OT: (or is it) seeking app for a single file content search

Kevin Brown kevinbrownbdc at gmail.com
Tue Apr 23 18:23:35 MST 2013


  You could build something pretty easily using Perl with either Wx or 
Tk as the GUI interface. Then you just create the entry fields that you 
want (search, add, edit, etc...). Great thing is, then you could make 
them work together with the same dataset (your txt file).
> For many years, I have maintained a simple text file list of contact
> names, phone numbers, addresses, and other miscellaneous information
> -- a single line for each entry. That file now has more than 3,000
> names and phone numbers.
>
> To find/retrieve a phone number, I have used a simple shell script
> with grep. While this has worked fine from the Linux command line,
> and it gives instantaneous results, I have often wondered and
> sometimes searched for a utility app that could do the same thing.
>
> I do not want a multiple function contact and calendar app, but I
> would like something with a *very simple* gui that I could access
> from an icon on the desktop or panel; and I'd also like something
> that would work on both my Linux boxes and also for my wife on her
> windblows laptop.
>
> The way my old shell script works is I just type: phone<E>  on the
> command line, and then press<S>  for select, enter the name or part
> of a phone number, and all entries that match the select criteria
> display.  With the current method, I open the file in a text editor
> to add new entries or make changes. But it would be nice to have the
> option to press<A>  to append a new, one-line text entry.  Leave it
> to the user to make the entry in the same format as the rest of the
> text file.
>
> Anyone know of an existing *simple* app or utility that can do this
> on both Linux and windblow?
>
> Below a sample of the way my text file looks now when I search for
> "library":
>
> (Yes, I know the area code following the phone number is a bit
> strange, but this goes waaaay back to when I first used this for
> just a few dozen local phone numbers; and for a number of practical
> reasons, I have opted to not reformat the entire text file.)
>
> 644-3300 #480 Mesa Express Library PO Box 1466 Mesa 95211
> 644-3182 #480 Mesa Library or 3184 or reference desk 3164
> 644-3569 #480 Mesa Library Brynn Burton, Suprv Librarian
> 644-2207 #480 Mesa Library main branch
> 262-4636 #602 PhoenixPublicLibrary.org -or- phxlib.org
> 644-2472 #480 Mesa Library Technology
> 644-2732 #480 Mesa Library Interlibrary Loan office
> 644-3182 #480 MesaLibrary.org
> 707-2100 #202 Library of Congress info
> 386-4648 #206 Seattle Library directory info center
> 543-0741 #206 University of Washington Engineering Library
> 651-7072 #360 Sno-Isle Library
>
>
>
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