# If you'd like to omit non-matching lines from the result; add ';d' to the end of the expression.
sed -E 's/(?:(?s:START.*?END)|\\/\\/.*|\.\s*\w+\b)(*SKIP)(*F)|old/new/g;t' <<< "__DATA__
xx START xx old xx END xx --> ignore
xx old xx --> REPLACE !
START xx old --> ignore
xx old xx END --> ignore
xx old xx --> REPLACE !
// xx old --> ignore
xx // xx old --> ignore
xx . old old xx --> ignore first one, replace second one
.
old --> ignore
(old) xx --> REPLACE !
xx old xx --> REPLACE !"
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