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Diffstat (limited to 'awk.html.markdown')
| -rw-r--r-- | awk.html.markdown | 244 |
1 files changed, 134 insertions, 110 deletions
diff --git a/awk.html.markdown b/awk.html.markdown index de26c0a1..3d2c4ccb 100644 --- a/awk.html.markdown +++ b/awk.html.markdown @@ -6,14 +6,15 @@ contributors: --- -AWK is a standard tool on every POSIX-compliant UNIX system. It's like a -stripped-down Perl, perfect for text-processing tasks and other scripting -needs. It has a C-like syntax, but without semicolons, manual memory -management, or static typing. It excels at text processing. You can call to it -from a shell script, or you can use it as a stand-alone scripting language. - -Why use AWK instead of Perl? Mostly because AWK is part of UNIX. You can always -count on it, whereas Perl's future is in question. AWK is also easier to read +AWK is a standard tool on every POSIX-compliant UNIX system. It's like +flex/lex, from the command-line, perfect for text-processing tasks and +other scripting needs. It has a C-like syntax, but without mandatory +semicolons (although, you should use them anyway, because they are required +when you're writing one-liners, something AWK excells at), manual memory +management, or static typing. It excels at text processing. You can call to +it from a shell script, or you can use it as a stand-alone scripting language. + +Why use AWK instead of Perl? Readability. AWK is easier to read than Perl. For simple text-processing scripts, particularly ones that read files line by line and split on delimiters, AWK is probably the right tool for the job. @@ -23,8 +24,23 @@ the job. # Comments are like this -# AWK programs consist of a collection of patterns and actions. The most -# important pattern is called BEGIN. Actions go into brace blocks. + +# AWK programs consist of a collection of patterns and actions. +pattern1 { action; } # just like lex +pattern2 { action; } + +# There is an implied loop and AWK automatically reads and parses each +# record of each file supplied. Each record is split by the FS delimiter, +# which defaults to white-space (multiple spaces,tabs count as one) +# You cann assign FS either on the command line (-F C) or in your BEGIN +# pattern + +# One of the special patterns is BEGIN. The BEGIN pattern is true +# BEFORE any of the files are read. The END pattern is true after +# an End-of-file from the last file (or standard-in if no files specified) +# There is also an output field separator (OFS) that you can assign, which +# defaults to a single space + BEGIN { # BEGIN will run at the beginning of the program. It's where you put all @@ -32,114 +48,116 @@ BEGIN { # have no text files, then think of BEGIN as the main entry point. # Variables are global. Just set them or use them, no need to declare.. - count = 0 + count = 0; # Operators just like in C and friends - a = count + 1 - b = count - 1 - c = count * 1 - d = count / 1 # integer division - e = count % 1 # modulus - f = count ^ 1 # exponentiation - - a += 1 - b -= 1 - c *= 1 - d /= 1 - e %= 1 - f ^= 1 + a = count + 1; + b = count - 1; + c = count * 1; + d = count / 1; # integer division + e = count % 1; # modulus + f = count ^ 1; # exponentiation + + a += 1; + b -= 1; + c *= 1; + d /= 1; + e %= 1; + f ^= 1; # Incrementing and decrementing by one - a++ - b-- + a++; + b--; # As a prefix operator, it returns the incremented value - ++a - --b + ++a; + --b; # Notice, also, no punctuation such as semicolons to terminate statements # Control statements if (count == 0) - print "Starting with count of 0" + print "Starting with count of 0"; else - print "Huh?" + print "Huh?"; # Or you could use the ternary operator - print (count == 0) ? "Starting with count of 0" : "Huh?" + print (count == 0) ? "Starting with count of 0" : "Huh?"; # Blocks consisting of multiple lines use braces while (a < 10) { print "String concatenation is done" " with a series" " of" - " space-separated strings" - print a + " space-separated strings"; + print a; - a++ + a++; } for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) - print "Good ol' for loop" + print "Good ol' for loop"; # As for comparisons, they're the standards: - a < b # Less than - a <= b # Less than or equal - a != b # Not equal - a == b # Equal - a > b # Greater than - a >= b # Greater than or equal + # a < b # Less than + # a <= b # Less than or equal + # a != b # Not equal + # a == b # Equal + # a > b # Greater than + # a >= b # Greater than or equal # Logical operators as well - a && b # AND - a || b # OR + # a && b # AND + # a || b # OR # In addition, there's the super useful regular expression match if ("foo" ~ "^fo+$") - print "Fooey!" + print "Fooey!"; if ("boo" !~ "^fo+$") - print "Boo!" + print "Boo!"; # Arrays - arr[0] = "foo" - arr[1] = "bar" - # Unfortunately, there is no other way to initialize an array. Ya just - # gotta chug through every value line by line like that. - - # You also have associative arrays - assoc["foo"] = "bar" - assoc["bar"] = "baz" + arr[0] = "foo"; + arr[1] = "bar"; + + # You can also initialize an array with the built-in function split() + + n = split("foo:bar:baz", arr, ":"); + + # You also have associative arrays (actually, they're all associative arrays) + assoc["foo"] = "bar"; + assoc["bar"] = "baz"; # And multi-dimensional arrays, with some limitations I won't mention here - multidim[0,0] = "foo" - multidim[0,1] = "bar" - multidim[1,0] = "baz" - multidim[1,1] = "boo" + multidim[0,0] = "foo"; + multidim[0,1] = "bar"; + multidim[1,0] = "baz"; + multidim[1,1] = "boo"; # You can test for array membership if ("foo" in assoc) - print "Fooey!" + print "Fooey!"; # You can also use the 'in' operator to traverse the keys of an array for (key in assoc) - print assoc[key] + print assoc[key]; # The command line is in a special array called ARGV for (argnum in ARGV) - print ARGV[argnum] + print ARGV[argnum]; # You can remove elements of an array # This is particularly useful to prevent AWK from assuming the arguments # are files for it to process - delete ARGV[1] + delete ARGV[1]; # The number of command line arguments is in a variable called ARGC - print ARGC + print ARGC; # AWK has several built-in functions. They fall into three categories. I'll # demonstrate each of them in their own functions, defined later. - return_value = arithmetic_functions(a, b, c) - string_functions() - io_functions() + return_value = arithmetic_functions(a, b, c); + string_functions(); + io_functions(); } # Here's how you define a function @@ -159,26 +177,26 @@ function arithmetic_functions(a, b, c, d) { # Now, to demonstrate the arithmetic functions # Most AWK implementations have some standard trig functions - localvar = sin(a) - localvar = cos(a) - localvar = atan2(b, a) # arc tangent of b / a + localvar = sin(a); + localvar = cos(a); + localvar = atan2(b, a); # arc tangent of b / a # And logarithmic stuff - localvar = exp(a) - localvar = log(a) + localvar = exp(a); + localvar = log(a); # Square root - localvar = sqrt(a) + localvar = sqrt(a); # Truncate floating point to integer - localvar = int(5.34) # localvar => 5 + localvar = int(5.34); # localvar => 5 # Random numbers - srand() # Supply a seed as an argument. By default, it uses the time of day - localvar = rand() # Random number between 0 and 1. + srand(); # Supply a seed as an argument. By default, it uses the time of day + localvar = rand(); # Random number between 0 and 1. # Here's how to return a value - return localvar + return localvar; } function string_functions( localvar, arr) { @@ -188,61 +206,66 @@ function string_functions( localvar, arr) { # Search and replace, first instance (sub) or all instances (gsub) # Both return number of matches replaced - localvar = "fooooobar" - sub("fo+", "Meet me at the ", localvar) # localvar => "Meet me at the bar" - gsub("e+", ".", localvar) # localvar => "m..t m. at th. bar" + localvar = "fooooobar"; + sub("fo+", "Meet me at the ", localvar); # localvar => "Meet me at the bar" + gsub("e+", ".", localvar); # localvar => "m..t m. at th. bar" # Search for a string that matches a regular expression # index() does the same thing, but doesn't allow a regular expression - match(localvar, "t") # => 4, since the 't' is the fourth character + match(localvar, "t"); # => 4, since the 't' is the fourth character # Split on a delimiter - split("foo-bar-baz", arr, "-") # a => ["foo", "bar", "baz"] + n = split("foo-bar-baz", arr, "-"); # a[1] = "foo"; a[2] = "bar"; a[3] = "baz"; n = 3 # Other useful stuff - sprintf("%s %d %d %d", "Testing", 1, 2, 3) # => "Testing 1 2 3" - substr("foobar", 2, 3) # => "oob" - substr("foobar", 4) # => "bar" - length("foo") # => 3 - tolower("FOO") # => "foo" - toupper("foo") # => "FOO" + sprintf("%s %d %d %d", "Testing", 1, 2, 3); # => "Testing 1 2 3" + substr("foobar", 2, 3); # => "oob" + substr("foobar", 4); # => "bar" + length("foo"); # => 3 + tolower("FOO"); # => "foo" + toupper("foo"); # => "FOO" } function io_functions( localvar) { # You've already seen print - print "Hello world" + print "Hello world"; # There's also printf - printf("%s %d %d %d\n", "Testing", 1, 2, 3) + printf("%s %d %d %d\n", "Testing", 1, 2, 3); # AWK doesn't have file handles, per se. It will automatically open a file # handle for you when you use something that needs one. The string you used # for this can be treated as a file handle, for purposes of I/O. This makes - # it feel sort of like shell scripting: + # it feel sort of like shell scripting, but to get the same output, the string + # must match exactly, so use a vaiable: + + outfile = "/tmp/foobar.txt"; - print "foobar" >"/tmp/foobar.txt" + print "foobar" > outfile; - # Now the string "/tmp/foobar.txt" is a file handle. You can close it: - close("/tmp/foobar.txt") + # Now the string outfile is a file handle. You can close it: + close(outfile); # Here's how you run something in the shell - system("echo foobar") # => prints foobar + system("echo foobar"); # => prints foobar # Reads a line from standard input and stores in localvar - getline localvar + getline localvar; - # Reads a line from a pipe - "echo foobar" | getline localvar # localvar => "foobar" - close("echo foobar") + # Reads a line from a pipe (again, use a string so you close it properly) + cmd = "echo foobar"; + cmd | getline localvar; # localvar => "foobar" + close(cmd); # Reads a line from a file and stores in localvar - getline localvar <"/tmp/foobar.txt" - close("/tmp/foobar.txt") + infile = "/tmp/foobar.txt"; + getline localvar < infile; + close(infile); } # As I said at the beginning, AWK programs consist of a collection of patterns -# and actions. You've already seen the all-important BEGIN pattern. Other +# and actions. You've already seen the BEGIN pattern. Other # patterns are used only if you're processing lines from files or standard # input. # @@ -257,7 +280,7 @@ function io_functions( localvar) { # expression, /^fo+bar$/, and will be skipped for any line that fails to # match it. Let's just print the line: - print + print; # Whoa, no argument! That's because print has a default argument: $0. # $0 is the name of the current line being processed. It is created @@ -268,16 +291,16 @@ function io_functions( localvar) { # does. And, like the shell, each field can be access with a dollar sign # This will print the second and fourth fields in the line - print $2, $4 + print $2, $4; # AWK automatically defines many other variables to help you inspect and # process each line. The most important one is NF # Prints the number of fields on this line - print NF + print NF; # Print the last field on this line - print $NF + print $NF; } # Every pattern is actually a true/false test. The regular expression in the @@ -286,7 +309,7 @@ function io_functions( localvar) { # currently processing. Thus, the complete version of it is this: $0 ~ /^fo+bar$/ { - print "Equivalent to the last pattern" + print "Equivalent to the last pattern"; } a > 0 { @@ -315,10 +338,10 @@ a > 0 { BEGIN { # First, ask the user for the name - print "What name would you like the average age for?" + print "What name would you like the average age for?"; # Get a line from standard input, not from files on the command line - getline name <"/dev/stdin" + getline name < "/dev/stdin"; } # Now, match every line whose first field is the given name @@ -335,8 +358,8 @@ $1 == name { # ...etc. There are plenty more, documented in the man page. # Keep track of a running total and how many lines matched - sum += $3 - nlines++ + sum += $3; + nlines++; } # Another special pattern is called END. It will run after processing all the @@ -348,7 +371,7 @@ $1 == name { END { if (nlines) - print "The average age for " name " is " sum / nlines + print "The average age for " name " is " sum / nlines; } ``` @@ -357,3 +380,4 @@ Further Reading: * [Awk tutorial](http://www.grymoire.com/Unix/Awk.html) * [Awk man page](https://linux.die.net/man/1/awk) * [The GNU Awk User's Guide](https://www.gnu.org/software/gawk/manual/gawk.html) GNU Awk is found on most Linux systems. +* [AWK one-liner collection](http://tuxgraphics.org/~guido/scripts/awk-one-liner.html) |