# If you'd like to omit non-matching lines from the result; add ';d' to the end of the expression.
sed -E 's/(?<!\d(?=.\d))\./-/g;t' <<< ".a.b.1.2.
.a.b.1..2.
.a.b.1..2...1.1
.1.a..1..1.....1.1......1
-a-b-1.2-"
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for SED, please visit: https://www.gnu.org/software/sed/manual/html_node/The-_0022s_0022-Command.html