The AWK Programming Language, 2nd Edition
by Alfred V. Aho, Brian W. Kernighan, Peter J. Weinberger
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 ...
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