Delete first line of file if it's empty

Question

How can I delete the first (!) line of a text file if it\'s empty, using e.g. sed or other standard UNIX tools. I tried this command:

sed \'/^$/d\' < somefile         


        

Answer 1

Using sed, try this:

sed -e '2,$b' -e '/^$/d' < somefile

or to make the change in place:

sed -i~ -e '2,$b' -e '/^$/d' somefile