[SOLVED] bash script sed or awk. replace string depending on whether it is odd or even

Issue

I m trying to replace a string "::" on a plain text for <b> or </b>. Depending of the first or second match without result with sed. The goal here is that the second tag </b> can be at the end of a paragraph not at the end of a line. i.e:

::Habiéndose calmado de distracciones, uno permanece completamente, 
y la naturaleza superior es vista con los ojos de la sabiduría.::

must be

<b>Habiéndose calmado de distracciones, uno permanece completamente, 
y la naturaleza superior es vista con los ojos de la sabiduría.</b>

I try it without result:

sed "s|::\(.*\)|\\<b>\1\</b>|g" EntrenamientoProgresivoSamadhi

Thank you in Advantage

Solution

Assumptions:

• :: can occur more than once on a given line of input
• :: never shows up as data (ie, we need to replace all occurrences of ::)
• a solution using awk is acceptable

Adding some more data to our input:

$ cat file
::Habiéndose calmado de distracciones, uno permanece completamente,
y la naturaleza superior es vista con los ojos de la sabiduría.::
some more ::text1:: and then some more ::text2:: the end

One awk idea:

awk '
BEGIN { tag[0]="<b>"; tag[1]="</b>" }
      { while (sub(/::/,tag[c%2])) c++; print }
' file

This generates:

<b>Habiéndose calmado de distracciones, uno permanece completamente,
y la naturaleza superior es vista con los ojos de la sabiduría.</b>
some more <b>text1</b> and then some more <b>text2</b> the end

Answered By - markp-fuso

Answer Checked By - Cary Denson (WPSolving Admin)