Change each symbol excluding variables in bash using sed & regex -
i need change string like example \%^ $variable ${array[$element]} into string like \e\x\a\m\p\l\e\ \\\%\^\ $variable\ ${array[$element]} so, need escape each symbol except variables in 2 cases. also, , tricky, need escape them twice, result achieved using command: string='example \%^ $variable ${array[$element]}' echo `echo $string | sed 'magic' also, have achieved escaping characters: echo $(echo $string | sed -r -e 's/(.)/\\\\\1/g') so, question how not escape $variables? i pretty @ regex, working example suffice. explanations welcome. also, i'll post answer here if i'd find faster of you. think it's interesting puzzle solve :) if can use perl can done this: s='example \%^ $variable"abc" ${array[$element]} ${var}this' perl -pe 's/\$(?:{.*?}|\w+)(*skip)(*f)|(.)/\\$1/g' <<< "$s" output: \e\x\a\m\p\l\e\ \\\%\^\ $variable\"\a\b\c\"\ ${array[$element]}\ ${var...
