SED(ID:782/sed001)

Grep is listed in the Manual for Version 4 Unix which is dated 
November, 1973. The date given for the creation of grep is March 3, 1973, 
following the creation of pipes.(43) The creation of grep, McIlroy 
explains, was followed by the invention of other special purpose software 
programs that could be used as tools. He writes:
 
     "A while later a demand arose for another special-purpose 
     program, gres, for substitution:  g/re/s.  Lee McMahon 
     undertook to write it, and soon foresaw that there would be 
     no end to the family:  g/re/d, g/re/a, etc.  As his concept 
     developed it became sed, a tool of remarkable utility that 
     is largely unappreciated today, because it capitalizes on 
     the perfect familiarity with ed that was universal ten years 
     ago, but no more.  Sed covers a lot of needs.  For example, 
     we have never seen fit to adopt the widespread `head' 
     utility because `sed 10q' does just as well."(44)