# Grep Search a file for lines matching a regular expression pattern. Return the line number and contents of each matching line. The Unix [`grep`](http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/grep.html) command can be used to search for lines in one or more files that match a user-provided search query (known as the *pattern*). The `grep` command takes three arguments: 1. The pattern used to match lines in a file. 2. Zero or more flags to customize the matching behavior. 3. One or more files in which to search for matching lines. Your task is to implement the `grep` function, which should read the contents of the specified files, find the lines that match the specified pattern and then output those lines as a single string. Note that the lines should be output in the order in which they were found, with the first matching line in the first file being output first. As an example, suppose there is a file named "input.txt" with the following contents:
hello
world
hello again
If we were to call `grep "hello" input.txt`, the returned string should be:
hello
hello again
### Flags As said earlier, the `grep` command should also support the following flags: - `-n` Print the line numbers of each matching line. - `-l` Print only the names of files that contain at least one matching line. - `-i` Match line using a case-insensitive comparison. - `-v` Invert the program -- collect all lines that fail to match the pattern. - `-x` Only match entire lines, instead of lines that contain a match. If we run `grep -n "hello" input.txt`, the `-n` flag will require the matching lines to be prefixed with its line number:
1:hello
3:hello again
And if we run `grep -i "HELLO" input.txt`, we'll do a case-insensitive match, and the output will be:
hello
hello again
The `grep` command should support multiple flags at once. For example, running `grep -l -v "hello" file1.txt file2.txt` should print the names of files that do not contain the string "hello". ## Running tests Execute the tests with: ```bash $ elixir bob_test.exs ``` (Replace `bob_test.exs` with the name of the test file.) ### Pending tests In the test suites, all but the first test have been skipped. Once you get a test passing, you can unskip the next one by commenting out the relevant `@tag :pending` with a `#` symbol. For example: ```elixir # @tag :pending test "shouting" do assert Bob.hey("WATCH OUT!") == "Whoa, chill out!" end ``` Or, you can enable all the tests by commenting out the `ExUnit.configure` line in the test suite. ```elixir # ExUnit.configure exclude: :pending, trace: true ``` For more detailed information about the Elixir track, please see the [help page](http://exercism.io/languages/elixir). ## Source Conversation with Nate Foster. [http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Courses/cs3110/2014sp/hw/0/ps0.pdf](http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Courses/cs3110/2014sp/hw/0/ps0.pdf) ## Submitting Incomplete Solutions It's possible to submit an incomplete solution so you can see how others have completed the exercise.