Linux in a Nutshell, 6th Edition

Chapter 11. The gawk Programming Language

gawk is the GNU version of awk, a powerful utility often used for text and string manipulation within shell scripts, particularly when input data may be viewed as records and fields. awk is also an elegant and capable programming language that allows you to accomplish a lot with very little work.

This chapter presents the following topics:

• Conceptual overview

• Command-line syntax

• Patterns and procedures

• Built-in variables

• Operators

• Variables and array assignment

• User-defined functions

• gawk-specific facilities

• Implementation limits

• Group listing of awk functions and commands

• Alphabetical summary of awk functions and commands

• Source code