search and replace tools in linux

Question

What are the best search and replace tools in linux?

I want to find an easy way.

Thanks

Answer 1

find for finding files/directories

grep or ack[1] for searching files

sed for search/replace in files

awk and cut for slicing/dicing text

for anything non-trivial I usually reach for perl

[1] http://betterthangrep.com/

Answer 2

You can use rpl.

It will replace strings with new strings in multiple text files. It can work recursively over directories and supports limiting the search to specific file suffixes.

rpl [-iwRspfdtx [-q|-v]] <old_str> <new_str> <target_file(s)> 

Answer 3

find and sed are the classic tools.