[SOLVED] Removed semicolon from a line in php.ini using shell command

Issue

I'd like to removed a semicolon from one of these lines in the php.ini using bash shell command (perhaps using sed). How would I do that?

;extension =php_curl.dll    
 ; extension=php_gd2.dll
;extension = php_mbstring.dll
;extension= php_openssl.dll

I intentionally added spaces here and there.

What I've tried:

sed -e "s/^;extension\s=\sphp_gd2\.dll$/extension=php_gd2\.dll/" -i php.ini

This just places everyting into a single line:

;extension =php_curl.dll ; extension=php_gd2.dll;extension = php_mbstring.dll;extension= php_openssl.dll

Solution

This removes a semicolon at the beginning of a line that has one or more spaces on both sides

sed '/php_gd2/s/^\s\s*;\s\s*//' php.ini

You can specify which php extension you want to operate on by putting it in between slashes at the beginning. Then it will run the substitute command only on the lines that have the specified extension

To be even more selective,

sed '/^\s*;\s*extension\s*=\s*php_gd2.*\.dll/s/^\s\s*;\s\s*//' php.ini

Answered By - ramana_k

Answer Checked By - Cary Denson (WPSolving Admin)