Linux fgrep command

In Linux, the “fgrep” command (also known as “grep -F”) is a variant of the “grep” command that performs a “fixed string” search instead of pattern matching. It is used to search for exact matches of a given string within text files or output generated by other commands. Here’s how to use the “fgrep” command:

1. Open a Terminal:
   Launch a terminal emulator on your Linux system.
2. Type the “fgrep” command:
   The basic syntax of the “fgrep” command is similar to the “grep” command:

   fgrep [options] <string> <file(s)>

• The “” parameter represents the exact string you want to search for.
• The “” parameter specifies the name(s) of the file(s) in which you want to search. If you don’t provide any file name, fgrep will read input from the standard input (e.g., output of a command or piped input). For example, to search for the word “example” in a file called “file.txt”, you can use the following command:

   fgrep "example" file.txt

The “fgrep” command will scan the contents of “file.txt” and display any lines that contain the exact string “example”.

3. Using Options:
   The “fgrep” command provides some options that can modify its behavior. However, since “fgrep” performs a fixed string search, the available options are limited compared to the regular “grep” command. Some commonly used options include:

• “-i” (ignore case): Ignore case sensitivity and match strings regardless of letter case.
• “-r” or “-R” (recursive): Recursively search for strings in directories and their subdirectories.
• “-n” (line number): Display line numbers along with matching lines.
• “-v” (invert match): Display lines that do not contain the string. For example, to perform a case-insensitive search for the string “example” in all files within a directory and its subdirectories, you can use the following command:

   fgrep -i -r "example" /path/to/directory

4. Verifying the Output:
   After running the “fgrep” command, you will see the lines that contain the exact string you were searching for. Review the output to ensure that the lines displayed are the ones you were looking for.
5. Exiting the Command:
   Once you have obtained the desired results using the “fgrep” command, you can continue executing other commands or exit the terminal as needed.

The “fgrep” command is useful when you want to search for exact string matches instead of pattern matching. It can be particularly helpful when dealing with special characters or when you want to avoid the interpretation of regular expressions. Use the available options to customize the search behavior according to your requirements.