Hey Jean Jourdain,

Thanks for the tip with fixlengths but - if I understand correctly what this 
command does - I wouldn’t try to set the lines to the same length because there 
are some address-fields there (like city, district and street) that have 
different lengths.


Regards,
Vlad




> Am 28.03.2025 um 20:02 schrieb jj <[email protected]>:
> 
> Vlad,
> 
> xsv has a fixlengths command that might help:
> 
>  xsv fixlengths --help
> Transforms CSV data so that all records have the same length. The length is
> the length of the longest record in the data (not counting trailing empty 
> fields,
> but at least 1). Records with smaller lengths are padded with empty fields.
> 
> This requires two complete scans of the CSV data: one for determining the
> record size and one for the actual transform. Because of this, the input
> given must be a file and not stdin.
> 
> Alternatively, if --length is set, then all records are forced to that length.
> This requires a single pass and can be done with stdin.
> 
> Usage:
>     xsv fixlengths [options] [<input>]
> 
> fixlengths options:
>     -l, --length <arg>     Forcefully set the length of each record. If a
>                            record is not the size given, then it is truncated
>                            or expanded as appropriate.
> 
> Common options:
>     -h, --help             Display this message
>     -o, --output <file>    Write output to <file> instead of stdout.
>     -d, --delimiter <arg>  The field delimiter for reading CSV data.
>                            Must be a single character. (default: ,)
> 
> HTH,
> 
> Jean Jourdain
> On Friday, March 28, 2025 at 7:16:34 PM UTC+1 GP wrote:
>> Your Pattern Playground results are perplexing. Using your first post's 
>> example CSV data, the grep:
>> 
>> \d{3};\w{3};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d{10};(\w{2});(\d{2});(\d{5});([^;]*);[^;]*;([^;]*);([^;]*);([^;]*);[^;]*;\w{2};\d{2};\d{5};[^;]*;\d{12};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d{8};[^;]*;\d{12};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;([^;]*);[^\n]*
>> 
>> results in every line but the first column labels line matching.
>> 
>> To figure out what the problem might be on your system with your local 
>> language configuration using either BBEdit's Pattern Playground or regex101 
>> start out by building the grep pattern from scratch and rebuilding it from 
>> left to right by semicolon delineated field pattern parts. E.g., first 
>> \d{3}; which should find/highlight 7 matches in each line of the example CSV 
>> data - second add \w{3}; for a total grep of \d{3};\w{3}; which should 
>> result in the leading 200;BAG; being highlighted for each line in the 
>> example. Continue on like that until you find the next added semicolon 
>> delineated field pattern part fails to show a match for the left side part 
>> of each line in the example data. It'll be something in that line's or 
>> lines' field/column that isn't matching what the just add grep pattern 
>> part's matching criteria is.
>> 
>> In addition to sorting, an additional use of a working grep pattern is that 
>> you can also use it with BBEdit's Text -> Process Lines Containing... to 
>> find all lines that do NOT contain that grep pattern which will help in 
>> finding malformed CSV data in the large CSV data files your working with. 
>> On Friday, March 28, 2025 at 7:12:03 AM UTC-7 Vlad Ghitulescu wrote:
>> Hey GP
>> 
>> 
>> I corrected the error re „Specific sub-patterns:“ but this didn’t seem to 
>> bring any change: The ADRC_POST_CODE1 is still not sorted
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The command gave also no recognizable sign that is ready, so I’m not sure 
>> that it didn’t have also problems with the line 25816, where the CRLF 
>> follows a house-number (see previous emails).
>> 
>> BBEdit’s Pattern Playground shows however that there is no result after 
>> searching with the regex
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I’ll take the regex to regex101 (thanks for the hint!) and see if I could 
>> spot an error.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Vlad
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> Am 26.03.2025 um 19:42 schrieb GP <[email protected] <>>:
>>> 
>> 
>>> First, in your Sort Lines dialog screenshot, you need to select the 
>>> "Specific sub-patterns:" option instead of "Entire match" in order for the 
>>> lines to be sorted by your column sorting criteria (MSGNO, ADRC_COUNTRY, 
>>> ADRC_REGION, ADRC_POST_CODE1, ADRC_CITY1, ADRC_CITY2, ADRC_STREET and 
>>> ADRC_HOUSE_NUM1). Since the sort lines grep pattern:
>>> 
>>> \d{3};\w{3};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d{10};(\w{2});(\d{2});(\d{5});([^;]*);[^;]*;([^;]*);([^;]*);([^;]*);[^;]*;\w{2};\d{2};\d{5};[^;]*;\d{12};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d{8};[^;]*;\d{12};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;([^;]*);[^\n]*
>>> 
>>> will match every line in your example, using the "Entire match" option 
>>> devolves the sort into a simple whole line string sort which would put the 
>>> MSGNO (i.e. \8 in the example) column contents last instead of first in the 
>>> sort order. (See the "Sort Lines" section in Chapter 5 of the BBEdit User 
>>> Manual for details of using sub-pattern sort ordering.)
>>> 
>>> With the "Entire match" option, if you look at every 2..> line the left 
>>> part of each line is the same until you get to the part of the string with 
>>> the ADRC_ADDRNUMBER characters so the differences in that part of the 
>>> string is Sort Line's "Entire match" is using to determine the ordering of 
>>> the whole line strings.
>>> 
>>> Using the "Specific sub-patterns:" option is what allows you to specify 
>>> what substring part(s) of a string/line and what composed ordering of those 
>>> concatenated substring will be used in determining the sort ordering 
>>> between whole strings/lines.
>>> 
>>> To see what's going on with Sort Lines' "Specific sub-patterns:" option you 
>>> can use BBEdit's Pattern Playground to see what the concatenated substring 
>>> for a line is being used to determine line sort ordering. For "Search 
>>> pattern:" put:
>>> 
>>> \d{3};\w{3};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d{10};(\w{2});(\d{2});(\d{5});([^;]*);[^;]*;([^;]*);([^;]*);([^;]*);[^;]*;\w{2};\d{2};\d{5};[^;]*;\d{12};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d{8};[^;]*;\d{12};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;([^;]*);[^\n]*
>>> 
>>> and for "Replace pattern" put:
>>> 
>>> \8\1\2\3\4\5\6\7
>>> 
>>> and for "Contents of" chose an open example file.
>>> 
>>> As you step through each grep pattern match (using the Next button), the 
>>> "Replacement text:" field will show you the concatenated string composed 
>>> from the capture group ordered substring of the whole matched string/line. 
>>> It is that "Replacement text:" string that Sort Lines uses for "Specific 
>>> sub-patterns:" option sorting evaluation.
>>> 
>>> P.S. If an explanation of what the parts of a grep regular expression is 
>>> specifying would help,  https://regex101.com <https://regex101.com/> has a 
>>> pretty good explanation panel that explains what each bit of a regular 
>>> expression is doing. 
>>> On Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at 6:24:57 AM UTC-7 Vlad Ghitulescu wrote:
>>> Hey GP
>>> 
>>> 
>>> And thanks for the suggestion!
>>> 
>>> I tried the sort-solution before trying to understand the regex itself 😶
>>> 
>>> I pasted into Text —> Sort Lines… like this
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> but after Sort it doesn’t look like the postal code column was considered
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Did I miss something?
>>> 
>>> Thanks again!
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> Vlad
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> Am 25.03.2025 um 22:32 schrieb GP <[email protected] <>>:
>>>> 
>>> 
>>>> As a follow up...
>>>> 
>>>> BBEdit's Pattern Playground is a great help in constructing tedious grep 
>>>> patterns like you'll need for your filtering and sorting needs. The really 
>>>> tedious part is getting the field position(s) you want to filter or sort 
>>>> on so you can modify that field's match pattern to conform to the desired 
>>>> filter or sorting criteria.
>>>> 
>>>> For example... For your " Filter all lines that have ADR_CHK_KZ = 1" using 
>>>> Text -> Process Lines Containing ... with the grep pattern:
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> \d{3};\w{3};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d{10};\w{2};\d{2};\d{5};[^;]*;[^;]*;[^;]*;[^;]*;[^;]*;[^;]*;\w{2};\d{2};\d{5};[^;]*;\d{12};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d{8};[^;]*;\d{12};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;(1);[^;]*;[^\n]*
>>>> 
>>>> will do the trick. For filtering you don't need the group capturing on the 
>>>> 1 but it is useful with Pattern Playground to verify you're getting the 
>>>> right field position and field contents matched.
>>>> 
>>>> For your "Sort the file by MSGNO, ADRC_COUNTRY, ADRC_REGION, 
>>>> ADRC_POST_CODE1, ADRC_CITY1, ADRC_CITY2, ADRC_STREET and ADRC_HOUSE_NUM1" 
>>>> using Text -> Sort Lines ... with a grep pattern of:
>>>> 
>>>> \d{3};\w{3};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d{10};(\w{2});(\d{2});(\d{5});([^;]*);[^;]*;([^;]*);([^;]*);([^;]*);[^;]*;\w{2};\d{2};\d{5};[^;]*;\d{12};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d{8};[^;]*;\d{12};[^;]*;[^;]*;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;\d;([^;]*);[^\n]*
>>>> 
>>>> with "Specific sub-patterns" selected with \8\1\2\3\4\5\6\7 in the fill in 
>>>> field will sort your example text using your desired field ordering.
>>>> On Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 12:53:47 PM UTC-7 GP wrote:
>>>> For filtering, look at Text -> Process Lines Containing ... and for 
>>>> sorting Text -> Sort Lines ... using grep patterns to identify what you 
>>>> want to match for filtering and what subpattern field or fields you want 
>>>> to sort ordered on.
>>>> 
>>>> If the number of fields in your sample is representative of the real CSV 
>>>> files you're working with, it is going to be something of a pain in the 
>>>> rear coming up with the grep patterns needed to accomplish the desired 
>>>> filtering and sorting.
>>>> 
>>>> On Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 11:03:35 AM UTC-7 Vlad Ghitulescu wrote:
>>>> Hey, 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> I use BBEdit very often while working with big CSV-files (300 - 500 MB, up 
>>>> to 4 million rows) looking like this: 
>>>> 
>>>> MANDT;BU;IDENTIFIER;OBJNR;ADRC_ADDRNUMBER;ADRC_COUNTRY;ADRC_REGION;ADRC_POST_CODE1;ADRC_CITY1;ADRC_CITY_EXT;ADRC_CITY2;ADRC_STREET;ADRC_HOUSE_NUM1;ADRC_HOUSE_NUM2;LOKAREF_COUNTRY;LOKAREF_REGION;LOKAREF_POST_CODE1;LOKAREF_CITY1;LOKAREF_CITY_CODE;LOKAREF_CITY_EXT;LOKAREF_CITY2;LOKAREF_CITYP_CODE;LOKAREF_STREET;LOKAREF_STRT_CODE;LOKAREF_HOUSE_NUM1;LOKAREF_HOUSE_NUM2;COUNTRY_KZ;REGION_KZ;POST_CODE1_KZ;CITY1_KZ;CITY_EXT_KZ;CITY2_KZ;STREET_KZ;ADR_CHK_KZ;MSGNO;MESSAGE
>>>>  
>>>> 200;BAG;20250324080508_/ETN/PM_EAV_ADR_CHK_ADRC_V14157F;;0007723592;DE;09;86415;Mering;;Sankt
>>>>  Afra;Egerländer Straße;;;DE;09;86415;Mering;500000002795;, Schwab;Sankt 
>>>> Afra;00000006;Egerländerstraße;910011919800;;;0;0;0;0;1;0;1;1;; 
>>>> 200;BAG;20250324080508_/ETN/PM_EAV_ADR_CHK_ADRC_V14157F;;0007723657;DE;09;85655;Aying;;Kaps;Kaps;;;DE;09;85653;Aying;500000002262;;Kaps;00000010;Kaps;700055566100;;;0;0;1;0;3;0;0;1;;
>>>>  
>>>> 200;BAG;20250324080508_/ETN/PM_EAV_ADR_CHK_ADRC_V14157F;;0007723658;DE;09;83083;Riedering;;Patting;Patting;;;DE;09;83083;Riedering;500000002552;b
>>>>  Rosenheim, Oberbay;Patting;00000037;Pattinger 
>>>> Straße;910003809300;;;0;0;0;0;1;0;1;1;; 
>>>> 200;BAG;20250324080508_/ETN/PM_EAV_ADR_CHK_ADRC_V14157F;;0007723674;DE;09;85655;Aying;;Großhelfendorf;Hirschbergstraße;;;DE;09;85653;Aying;500000002262;;Großhelfendorf;00000007;Hirschbergstraße;910002873200;;;0;0;1;0;3;0;0;1;;
>>>>  
>>>> 200;BAG;20250324080508_/ETN/PM_EAV_ADR_CHK_ADRC_V14157F;;0007723878;DE;09;93336;Altmannstein;;Berghausen;Altmannsteiner
>>>>  
>>>> Str.;;;DE;09;93336;Altmannstein;500000005266;;Berghausen;00000003;Altmannsteiner
>>>>  Straße;910001339100;;;0;0;0;0;3;0;1;1;; 
>>>> 200;BAG;20250324080508_/ETN/PM_EAV_ADR_CHK_ADRC_V14157F;;0007723908;DE;09;93336;Altmannstein;;Berghausen;Altmannsteiner
>>>>  
>>>> Str.;;;DE;09;93336;Altmannstein;500000005266;;Berghausen;00000003;Altmannsteiner
>>>>  Straße;910001339100;;;0;0;0;0;3;0;1;1;; 
>>>> 200;BAG;20250324080508_/ETN/PM_EAV_ADR_CHK_ADRC_V14157F;;0007723918;DE;09;93336;Altmannstein;;Berghausen;Altmannsteiner
>>>>  
>>>> Str.;;;DE;09;93336;Altmannstein;500000005266;;Berghausen;00000003;Altmannsteiner
>>>>  Straße;910001339100;;;0;0;0;0;3;0;1;1;; 
>>>> 200;BAG;20250324080508_/ETN/PM_EAV_ADR_CHK_ADRC_V14157F;;0007723956;DE;09;93336;Altmannstein;;Berghausen;Altmannsteiner
>>>>  
>>>> Str.;;;DE;09;93336;Altmannstein;500000005266;;Berghausen;00000003;Altmannsteiner
>>>>  Straße;910001339100;;;0;0;0;0;3;0;1;1;; 
>>>> 200;BAG;20250324080508_/ETN/PM_EAV_ADR_CHK_ADRC_V14157F;;0007724554;DE;09;95131;Schwarzenbach
>>>>  a.Wald;;Schwarzenbach a 
>>>> Wald;Walter-Münch-Straße;;;DE;09;95131;Schwarzenbach 
>>>> a.Wald;500000011836;;Schwarzenbach 
>>>> a.Wald;00000001;Walter-Münch-Straße;910007835500;;;0;0;0;0;3;1;0;1;; 
>>>> 200;BAG;20250324080508_/ETN/PM_EAV_ADR_CHK_ADRC_V14157F;;0007724593;DE;09;95131;Schwarzenbach
>>>>  a.Wald;;Schwarzenbach a 
>>>> Wald;Walter-Münch-Straße;;;DE;09;95131;Schwarzenbach 
>>>> a.Wald;500000011836;;Schwarzenbach 
>>>> a.Wald;00000001;Walter-Münch-Straße;910007835500;;;0;0;0;0;3;1;0;1;; 
>>>> 
>>>> Once in a while I’d like to filter or sort such huge files by one or more 
>>>> columns, like: 
>>>> 
>>>> 1. Filter all lines that have ADR_CHK_KZ = 1 or 
>>>> 2. Sort the file by MSGNO, ADRC_COUNTRY, ADRC_REGION, ADRC_POST_CODE1, 
>>>> ADRC_CITY1, ADRC_CITY2, ADRC_STREET and ADRC_HOUSE_NUM1. 
>>>> 
>>>> Is there a way to do this sort of tasks with BBEdit? 
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks! 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Regards, 
>>>> Vlad 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
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>>> 
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> 
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