Shell script puzzle #1

Xyzzy · 2004-01-23, 04:44

You have a file called a.a

It contains this:

aaaaabbbbb
aaabbb

Make a shell script to count the total numbers of a's in the file...

My answer:

[FONT=Courier New]sed 's/a/a\n/g' a.a|grep a|wc -l[/FONT]

My answer is 32 bytes long, can anyone make an equivalent command that is shorter?

PS - You can only use tools that are ordinarily shipped with Linux...

gowen72 · 2004-01-23, 05:22

Minor variation with 29 bytes

sed 's/a/a\n/g' a.a|grep -c a

Xyzzy · 2004-01-23, 05:35

Very nice!

Who can beat 29 bytes?

aaronl · 2004-01-25, 13:15

Minor variation with 28 bytes

sed s/a/a\\n/g a.a|grep -c a

xilman · 2004-01-26, 09:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

Very nice!

Who can beat 29 bytes?

tr -dc a<a.a|wc -c

18 bytes, not including terminal newline.

Tested on RedHat 7.2, FreeBSD 4.9 and SFU 3.5

Yes, there are Microsofties who know how to program Unix-like systems.

Paul

xilman · 2004-01-26, 10:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

Very nice!

Who can beat 29 bytes?

Six bytes, not including terminal newline.

echo 8

Yes, it is cheating and it is meant as a joke. Don't get too upset.

Paul

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2004-01-23, 04:44	#1
Xyzzy "Mike" Aug 2002 2⁵·257 Posts	Shell script puzzle #1 You have a file called a.a It contains this: aaaaabbbbb aaabbb Make a shell script to count the total numbers of a's in the file... My answer: [FONT=Courier New]sed 's/a/a\n/g' a.a\|grep a\|wc -l[/FONT] My answer is 32 bytes long, can anyone make an equivalent command that is shorter? PS - You can only use tools that are ordinarily shipped with Linux...

2004-01-23, 05:22	#2
gowen72 Aug 2002 7² Posts	Minor variation with 29 bytes sed 's/a/a\n/g' a.a\|grep -c a

2004-01-23, 05:35	#3
Xyzzy "Mike" Aug 2002 2⁵×257 Posts	Very nice! Who can beat 29 bytes?

2004-01-25, 13:15	#4
aaronl Aug 2003 110000₂ Posts	Minor variation with 28 bytes sed s/a/a\\n/g a.a\|grep -c a