How to zgrep multiple strings

Question

I am trying to zgrep multiple strings with the code below, but if I omit one of the parameters it spools a lot of un-matching files. If I enter all the 5 strings it works correctly. How can I zgrep any number of strings even if its just 3 of 5.

echo "Enter string 1: "
read isdn1
echo "Enter string 2: "
read isdn2
echo "Enter string 3: "
read isdn3
echo "Enter string 4: "
read isdn4
echo "Enter string 5: "
read isdn5

for host in $(cat host.txt); do 
    ssh "$host" "cd /onip/cdr/output/snapshot/normal/backup && 
      zgrep '$isdn1\|$isdn2\|$isdn3\|$isdn4\|$isdn5' xyz_shot*"
done

With single quotes you have no replace the variable with value. So you can try with double quotes — Romeo Ninov
– Romeo Ninov, Commented Sep 29, 2016 at 11:47
@RomeoNinov, the string is in double-quotes, it just contains some single-quotes too. But quotes don't nest, so it doesn't matter. — ilkkachu
– ilkkachu, Commented Sep 29, 2016 at 19:36

frostschutz · Accepted Answer · 2016-09-29 11:55:45Z

if I omit one of the parameter it spools a lot of un-matching files.

Once you omit, you get an expression like || which is empty so everything matches. You have to check the input and build your expression correctly.

If the strings might also contain special characters, maybe you would prefer the --fixed-strings option of grep.

Untested:

isdn=""

echo "Enter string: "
while read string
do
    [ ${#string} -eq 0 ] && break # blank line cancels
    isdn="$isdn$string"$'\n'
done

echo "You entered: "
echo ----
echo -n "$isdn"
echo ----

# your ssh user@host "zgrep -F '$isdn' ..." here
#    or maybe this would allow ' in filenames too:
# echo -n "$isdn" | ssh user@host zgrep -F -f - ...

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