The AWK Programming Language, 2nd Edition

8

Experiments with Algorithms

Often the best way to understand how something works is to build a small version and do some experiments. This is particularly true for algorithms: writing code illuminates and clarifies issues that are too easily glossed over with pseudo-code. Furthermore, the resulting programs can be tested to ensure that they behave as advertised, which is not true of pseudo-code.

Awk can be a good tool for this kind of experimentation. If a program is written in Awk, it’s easy to concentrate on the algorithm instead of language details. If the algorithm is ultimately to be part of a larger program, it may be more productive to get a prototype working in isolation first. Small Awk programs are also excellent for building a scaffold ...