Directory Search and Replace

Command-line Utility (Groovy)
Author: RamJam

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📌 Overview

Directory Search and Replace is a Groovy-based command-line utility that searches and replaces text in .txt files within a specified directory and its subdirectories.

The tool supports:

• Case-sensitive and case-insensitive matching
• Recursive or shallow directory scanning
• Automatic file backups
• Detailed logging
• Interactive mode for user-friendly input

⏱️ This project was completed in 1 day, including learning the Groovy language.

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🧪 Coding Exercise

• 📎 Exercise Link:
  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pE6Sx5q1eplGaQpd8HZqyxX707qh7PC3/view?usp=sharing

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⚙️ Prerequisites

• Groovy (version 5.0.3)
• Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development Kit (JDK)

Verify Groovy installation:

groovy -version

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📥 Installation

No installation required.

1. Clone or download the project.
2. Ensure groovy is available in your system PATH.

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🚀 Usage

groovy App.groovy <target_directory> <pattern> <replacement> <log_path>

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🧾 Arguments

Argument	Description
<target_directory>	Absolute or relative path to the directory to scan
<pattern>	String pattern to search for
<replacement>	String to replace the matched pattern
<log_path> (optional)	Directory where logs will be saved (defaults to <target_directory>/.log)

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🚩 Flags

Flag	Description
--shallow	Scan only the top-level directory
--ignore-case	Perform case-insensitive matching
--form	Interactive mode

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🧑‍💻 Examples

groovy App.groovy /path/to/directory "old_text" "new_text"

groovy App.groovy --form --ignore-case --shallow

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✨ Features

• Recursive scanning (default)
• Optional shallow scanning
• Case-sensitive and insensitive matching
• Automatic backups
• Detailed logging
• Robust error handling

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📤 Output

• Modified files are overwritten
• Backups stored in:

  <target_directory>/.backup/<process_id>/<filename>
  

• Log file includes:
  • Start and end times
  • Modified files count
  • Line and column changes
  • Before/after content

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📝 Notes

• Processes only .txt files
• Hidden directories are skipped
• Each run uses a unique process ID

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🛠 Troubleshooting

• Ensure directory exists and is accessible
• Verify Groovy installation
• Review log file for errors