[SOLVED] searching string using grep

Issue

I am searching a string using grep but the output displays unwanted files along with the correct file.

Ex:- xyz_utils.c Contains SAM22 keyword.

grep command:

ret=$(grep -irwE "${excluded_files[@]/#/--exclude=}" "\\b${LIST[$A]}\\b|${LIST[$A]}[-_.*>@^:.,~%&\(\)\{}]|\\b${LIST[$A]}\\b" \
                "$package/" |grep -v "$filters\|${excluded_dir[@]}" -c)

LIST[] -> Contains the list of words needs to be searched for.

Unwanted files displayed:

/home/sampath/SAM20_1.0.0/LICENSE.BSD:      from this software without specific prior written permission.
/home/sampath/SAM20_1.0.0/LICENSE.BSD:  THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
/home/sampath/SAM20_1.0.0/LICENSE.BSD:  "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
/home/sampath/SAM20_1.0.0/LICENSE.BSD:  LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
/home/sampath/SAM20_1.0.0/LICENSE.BSD:  (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
/home/sampath/SAM20_1.0.0/LICENSE.BSD:  OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
.
.
/home/sampath/SAM20_1.0.0/README.txt:    Static libraries included in SAM software package:
/home/sampath/SAM20_1.0.0/README.txt:        Warning: This option should never be enabled in a production environment
.
.

Correct file displayed:

/home/sampath/SAM20_1.0.0/xyz_utils.c:SAM22

Solution

If I want to search for a string, like SAM22, within a group of files, this is what I do:

find /<directory> -name "*.<extension>" -exec grep "SAM22" {} /dev/null \;

For your information: /dev/null is a neat trick: as you might know, grep "entry" <filename> shows entry as a result (no filename), while grep "entry" <filename1> <filename2> shows filename1:entry, so by adding /dev/null, I can force the output to show the filename too.
In case you say "I don't need the whole line, containing SAM22, just the entry itself, this can be handled using the -o switch:

find /<directory> -name "*.<extension>" -exec grep -o "SAM22" {} /dev/null \;

Answered By - Dominique

Answer Checked By - David Marino (WPSolving Volunteer)