[SOLVED] delete html comment tags using regexp

Issue

This is how my text (html) file looks like
    <!--
     |                                |
     |  This is a dummy comment       |
     |      please delete me          |
     |         asap                   |
     |                                |
      ________________________________
     | -->

    this is another line 
    in this long dummy html file...
    please do not delete me

I'm trying to delete the comment using sed :

cat file.html | sed 's/.*<!--\(.*\)-->.*//g'

It doesn't work :( What am I doing wrong?

Thank you very much for your help!

Solution

patrickmdnet has the correct answer. Here it is on one line using extended regex:

cat file.html | sed -e :a -re 's/<!--.*?-->//g;/<!--/N;//ba'

Here is a good resource for learning more about sed. This sed is an adaptation of one-liner #92

http://www.catonmat.net/blog/sed-one-liners-explained-part-three/

Answered By - Brian Clements

Answer Checked By - Timothy Miller (WPSolving Admin)