:

Input_File="Test.tex"
while IFS="" read Character; do
  Upper_Case_Character="${Character^^}"
  sed "s/\\\\${Character}/${Upper_Case_Character}/g" "${Input_File}" </dev/null
done < "${Char_File}"

boughtonp · 10-01-2021, 02:42 PM

You don't need to do the uppercasing with Bash - Sed can do it with \U:

Code:

#!/bin/sh

Input_File=Test.tex
Output_File=Test.output

cp "$Input_File" "$Output_File"

Characters="Benjamin
Noah"

while IFS= read -r Character; do
   sed -i 's/\\\('"$Character"'\)/\U\1/g' "$Output_File"
done <<< "$Characters"

cat "$Output_File"