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sed
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<p>sed ("stream editor") is a <a href="/facts/Unix/0pNL2seI">Unix</a> utility that parses and transforms text, using a simple, compact programming language. It was developed from 1973 to 1974 by <a href="/facts/Lee_E._McMahon/Ghpdc4ep">Lee E. McMahon</a> of <a href="/facts/Bell_Labs/fKP5Gk0H">Bell Labs</a>, and is available today for most operating systems. sed was based on the scripting features of the interactive editor <a href="/facts/Ed_(text_editor)/a3lSk6Ry">ed</a> ("editor", 1971) and the earlier <a href="/facts/QED_(text_editor)/hlhhFXTJ">qed</a> ("quick editor", 1965–66). It was one of the earliest tools to support <a href="/facts/Regular_expression/KFL3veHX">regular expressions</a>, and remains in use for text processing, most notably with the substitution command. Popular alternative tools for plaintext string manipulation and "stream editing" include <a href="/facts/AWK/lAQ0leyj">AWK</a> and <a href="/facts/Perl/fx31kjlT">Perl</a>. </p>