From bfd7df7f6dffcf905c4694d6482c50a3506bd9bd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: John Malmberg Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2016 19:53:17 -0500 Subject: VMS should not kit the entire git clone --- vms/ChangeLog | 5 +++++ vms/backup_gawk_src.com | 4 ++-- vms/pcsi_product_gawk.com | 35 +++++++++++++++++------------------ 3 files changed, 24 insertions(+), 20 deletions(-) diff --git a/vms/ChangeLog b/vms/ChangeLog index d45a53b2..56890275 100644 --- a/vms/ChangeLog +++ b/vms/ChangeLog @@ -1,3 +1,8 @@ +2016-10-24 John E. Malmberg + + * backup_gawk_src.com: Do not backup entire git repository. + * pcsi_product_gawk.com: Create a ZIP archive of PCSI kit. + 2016-08-25 Arnold D. Robbins * 4.1.4: Release tar ball made. diff --git a/vms/backup_gawk_src.com b/vms/backup_gawk_src.com index d1e47fbe..abee8d71 100644 --- a/vms/backup_gawk_src.com +++ b/vms/backup_gawk_src.com @@ -71,11 +71,11 @@ $!------------------------------------------- $ interchange = "" $ if arch_code .eqs. "V" $ then -$ interchange = "/interchange" +$ interchange = "/interchange/exclude=[.$5ngit...]*.*" $ endif $ if (swvers_maj .ges. "8") .and. (swvers_min .ges. 4) $ then -$ interchange = "/interchange/noconvert" +$ interchange = "/interchange/noconvert/exclude=[.^.git...]*.*" $ endif $! $! diff --git a/vms/pcsi_product_gawk.com b/vms/pcsi_product_gawk.com index b0d9febd..b0fc50f8 100644 --- a/vms/pcsi_product_gawk.com +++ b/vms/pcsi_product_gawk.com @@ -93,6 +93,12 @@ $! Regenerate the PCSI Text file. $!--------------------------------- $ @[.vms]build_gawk_pcsi_text.com $! +$ base = "" +$ arch_name = f$edit(f$getsyi("arch_name"),"UPCASE") +$ if arch_name .eqs. "ALPHA" then base = "AXPVMS" +$ if arch_name .eqs. "IA64" then base = "I64VMS" +$ if arch_name .eqs. "VAX" then base = "VAXVMS" +$! $! $! Parse the kit name into components. $!--------------------------------------- @@ -112,6 +118,7 @@ $ updatepatch = f$element(4, "-", kit_name) $ if updatepatch .eqs. "" then updatepatch = "" $! $ version_fao = "!AS.!AS" +$ if arch_name .eqs. "VAX" then version_fao = "!AS$5n!AS" $ mmversion = f$fao(version_fao, "''majorver'", "''minorver'") $ if updatepatch .nes. "" $ then @@ -120,6 +127,13 @@ $ else $ version = "''mmversion'" $ endif $! +$ node_swvers = f$getsyi("node_swvers") +$ vms_vernum = f$extract(1, f$length(node_swvers), node_swvers) +$ tagver = vms_vernum - "." - "." - "-" +$ zip_name = producer + "-" + base + "-" + tagver + "-" + product_name +$ zip_name = zip_name + "-" + mmversion + "-" + updatepatch + "-1" +$ zip_name = f$edit(zip_name, "lowercase") +$! $! $! Move to the base directories $ current_default = f$environment("DEFAULT") @@ -143,12 +157,6 @@ $ gnu_src = src1 + src2 + src3 + src4 + src5 + src6 + src7 + src8 + src9 $ gnu_src = gnu_src + src10 + src11 + src12 $! $! -$ base = "" -$ arch_name = f$edit(f$getsyi("arch_name"),"UPCASE") -$ if arch_name .eqs. "ALPHA" then base = "AXPVMS" -$ if arch_name .eqs. "IA64" then base = "I64VMS" -$ if arch_name .eqs. "VAX" then base = "VAXVMS" -$! $ if base .eqs. "" then exit 44 $! $ pcsi_option = "/option=noconfirm" @@ -167,19 +175,10 @@ $product package 'product_name' - /format=sequential 'pcsi_option' $! $! -$! VAX can not do a compressed kit. -$! ZIP -9 "-V" does a better job, so no reason to normally build a compressed -$! kit. -$!---------------------------------- -$if p1 .eqs. "COMPRESSED" +$! +$if f$type(zip) .eqs. "STRING" $then -$ if arch_code .nes. "V" -$ then -$ product copy /options=(novalidate, noconfirm) /format=compressed - - 'product_name' - - /source=stage_root:[kit]/dest=stage_root:[kit] - - /version='version'/base='base' -$ endif +$ zip "-9Vj" stage_root:[kit]'zip_name'.zip stage_root:[kit]'kit_name'.pcsi $endif $! $all_exit: -- cgit v1.2.3 From a90f46df6a98818c99abfe4c4e0b738cb845294e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Arnold D. Robbins" Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2016 21:38:10 +0300 Subject: Disallow negative arguments to bitwise functions. Document same. --- ChangeLog | 9 + NEWS | 3 + builtin.c | 35 +-- doc/ChangeLog | 7 + doc/gawk.1 | 5 + doc/gawk.info | 692 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------------------------- doc/gawk.texi | 134 ++++++++++- doc/gawktexi.in | 66 +++++- mpfr.c | 33 ++- 9 files changed, 616 insertions(+), 368 deletions(-) diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog index cb636b7e..8209cdc8 100644 --- a/ChangeLog +++ b/ChangeLog @@ -1,3 +1,12 @@ +2016-10-25 Arnold D. Robbins + + Disallow negative arguments to the bitwise functions. + + * NEWS: Document this. + * builtin.c (do_lshift, do_rshift, do_and, do_or, do_xor, do_compl): + Make negative arguments a fatal error. + * mpfr.c (do_mpfr_compl, get_intval): Ditto. + 2016-10-23 Arnold D. Robbins * General: Remove trailing whitespace from all relevant files. diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS index 1d844966..a06db845 100644 --- a/NEWS +++ b/NEWS @@ -82,6 +82,9 @@ Changes from 4.1.x to 4.2.0 21. Pretty printing now uses the original text of constant numeric values for pretty printing and profiling. +22. Passing negative operands to any of the bitwise functions now + produces a fatal error. + Changes from 4.1.3 to 4.1.4 --------------------------- diff --git a/builtin.c b/builtin.c index 2b93189b..5b6e3755 100644 --- a/builtin.c +++ b/builtin.c @@ -3334,11 +3334,13 @@ do_lshift(int nargs) if ((fixtype(s2)->flags & NUMBER) == 0) lintwarn(_("lshift: received non-numeric second argument")); } + val = force_number(s1)->numbr; shift = force_number(s2)->numbr; + if (val < 0 || shift < 0) + fatal(_("lshift(%f, %f): negative values are not allowed"), val, shift); + if (do_lint) { - if (val < 0 || shift < 0) - lintwarn(_("lshift(%f, %f): negative values will give strange results"), val, shift); if (double_to_int(val) != val || double_to_int(shift) != shift) lintwarn(_("lshift(%f, %f): fractional values will be truncated"), val, shift); if (shift >= sizeof(uintmax_t) * CHAR_BIT) @@ -3371,11 +3373,13 @@ do_rshift(int nargs) if ((fixtype(s2)->flags & NUMBER) == 0) lintwarn(_("rshift: received non-numeric second argument")); } + val = force_number(s1)->numbr; shift = force_number(s2)->numbr; + if (val < 0 || shift < 0) + fatal(_("rshift(%f, %f): negative values are not allowed"), val, shift); + if (do_lint) { - if (val < 0 || shift < 0) - lintwarn(_("rshift(%f, %f): negative values will give strange results"), val, shift); if (double_to_int(val) != val || double_to_int(shift) != shift) lintwarn(_("rshift(%f, %f): fractional values will be truncated"), val, shift); if (shift >= sizeof(uintmax_t) * CHAR_BIT) @@ -3412,8 +3416,8 @@ do_and(int nargs) lintwarn(_("and: argument %d is non-numeric"), i); val = force_number(s1)->numbr; - if (do_lint && val < 0) - lintwarn(_("and: argument %d negative value %g will give strange results"), i, val); + if (val < 0) + fatal(_("and: argument %d negative value %g is not allowed"), i, val); uval = (uintmax_t) val; res &= uval; @@ -3444,8 +3448,8 @@ do_or(int nargs) lintwarn(_("or: argument %d is non-numeric"), i); val = force_number(s1)->numbr; - if (do_lint && val < 0) - lintwarn(_("or: argument %d negative value %g will give strange results"), i, val); + if (val < 0) + fatal(_("or: argument %d negative value %g is not allowed"), i, val); uval = (uintmax_t) val; res |= uval; @@ -3476,8 +3480,8 @@ do_xor(int nargs) lintwarn(_("xor: argument %d is non-numeric"), i); val = force_number(s1)->numbr; - if (do_lint && val < 0) - lintwarn(_("xor: argument %d negative value %g will give strange results"), i, val); + if (val < 0) + fatal(_("xor: argument %d negative value %g is not allowed"), i, val); uval = (uintmax_t) val; if (i == 1) @@ -3506,12 +3510,11 @@ do_compl(int nargs) d = force_number(tmp)->numbr; DEREF(tmp); - if (do_lint) { - if (d < 0) - lintwarn(_("compl(%f): negative value will give strange results"), d); - if (double_to_int(d) != d) - lintwarn(_("compl(%f): fractional value will be truncated"), d); - } + if (d < 0) + fatal(_("compl(%f): negative value is not allowed"), d); + + if (do_lint && double_to_int(d) != d) + lintwarn(_("compl(%f): fractional value will be truncated"), d); uval = (uintmax_t) d; uval = ~ uval; diff --git a/doc/ChangeLog b/doc/ChangeLog index 305fc8e4..a3069283 100644 --- a/doc/ChangeLog +++ b/doc/ChangeLog @@ -1,3 +1,10 @@ +2016-10-25 Arnold D. Robbins + + * gawktexi.in: Document that negative arguments are not allowed + for bitwise functions. Add a sidebar explaining it a bit and + also showing the difference with and without -M. + * gawk.1: Document that negative arguments are not allowed. + 2016-10-23 Arnold D. Robbins * gawktexi.in: Remove references to MS-DOS and OS/2, diff --git a/doc/gawk.1 b/doc/gawk.1 index 751f8b89..22b41f34 100644 --- a/doc/gawk.1 +++ b/doc/gawk.1 @@ -3181,6 +3181,11 @@ values to .B uintmax_t integers, doing the operation, and then converting the result back to floating point. +.PP +.BR NOTE : +Passing negative operands to any of these functions causes +a fatal error. +.PP The functions are: .TP "\w'\fBrshift(\fIval\fB, \fIcount\fB)\fR'u+2n" \fBand(\fIv1\fB, \fIv2 \fR[, ...]\fB)\fR diff --git a/doc/gawk.info b/doc/gawk.info index 1faa775c..b8ab365a 100644 --- a/doc/gawk.info +++ b/doc/gawk.info @@ -13471,13 +13471,10 @@ are enclosed in square brackets ([ ]): Return the bitwise XOR of the arguments. There must be at least two. - For all of these functions, first the double-precision floating-point -value is converted to the widest C unsigned integer type, then the -bitwise operation is performed. If the result cannot be represented -exactly as a C 'double', leading nonzero bits are removed one by one -until it can be represented exactly. The result is then converted back -into a C 'double'. (If you don't understand this paragraph, don't worry -about it.) + CAUTION: Beginning with 'gawk' 4.1 4.2, negative operands are not + allowed for any of these functions. A negative operand produces a + fatal error. See the sidebar "Beware The Smoke and Mirrors!" for + more information as to why. Here is a user-defined function (*note User-defined::) that illustrates the use of these functions: @@ -13539,12 +13536,61 @@ decimal and octal values for the same numbers (*note Nondecimal-numbers::), and then demonstrates the results of the 'compl()', 'lshift()', and 'rshift()' functions. + Beware The Smoke and Mirrors! + + It other languages, bitwise operations are performed on integer +values, not floating-point values. As a general statement, such +operations work best when performed on unsigned integers. + + 'gawk' attempts to treat the arguments to the bitwise functions as +unsigned integers. For this reason, negative arguments produce a fatal +error. + + In normal operation, for all of these functions, first the +double-precision floating-point value is converted to the widest C +unsigned integer type, then the bitwise operation is performed. If the +result cannot be represented exactly as a C 'double', leading nonzero +bits are removed one by one until it can be represented exactly. The +result is then converted back into a C 'double'.(2) + + However, when using arbitrary precision arithmetic with the '-M' +option (*note Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic::), the results may differ. +This is particularly noticable with the 'compl()' function: + + $ gawk 'BEGIN { print compl(42) }' + -| 9007199254740949 + $ gawk -M 'BEGIN { print compl(42) }' + -| -43 + + What's going on becomes clear when printing the results in +hexadecimal: + + $ gawk 'BEGIN { printf "%#x\n", compl(42) }' + -| 0x1fffffffffffd5 + $ gawk -M 'BEGIN { printf "%#x\n", compl(42) }' + -| 0xffffffffffffffd5 + + When using the '-M' option, under the hood, 'gawk' uses GNU MP +arbitrary precision integers which have at least 64 bits of precision. +When not using '-M', 'gawk' stores integral values in regular +double-precision floating point, which only maintain 53 bits of +precision. Furthermore, the GNU MP library treats (or least seems to +treat) the leading bit as a sign bit; thus the result with '-M' in this +case is a negative number. + + In short, using 'gawk' for any but the simplest kind of bitwise +operations is probably a bad idea; caveat emptor! + ---------- Footnotes ---------- (1) This example shows that zeros come in on the left side. For 'gawk', this is always true, but in some languages, it's possible to have the left side fill with ones. + (2) If you don't understand this paragraph, the upshot is that 'gawk' +can only store a particular range of integer values; numbers outside +that range are reduced to fit within the range. +  File: gawk.info, Node: Type Functions, Next: I18N Functions, Prev: Bitwise Functions, Up: Built-in @@ -32646,7 +32692,7 @@ Index * BINMODE variable: User-modified. (line 15) * BINMODE variable <1>: PC Using. (line 16) * bit-manipulation functions: Bitwise Functions. (line 6) -* bits2str() user-defined function: Bitwise Functions. (line 72) +* bits2str() user-defined function: Bitwise Functions. (line 69) * bitwise AND: Bitwise Functions. (line 40) * bitwise complement: Bitwise Functions. (line 44) * bitwise OR: Bitwise Functions. (line 50) @@ -32885,9 +32931,9 @@ Index (line 31) * converting, dates to timestamps: Time Functions. (line 76) * converting, numbers to strings: Strings And Numbers. (line 6) -* converting, numbers to strings <1>: Bitwise Functions. (line 111) +* converting, numbers to strings <1>: Bitwise Functions. (line 108) * converting, strings to numbers: Strings And Numbers. (line 6) -* converting, strings to numbers <1>: Bitwise Functions. (line 111) +* converting, strings to numbers <1>: Bitwise Functions. (line 108) * CONVFMT variable: Strings And Numbers. (line 29) * CONVFMT variable <1>: User-modified. (line 30) * CONVFMT variable, and array subscripts: Numeric Array Subscripts. @@ -34161,7 +34207,7 @@ Index * null strings, converting numbers to strings: Strings And Numbers. (line 21) * null strings, matching: String Functions. (line 537) -* number as string of bits: Bitwise Functions. (line 111) +* number as string of bits: Bitwise Functions. (line 108) * number of array elements: String Functions. (line 200) * number sign (#), #! (executable scripts): Executable Scripts. (line 6) @@ -34172,7 +34218,7 @@ Index * numbers, Cliff random: Cliff Random Function. (line 6) * numbers, converting: Strings And Numbers. (line 6) -* numbers, converting <1>: Bitwise Functions. (line 111) +* numbers, converting <1>: Bitwise Functions. (line 108) * numbers, converting, to strings: User-modified. (line 30) * numbers, converting, to strings <1>: User-modified. (line 104) * numbers, hexadecimal: Nondecimal-numbers. (line 6) @@ -34745,6 +34791,7 @@ Index (line 63) * sidebar, Backslash Before Regular Characters: Escape Sequences. (line 106) +* sidebar, Beware The Smoke and Mirrors!: Bitwise Functions. (line 126) * sidebar, Changing FS Does Not Affect the Fields: Full Line Fields. (line 14) * sidebar, Changing NR and FNR: Auto-set. (line 355) @@ -34875,7 +34922,7 @@ Index * string-translation functions: I18N Functions. (line 6) * strings splitting, example: String Functions. (line 334) * strings, converting: Strings And Numbers. (line 6) -* strings, converting <1>: Bitwise Functions. (line 111) +* strings, converting <1>: Bitwise Functions. (line 108) * strings, converting letter case: String Functions. (line 523) * strings, converting, numbers to: User-modified. (line 30) * strings, converting, numbers to <1>: User-modified. (line 104) @@ -34926,7 +34973,7 @@ Index * tee.awk program: Tee Program. (line 26) * temporary breakpoint: Breakpoint Control. (line 90) * terminating records: awk split records. (line 124) -* testbits.awk program: Bitwise Functions. (line 72) +* testbits.awk program: Bitwise Functions. (line 69) * testext extension: Extension Sample API Tests. (line 6) * Texinfo: Conventions. (line 6) @@ -35421,313 +35468,314 @@ Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-5569085 Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-6569312 Node: Bitwise Functions569578 Ref: table-bitwise-ops570172 -Ref: Bitwise Functions-Footnote-1574510 -Node: Type Functions574683 -Node: I18N Functions577215 -Node: User-defined578866 -Node: Definition Syntax579671 -Ref: Definition Syntax-Footnote-1585358 -Node: Function Example585429 -Ref: Function Example-Footnote-1588351 -Node: Function Caveats588373 -Node: Calling A Function588891 -Node: Variable Scope589849 -Node: Pass By Value/Reference592843 -Node: Return Statement596342 -Node: Dynamic Typing599321 -Node: Indirect Calls600251 -Ref: Indirect Calls-Footnote-1610502 -Node: Functions Summary610630 -Node: Library Functions613335 -Ref: Library Functions-Footnote-1616942 -Ref: Library Functions-Footnote-2617085 -Node: Library Names617256 -Ref: Library Names-Footnote-1620716 -Ref: Library Names-Footnote-2620939 -Node: General Functions621025 -Node: Strtonum Function622128 -Node: Assert Function625150 -Node: Round Function628476 -Node: Cliff Random Function630017 -Node: Ordinal Functions631033 -Ref: Ordinal Functions-Footnote-1634096 -Ref: Ordinal Functions-Footnote-2634348 -Node: Join Function634558 -Ref: Join Function-Footnote-1636328 -Node: Getlocaltime Function636528 -Node: Readfile Function640270 -Node: Shell Quoting642242 -Node: Data File Management643643 -Node: Filetrans Function644275 -Node: Rewind Function648371 -Node: File Checking650277 -Ref: File Checking-Footnote-1651611 -Node: Empty Files651812 -Node: Ignoring Assigns653791 -Node: Getopt Function655341 -Ref: Getopt Function-Footnote-1666810 -Node: Passwd Functions667010 -Ref: Passwd Functions-Footnote-1675849 -Node: Group Functions675937 -Ref: Group Functions-Footnote-1683835 -Node: Walking Arrays684042 -Node: Library Functions Summary687050 -Node: Library Exercises688456 -Node: Sample Programs688921 -Node: Running Examples689691 -Node: Clones690419 -Node: Cut Program691643 -Node: Egrep Program701572 -Ref: Egrep Program-Footnote-1709084 -Node: Id Program709194 -Node: Split Program712874 -Ref: Split Program-Footnote-1716333 -Node: Tee Program716462 -Node: Uniq Program719252 -Node: Wc Program726678 -Ref: Wc Program-Footnote-1730933 -Node: Miscellaneous Programs731027 -Node: Dupword Program732240 -Node: Alarm Program734270 -Node: Translate Program739125 -Ref: Translate Program-Footnote-1743690 -Node: Labels Program743960 -Ref: Labels Program-Footnote-1747311 -Node: Word Sorting747395 -Node: History Sorting751467 -Node: Extract Program753302 -Node: Simple Sed760831 -Node: Igawk Program763905 -Ref: Igawk Program-Footnote-1778236 -Ref: Igawk Program-Footnote-2778438 -Ref: Igawk Program-Footnote-3778560 -Node: Anagram Program778675 -Node: Signature Program781737 -Node: Programs Summary782984 -Node: Programs Exercises784198 -Ref: Programs Exercises-Footnote-1788327 -Node: Advanced Features788418 -Node: Nondecimal Data790408 -Node: Array Sorting791999 -Node: Controlling Array Traversal792699 -Ref: Controlling Array Traversal-Footnote-1801066 -Node: Array Sorting Functions801184 -Ref: Array Sorting Functions-Footnote-1806275 -Node: Two-way I/O806471 -Ref: Two-way I/O-Footnote-1813021 -Ref: Two-way I/O-Footnote-2813208 -Node: TCP/IP Networking813290 -Node: Profiling816408 -Ref: Profiling-Footnote-1824901 -Node: Advanced Features Summary825224 -Node: Internationalization827068 -Node: I18N and L10N828548 -Node: Explaining gettext829235 -Ref: Explaining gettext-Footnote-1835127 -Ref: Explaining gettext-Footnote-2835312 -Node: Programmer i18n835477 -Ref: Programmer i18n-Footnote-1840332 -Node: Translator i18n840381 -Node: String Extraction841175 -Ref: String Extraction-Footnote-1842307 -Node: Printf Ordering842393 -Ref: Printf Ordering-Footnote-1845179 -Node: I18N Portability845243 -Ref: I18N Portability-Footnote-1847699 -Node: I18N Example847762 -Ref: I18N Example-Footnote-1850568 -Node: Gawk I18N850641 -Node: I18N Summary851286 -Node: Debugger852627 -Node: Debugging853649 -Node: Debugging Concepts854090 -Node: Debugging Terms855899 -Node: Awk Debugging858474 -Node: Sample Debugging Session859380 -Node: Debugger Invocation859914 -Node: Finding The Bug861300 -Node: List of Debugger Commands867778 -Node: Breakpoint Control869111 -Node: Debugger Execution Control872805 -Node: Viewing And Changing Data876167 -Node: Execution Stack879541 -Node: Debugger Info881178 -Node: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands885249 -Node: Readline Support890337 -Node: Limitations891233 -Ref: Limitations-Footnote-1895464 -Node: Debugging Summary895515 -Node: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic896794 -Node: Computer Arithmetic898210 -Ref: table-numeric-ranges901801 -Ref: Computer Arithmetic-Footnote-1902523 -Node: Math Definitions902580 -Ref: table-ieee-formats905894 -Ref: Math Definitions-Footnote-1906497 -Node: MPFR features906602 -Node: FP Math Caution908319 -Ref: FP Math Caution-Footnote-1909391 -Node: Inexactness of computations909760 -Node: Inexact representation910720 -Node: Comparing FP Values912080 -Node: Errors accumulate913162 -Node: Getting Accuracy914595 -Node: Try To Round917305 -Node: Setting precision918204 -Ref: table-predefined-precision-strings918901 -Node: Setting the rounding mode920731 -Ref: table-gawk-rounding-modes921105 -Ref: Setting the rounding mode-Footnote-1924513 -Node: Arbitrary Precision Integers924692 -Ref: Arbitrary Precision Integers-Footnote-1929609 -Node: POSIX Floating Point Problems929758 -Ref: POSIX Floating Point Problems-Footnote-1933640 -Node: Floating point summary933678 -Node: Dynamic Extensions935868 -Node: Extension Intro937421 -Node: Plugin License938687 -Node: Extension Mechanism Outline939484 -Ref: figure-load-extension939923 -Ref: figure-register-new-function941488 -Ref: figure-call-new-function942580 -Node: Extension API Description944642 -Node: Extension API Functions Introduction946174 -Node: General Data Types951033 -Ref: General Data Types-Footnote-1956988 -Node: Memory Allocation Functions957287 -Ref: Memory Allocation Functions-Footnote-1960132 -Node: Constructor Functions960231 -Node: Registration Functions961976 -Node: Extension Functions962661 -Node: Exit Callback Functions965284 -Node: Extension Version String966534 -Node: Input Parsers967197 -Node: Output Wrappers977079 -Node: Two-way processors981591 -Node: Printing Messages983856 -Ref: Printing Messages-Footnote-1985027 -Node: Updating ERRNO985180 -Node: Requesting Values985919 -Ref: table-value-types-returned986656 -Node: Accessing Parameters987539 -Node: Symbol Table Access988774 -Node: Symbol table by name989286 -Node: Symbol table by cookie991307 -Ref: Symbol table by cookie-Footnote-1995459 -Node: Cached values995523 -Ref: Cached values-Footnote-1999030 -Node: Array Manipulation999121 -Ref: Array Manipulation-Footnote-11000212 -Node: Array Data Types1000249 -Ref: Array Data Types-Footnote-11002907 -Node: Array Functions1002999 -Node: Flattening Arrays1006857 -Node: Creating Arrays1013765 -Node: Redirection API1018534 -Node: Extension API Variables1021365 -Node: Extension Versioning1021998 -Ref: gawk-api-version1022435 -Node: Extension API Informational Variables1024191 -Node: Extension API Boilerplate1025255 -Node: Finding Extensions1029069 -Node: Extension Example1029628 -Node: Internal File Description1030426 -Node: Internal File Ops1034506 -Ref: Internal File Ops-Footnote-11046268 -Node: Using Internal File Ops1046408 -Ref: Using Internal File Ops-Footnote-11048791 -Node: Extension Samples1049065 -Node: Extension Sample File Functions1050594 -Node: Extension Sample Fnmatch1058243 -Node: Extension Sample Fork1059730 -Node: Extension Sample Inplace1060948 -Node: Extension Sample Ord1064158 -Node: Extension Sample Readdir1064994 -Ref: table-readdir-file-types1065883 -Node: Extension Sample Revout1066688 -Node: Extension Sample Rev2way1067277 -Node: Extension Sample Read write array1068017 -Node: Extension Sample Readfile1069959 -Node: Extension Sample Time1071054 -Node: Extension Sample API Tests1072402 -Node: gawkextlib1072894 -Node: Extension summary1075341 -Node: Extension Exercises1079043 -Node: Language History1080541 -Node: V7/SVR3.11082197 -Node: SVR41084349 -Node: POSIX1085783 -Node: BTL1087162 -Node: POSIX/GNU1087891 -Node: Feature History1093753 -Node: Common Extensions1108123 -Node: Ranges and Locales1109406 -Ref: Ranges and Locales-Footnote-11114022 -Ref: Ranges and Locales-Footnote-21114049 -Ref: Ranges and Locales-Footnote-31114284 -Node: Contributors1114505 -Node: History summary1120065 -Node: Installation1121445 -Node: Gawk Distribution1122389 -Node: Getting1122873 -Node: Extracting1123834 -Node: Distribution contents1125472 -Node: Unix Installation1131557 -Node: Quick Installation1132239 -Node: Shell Startup Files1134653 -Node: Additional Configuration Options1135731 -Node: Configuration Philosophy1137536 -Node: Non-Unix Installation1139905 -Node: PC Installation1140365 -Node: PC Binary Installation1141203 -Node: PC Compiling1141638 -Node: PC Using1142755 -Node: Cygwin1145800 -Node: MSYS1146570 -Node: VMS Installation1147071 -Node: VMS Compilation1147862 -Ref: VMS Compilation-Footnote-11149091 -Node: VMS Dynamic Extensions1149149 -Node: VMS Installation Details1150834 -Node: VMS Running1153087 -Node: VMS GNV1157366 -Node: VMS Old Gawk1158101 -Node: Bugs1158572 -Node: Bug address1159235 -Node: Usenet1161632 -Node: Maintainers1162407 -Node: Other Versions1163783 -Node: Installation summary1170367 -Node: Notes1171402 -Node: Compatibility Mode1172267 -Node: Additions1173049 -Node: Accessing The Source1173974 -Node: Adding Code1175409 -Node: New Ports1181628 -Node: Derived Files1186116 -Ref: Derived Files-Footnote-11191601 -Ref: Derived Files-Footnote-21191636 -Ref: Derived Files-Footnote-31192234 -Node: Future Extensions1192348 -Node: Implementation Limitations1193006 -Node: Extension Design1194189 -Node: Old Extension Problems1195343 -Ref: Old Extension Problems-Footnote-11196861 -Node: Extension New Mechanism 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Dynamic Typing601219 +Node: Indirect Calls602149 +Ref: Indirect Calls-Footnote-1612400 +Node: Functions Summary612528 +Node: Library Functions615233 +Ref: Library Functions-Footnote-1618840 +Ref: Library Functions-Footnote-2618983 +Node: Library Names619154 +Ref: Library Names-Footnote-1622614 +Ref: Library Names-Footnote-2622837 +Node: General Functions622923 +Node: Strtonum Function624026 +Node: Assert Function627048 +Node: Round Function630374 +Node: Cliff Random Function631915 +Node: Ordinal Functions632931 +Ref: Ordinal Functions-Footnote-1635994 +Ref: Ordinal Functions-Footnote-2636246 +Node: Join Function636456 +Ref: Join Function-Footnote-1638226 +Node: Getlocaltime Function638426 +Node: Readfile Function642168 +Node: Shell Quoting644140 +Node: Data File Management645541 +Node: Filetrans Function646173 +Node: Rewind Function650269 +Node: File Checking652175 +Ref: File Checking-Footnote-1653509 +Node: Empty Files653710 +Node: Ignoring Assigns655689 +Node: Getopt Function657239 +Ref: Getopt Function-Footnote-1668708 +Node: Passwd Functions668908 +Ref: Passwd Functions-Footnote-1677747 +Node: Group Functions677835 +Ref: Group Functions-Footnote-1685733 +Node: Walking Arrays685940 +Node: Library Functions Summary688948 +Node: Library Exercises690354 +Node: Sample Programs690819 +Node: Running Examples691589 +Node: Clones692317 +Node: Cut Program693541 +Node: Egrep Program703470 +Ref: Egrep Program-Footnote-1710982 +Node: Id Program711092 +Node: Split Program714772 +Ref: Split Program-Footnote-1718231 +Node: Tee Program718360 +Node: Uniq Program721150 +Node: Wc Program728576 +Ref: Wc Program-Footnote-1732831 +Node: Miscellaneous Programs732925 +Node: Dupword Program734138 +Node: Alarm Program736168 +Node: Translate Program741023 +Ref: Translate Program-Footnote-1745588 +Node: Labels Program745858 +Ref: Labels Program-Footnote-1749209 +Node: Word Sorting749293 +Node: History Sorting753365 +Node: Extract Program755200 +Node: Simple Sed762729 +Node: Igawk Program765803 +Ref: Igawk Program-Footnote-1780134 +Ref: Igawk Program-Footnote-2780336 +Ref: Igawk Program-Footnote-3780458 +Node: Anagram Program780573 +Node: Signature Program783635 +Node: Programs Summary784882 +Node: Programs Exercises786096 +Ref: Programs Exercises-Footnote-1790225 +Node: Advanced Features790316 +Node: Nondecimal Data792306 +Node: Array Sorting793897 +Node: Controlling Array Traversal794597 +Ref: Controlling Array Traversal-Footnote-1802964 +Node: Array Sorting Functions803082 +Ref: Array Sorting Functions-Footnote-1808173 +Node: Two-way I/O808369 +Ref: Two-way I/O-Footnote-1814919 +Ref: Two-way I/O-Footnote-2815106 +Node: TCP/IP Networking815188 +Node: Profiling818306 +Ref: Profiling-Footnote-1826799 +Node: Advanced Features Summary827122 +Node: Internationalization828966 +Node: I18N and L10N830446 +Node: Explaining gettext831133 +Ref: Explaining gettext-Footnote-1837025 +Ref: Explaining gettext-Footnote-2837210 +Node: Programmer i18n837375 +Ref: Programmer i18n-Footnote-1842230 +Node: Translator i18n842279 +Node: String Extraction843073 +Ref: String Extraction-Footnote-1844205 +Node: Printf Ordering844291 +Ref: Printf Ordering-Footnote-1847077 +Node: I18N Portability847141 +Ref: I18N Portability-Footnote-1849597 +Node: I18N Example849660 +Ref: I18N Example-Footnote-1852466 +Node: Gawk I18N852539 +Node: I18N Summary853184 +Node: Debugger854525 +Node: Debugging855547 +Node: Debugging Concepts855988 +Node: Debugging Terms857797 +Node: Awk Debugging860372 +Node: Sample Debugging Session861278 +Node: Debugger Invocation861812 +Node: Finding The Bug863198 +Node: List of Debugger Commands869676 +Node: Breakpoint Control871009 +Node: Debugger Execution Control874703 +Node: Viewing And Changing Data878065 +Node: Execution Stack881439 +Node: Debugger Info883076 +Node: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands887147 +Node: Readline Support892235 +Node: Limitations893131 +Ref: Limitations-Footnote-1897362 +Node: Debugging Summary897413 +Node: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic898692 +Node: Computer Arithmetic900108 +Ref: table-numeric-ranges903699 +Ref: Computer Arithmetic-Footnote-1904421 +Node: Math Definitions904478 +Ref: table-ieee-formats907792 +Ref: Math Definitions-Footnote-1908395 +Node: MPFR features908500 +Node: FP Math Caution910217 +Ref: FP Math Caution-Footnote-1911289 +Node: Inexactness of computations911658 +Node: Inexact representation912618 +Node: Comparing FP Values913978 +Node: Errors accumulate915060 +Node: Getting Accuracy916493 +Node: Try To Round919203 +Node: Setting precision920102 +Ref: table-predefined-precision-strings920799 +Node: Setting the rounding mode922629 +Ref: table-gawk-rounding-modes923003 +Ref: Setting the rounding mode-Footnote-1926411 +Node: Arbitrary Precision Integers926590 +Ref: Arbitrary Precision Integers-Footnote-1931507 +Node: POSIX Floating Point Problems931656 +Ref: POSIX Floating Point Problems-Footnote-1935538 +Node: Floating point summary935576 +Node: Dynamic Extensions937766 +Node: Extension Intro939319 +Node: Plugin License940585 +Node: Extension Mechanism Outline941382 +Ref: figure-load-extension941821 +Ref: figure-register-new-function943386 +Ref: figure-call-new-function944478 +Node: Extension API Description946540 +Node: Extension API Functions Introduction948072 +Node: General Data Types952931 +Ref: General Data Types-Footnote-1958886 +Node: Memory Allocation Functions959185 +Ref: Memory Allocation Functions-Footnote-1962030 +Node: Constructor Functions962129 +Node: Registration Functions963874 +Node: Extension Functions964559 +Node: Exit Callback Functions967182 +Node: Extension Version String968432 +Node: Input Parsers969095 +Node: Output Wrappers978977 +Node: Two-way processors983489 +Node: Printing Messages985754 +Ref: Printing Messages-Footnote-1986925 +Node: Updating ERRNO987078 +Node: Requesting Values987817 +Ref: table-value-types-returned988554 +Node: Accessing Parameters989437 +Node: Symbol Table Access990672 +Node: Symbol table by name991184 +Node: Symbol table by cookie993205 +Ref: Symbol table by cookie-Footnote-1997357 +Node: Cached values997421 +Ref: Cached values-Footnote-11000928 +Node: Array Manipulation1001019 +Ref: Array Manipulation-Footnote-11002110 +Node: Array Data Types1002147 +Ref: Array Data Types-Footnote-11004805 +Node: Array Functions1004897 +Node: Flattening Arrays1008755 +Node: Creating Arrays1015663 +Node: Redirection API1020432 +Node: Extension API Variables1023263 +Node: Extension Versioning1023896 +Ref: gawk-api-version1024333 +Node: Extension API Informational Variables1026089 +Node: Extension API Boilerplate1027153 +Node: Finding Extensions1030967 +Node: Extension Example1031526 +Node: Internal File Description1032324 +Node: Internal File Ops1036404 +Ref: Internal File Ops-Footnote-11048166 +Node: Using Internal File Ops1048306 +Ref: Using Internal File Ops-Footnote-11050689 +Node: Extension Samples1050963 +Node: Extension Sample File Functions1052492 +Node: Extension Sample Fnmatch1060141 +Node: Extension Sample Fork1061628 +Node: Extension Sample Inplace1062846 +Node: Extension Sample Ord1066056 +Node: Extension Sample Readdir1066892 +Ref: table-readdir-file-types1067781 +Node: Extension Sample Revout1068586 +Node: Extension Sample Rev2way1069175 +Node: Extension Sample Read write array1069915 +Node: Extension Sample Readfile1071857 +Node: Extension Sample Time1072952 +Node: Extension Sample API Tests1074300 +Node: gawkextlib1074792 +Node: Extension summary1077239 +Node: Extension Exercises1080941 +Node: Language History1082439 +Node: V7/SVR3.11084095 +Node: SVR41086247 +Node: POSIX1087681 +Node: BTL1089060 +Node: POSIX/GNU1089789 +Node: Feature History1095651 +Node: Common Extensions1110021 +Node: Ranges and Locales1111304 +Ref: Ranges and Locales-Footnote-11115920 +Ref: Ranges and Locales-Footnote-21115947 +Ref: Ranges and Locales-Footnote-31116182 +Node: Contributors1116403 +Node: History summary1121963 +Node: Installation1123343 +Node: Gawk Distribution1124287 +Node: Getting1124771 +Node: Extracting1125732 +Node: Distribution contents1127370 +Node: Unix Installation1133455 +Node: Quick Installation1134137 +Node: Shell Startup Files1136551 +Node: Additional Configuration Options1137629 +Node: Configuration Philosophy1139434 +Node: Non-Unix Installation1141803 +Node: PC Installation1142263 +Node: PC Binary Installation1143101 +Node: PC Compiling1143536 +Node: PC Using1144653 +Node: Cygwin1147698 +Node: MSYS1148468 +Node: VMS Installation1148969 +Node: VMS Compilation1149760 +Ref: VMS Compilation-Footnote-11150989 +Node: VMS Dynamic Extensions1151047 +Node: VMS Installation Details1152732 +Node: VMS Running1154985 +Node: VMS GNV1159264 +Node: VMS Old Gawk1159999 +Node: Bugs1160470 +Node: Bug address1161133 +Node: Usenet1163530 +Node: Maintainers1164305 +Node: Other Versions1165681 +Node: Installation summary1172265 +Node: Notes1173300 +Node: Compatibility Mode1174165 +Node: Additions1174947 +Node: Accessing The Source1175872 +Node: Adding Code1177307 +Node: New Ports1183526 +Node: Derived Files1188014 +Ref: Derived Files-Footnote-11193499 +Ref: Derived Files-Footnote-21193534 +Ref: Derived Files-Footnote-31194132 +Node: Future Extensions1194246 +Node: Implementation Limitations1194904 +Node: Extension Design1196087 +Node: Old Extension Problems1197241 +Ref: Old Extension Problems-Footnote-11198759 +Node: Extension New Mechanism Goals1198816 +Ref: Extension New Mechanism Goals-Footnote-11202180 +Node: Extension Other Design Decisions1202369 +Node: Extension Future Growth1204482 +Node: Old Extension Mechanism1205318 +Node: Notes summary1207081 +Node: Basic Concepts1208263 +Node: Basic High Level1208944 +Ref: figure-general-flow1209226 +Ref: figure-process-flow1209911 +Ref: Basic High Level-Footnote-11213212 +Node: Basic Data Typing1213397 +Node: Glossary1216725 +Node: Copying1248672 +Node: GNU Free Documentation License1286211 +Node: Index1311329  End Tag Table diff --git a/doc/gawk.texi b/doc/gawk.texi index adc5c917..3c31cef5 100644 --- a/doc/gawk.texi +++ b/doc/gawk.texi @@ -19379,12 +19379,12 @@ Return the value of @var{val}, shifted right by @var{count} bits. Return the bitwise XOR of the arguments. There must be at least two. @end table -For all of these functions, first the double-precision floating-point value is -converted to the widest C unsigned integer type, then the bitwise operation is -performed. If the result cannot be represented exactly as a C @code{double}, -leading nonzero bits are removed one by one until it can be represented -exactly. The result is then converted back into a C @code{double}. (If -you don't understand this paragraph, don't worry about it.) +@quotation CAUTION +Beginning with @command{gawk} @value{VERSION} 4.2, negative +operands are not allowed for any of these functions. A negative +operand produces a fatal error. See the sidebar +``Beware The Smoke and Mirrors!'' for more information as to why. +@end quotation Here is a user-defined function (@pxref{User-defined}) that illustrates the use of these functions: @@ -19489,6 +19489,128 @@ decimal and octal values for the same numbers and then demonstrates the results of the @code{compl()}, @code{lshift()}, and @code{rshift()} functions. +@cindex sidebar, Beware The Smoke and Mirrors! +@ifdocbook +@docbook +Beware The Smoke and Mirrors! +@end docbook + + +It other languages, bitwise operations are performed on integer values, +not floating-point values. As a general statement, such operations work +best when performed on unsigned integers. + +@command{gawk} attempts to treat the arguments to the bitwise functions +as unsigned integers. For this reason, negative arguments produce a +fatal error. + +In normal operation, for all of these functions, first the +double-precision floating-point value is converted to the widest C +unsigned integer type, then the bitwise operation is performed. If the +result cannot be represented exactly as a C @code{double}, leading +nonzero bits are removed one by one until it can be represented exactly. +The result is then converted back into a C @code{double}.@footnote{If you don't +understand this paragraph, the upshot is that @command{gawk} can only +store a particular range of integer values; numbers outside that range +are reduced to fit within the range.} + +However, when using arbitrary precision arithmetic with the @option{-M} +option (@pxref{Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic}), the results may differ. +This is particularly noticable with the @code{compl()} function: + +@example +$ @kbd{gawk 'BEGIN @{ print compl(42) @}'} +@print{} 9007199254740949 +$ @kbd{gawk -M 'BEGIN @{ print compl(42) @}'} +@print{} -43 +@end example + +What's going on becomes clear when printing the results +in hexadecimal: + +@example +$ @kbd{gawk 'BEGIN @{ printf "%#x\n", compl(42) @}'} +@print{} 0x1fffffffffffd5 +$ @kbd{gawk -M 'BEGIN @{ printf "%#x\n", compl(42) @}'} +@print{} 0xffffffffffffffd5 +@end example + +When using the @option{-M} option, under the hood, @command{gawk} uses +GNU MP arbitrary precision integers which have at least 64 bits of precision. +When not using @option{-M}, @command{gawk} stores integral values in +regular double-precision floating point, which only maintain 53 bits of +precision. Furthermore, the GNU MP library treats (or least seems to treat) +the leading bit as a sign bit; thus the result with @option{-M} in this case is +a negative number. + +In short, using @command{gawk} for any but the simplest kind of bitwise +operations is probably a bad idea; caveat emptor! + + +@docbook + +@end docbook +@end ifdocbook + +@ifnotdocbook +@cartouche +@center @b{Beware The Smoke and Mirrors!} + + + +It other languages, bitwise operations are performed on integer values, +not floating-point values. As a general statement, such operations work +best when performed on unsigned integers. + +@command{gawk} attempts to treat the arguments to the bitwise functions +as unsigned integers. For this reason, negative arguments produce a +fatal error. + +In normal operation, for all of these functions, first the +double-precision floating-point value is converted to the widest C +unsigned integer type, then the bitwise operation is performed. If the +result cannot be represented exactly as a C @code{double}, leading +nonzero bits are removed one by one until it can be represented exactly. +The result is then converted back into a C @code{double}.@footnote{If you don't +understand this paragraph, the upshot is that @command{gawk} can only +store a particular range of integer values; numbers outside that range +are reduced to fit within the range.} + +However, when using arbitrary precision arithmetic with the @option{-M} +option (@pxref{Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic}), the results may differ. +This is particularly noticable with the @code{compl()} function: + +@example +$ @kbd{gawk 'BEGIN @{ print compl(42) @}'} +@print{} 9007199254740949 +$ @kbd{gawk -M 'BEGIN @{ print compl(42) @}'} +@print{} -43 +@end example + +What's going on becomes clear when printing the results +in hexadecimal: + +@example +$ @kbd{gawk 'BEGIN @{ printf "%#x\n", compl(42) @}'} +@print{} 0x1fffffffffffd5 +$ @kbd{gawk -M 'BEGIN @{ printf "%#x\n", compl(42) @}'} +@print{} 0xffffffffffffffd5 +@end example + +When using the @option{-M} option, under the hood, @command{gawk} uses +GNU MP arbitrary precision integers which have at least 64 bits of precision. +When not using @option{-M}, @command{gawk} stores integral values in +regular double-precision floating point, which only maintain 53 bits of +precision. Furthermore, the GNU MP library treats (or least seems to treat) +the leading bit as a sign bit; thus the result with @option{-M} in this case is +a negative number. + +In short, using @command{gawk} for any but the simplest kind of bitwise +operations is probably a bad idea; caveat emptor! + +@end cartouche +@end ifnotdocbook + @node Type Functions @subsection Getting Type Information diff --git a/doc/gawktexi.in b/doc/gawktexi.in index afcf749a..14a1748c 100644 --- a/doc/gawktexi.in +++ b/doc/gawktexi.in @@ -18491,12 +18491,12 @@ Return the value of @var{val}, shifted right by @var{count} bits. Return the bitwise XOR of the arguments. There must be at least two. @end table -For all of these functions, first the double-precision floating-point value is -converted to the widest C unsigned integer type, then the bitwise operation is -performed. If the result cannot be represented exactly as a C @code{double}, -leading nonzero bits are removed one by one until it can be represented -exactly. The result is then converted back into a C @code{double}. (If -you don't understand this paragraph, don't worry about it.) +@quotation CAUTION +Beginning with @command{gawk} @value{VERSION} 4.2, negative +operands are not allowed for any of these functions. A negative +operand produces a fatal error. See the sidebar +``Beware The Smoke and Mirrors!'' for more information as to why. +@end quotation Here is a user-defined function (@pxref{User-defined}) that illustrates the use of these functions: @@ -18601,6 +18601,60 @@ decimal and octal values for the same numbers and then demonstrates the results of the @code{compl()}, @code{lshift()}, and @code{rshift()} functions. +@sidebar Beware The Smoke and Mirrors! + +It other languages, bitwise operations are performed on integer values, +not floating-point values. As a general statement, such operations work +best when performed on unsigned integers. + +@command{gawk} attempts to treat the arguments to the bitwise functions +as unsigned integers. For this reason, negative arguments produce a +fatal error. + +In normal operation, for all of these functions, first the +double-precision floating-point value is converted to the widest C +unsigned integer type, then the bitwise operation is performed. If the +result cannot be represented exactly as a C @code{double}, leading +nonzero bits are removed one by one until it can be represented exactly. +The result is then converted back into a C @code{double}.@footnote{If you don't +understand this paragraph, the upshot is that @command{gawk} can only +store a particular range of integer values; numbers outside that range +are reduced to fit within the range.} + +However, when using arbitrary precision arithmetic with the @option{-M} +option (@pxref{Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic}), the results may differ. +This is particularly noticable with the @code{compl()} function: + +@example +$ @kbd{gawk 'BEGIN @{ print compl(42) @}'} +@print{} 9007199254740949 +$ @kbd{gawk -M 'BEGIN @{ print compl(42) @}'} +@print{} -43 +@end example + +What's going on becomes clear when printing the results +in hexadecimal: + +@example +$ @kbd{gawk 'BEGIN @{ printf "%#x\n", compl(42) @}'} +@print{} 0x1fffffffffffd5 +$ @kbd{gawk -M 'BEGIN @{ printf "%#x\n", compl(42) @}'} +@print{} 0xffffffffffffffd5 +@end example + +When using the @option{-M} option, under the hood, @command{gawk} uses +GNU MP arbitrary precision integers which have at least 64 bits of precision. +When not using @option{-M}, @command{gawk} stores integral values in +regular double-precision floating point, which only maintain 53 bits of +precision. Furthermore, the GNU MP library treats (or least seems to treat) +the leading bit as a sign bit; thus the result with @option{-M} in this case is +a negative number. + +In short, using @command{gawk} for any but the simplest kind of bitwise +operations is probably a bad idea; caveat emptor! + +@end sidebar + @node Type Functions @subsection Getting Type Information diff --git a/mpfr.c b/mpfr.c index c3795d21..cdcc9bb2 100644 --- a/mpfr.c +++ b/mpfr.c @@ -813,11 +813,11 @@ do_mpfr_compl(int nargs) /* [+-]inf or NaN */ return tmp; } - if (do_lint) { - if (mpfr_sgn(p) < 0) - lintwarn("%s", - mpg_fmt(_("compl(%Rg): negative value will give strange results"), p) + if (mpfr_sgn(p) < 0) + fatal("%s", + mpg_fmt(_("compl(%Rg): negative value is not allowed"), p) ); + if (do_lint) { if (! mpfr_integer_p(p)) lintwarn("%s", mpg_fmt(_("comp(%Rg): fractional value will be truncated"), p) @@ -829,12 +829,10 @@ do_mpfr_compl(int nargs) } else { /* (tmp->flags & MPZN) != 0 */ zptr = tmp->mpg_i; - if (do_lint) { - if (mpz_sgn(zptr) < 0) - lintwarn("%s", - mpg_fmt(_("cmpl(%Zd): negative values will give strange results"), zptr) + if (mpz_sgn(zptr) < 0) + fatal("%s", + mpg_fmt(_("compl(%Zd): negative values is not allowed"), zptr) ); - } } r = mpg_integer(); @@ -870,13 +868,13 @@ get_intval(NODE *t1, int argnum, const char *op) return pz; /* should be freed */ } - if (do_lint) { - if (mpfr_sgn(left) < 0) - lintwarn("%s", - mpg_fmt(_("%s: argument #%d negative value %Rg will give strange results"), + if (mpfr_sgn(left) < 0) + fatal("%s", + mpg_fmt(_("%s: argument #%d negative value %Rg is not allowed"), op, argnum, left) ); + if (do_lint) { if (! mpfr_integer_p(left)) lintwarn("%s", mpg_fmt(_("%s: argument #%d fractional value %Rg will be truncated"), @@ -891,13 +889,12 @@ get_intval(NODE *t1, int argnum, const char *op) } /* (t1->flags & MPZN) != 0 */ pz = t1->mpg_i; - if (do_lint) { - if (mpz_sgn(pz) < 0) - lintwarn("%s", - mpg_fmt(_("%s: argument #%d negative value %Zd will give strange results"), + if (mpz_sgn(pz) < 0) + fatal("%s", + mpg_fmt(_("%s: argument #%d negative value %Zd is not allowed"), op, argnum, pz) ); - } + return pz; /* must not be freed */ } -- cgit v1.2.3 From 8231da563c810ce210ce309ee1a022bad22a1e13 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Arnold D. Robbins" Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2016 21:38:59 +0300 Subject: Remove info files from repo. No need to keep updating them. --- doc/gawk.info | 35781 ---------------------------------------------------- doc/gawkinet.info | 4406 ------- 2 files changed, 40187 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 doc/gawk.info delete mode 100644 doc/gawkinet.info diff --git a/doc/gawk.info b/doc/gawk.info deleted file mode 100644 index b8ab365a..00000000 --- a/doc/gawk.info +++ /dev/null @@ -1,35781 +0,0 @@ -This is gawk.info, produced by makeinfo version 6.1 from gawk.texi. - -Copyright (C) 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996-2005, 2007, 2009-2016 -Free Software Foundation, Inc. - - - This is Edition 4.1 of 'GAWK: Effective AWK Programming: A User's -Guide for GNU Awk', for the 4.1.4 (or later) version of the GNU -implementation of AWK. - - Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document -under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or -any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the -Invariant Sections being "GNU General Public License", with the -Front-Cover Texts being "A GNU Manual", and with the Back-Cover Texts as -in (a) below. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled -"GNU Free Documentation License". - - a. The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: "You have the freedom to copy and - modify this GNU manual." -INFO-DIR-SECTION Text creation and manipulation -START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY -* Gawk: (gawk). A text scanning and processing language. -END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY - -INFO-DIR-SECTION Individual utilities -START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY -* awk: (gawk)Invoking gawk. Text scanning and processing. -END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Top, Next: Foreword3, Up: (dir) - -General Introduction -******************** - -This file documents 'awk', a program that you can use to select -particular records in a file and perform operations upon them. - - Copyright (C) 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996-2005, 2007, 2009-2016 -Free Software Foundation, Inc. - - - This is Edition 4.1 of 'GAWK: Effective AWK Programming: A User's -Guide for GNU Awk', for the 4.1.4 (or later) version of the GNU -implementation of AWK. - - Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document -under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or -any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the -Invariant Sections being "GNU General Public License", with the -Front-Cover Texts being "A GNU Manual", and with the Back-Cover Texts as -in (a) below. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled -"GNU Free Documentation License". - - a. The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: "You have the freedom to copy and - modify this GNU manual." - -* Menu: - -* Foreword3:: Some nice words about this - Info file. -* Foreword4:: More nice words. -* Preface:: What this Info file is about; brief - history and acknowledgments. -* Getting Started:: A basic introduction to using - 'awk'. How to run an 'awk' - program. Command-line syntax. -* Invoking Gawk:: How to run 'gawk'. -* Regexp:: All about matching things using regular - expressions. -* Reading Files:: How to read files and manipulate fields. -* Printing:: How to print using 'awk'. Describes - the 'print' and 'printf' - statements. Also describes redirection of - output. -* Expressions:: Expressions are the basic building blocks - of statements. -* Patterns and Actions:: Overviews of patterns and actions. -* Arrays:: The description and use of arrays. Also - includes array-oriented control statements. -* Functions:: Built-in and user-defined functions. -* Library Functions:: A Library of 'awk' Functions. -* Sample Programs:: Many 'awk' programs with complete - explanations. -* Advanced Features:: Stuff for advanced users, specific to - 'gawk'. -* Internationalization:: Getting 'gawk' to speak your - language. -* Debugger:: The 'gawk' debugger. -* Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic:: Arbitrary precision arithmetic with - 'gawk'. -* Dynamic Extensions:: Adding new built-in functions to - 'gawk'. -* Language History:: The evolution of the 'awk' - language. -* Installation:: Installing 'gawk' under various - operating systems. -* Notes:: Notes about adding things to 'gawk' - and possible future work. -* Basic Concepts:: A very quick introduction to programming - concepts. -* Glossary:: An explanation of some unfamiliar terms. -* Copying:: Your right to copy and distribute - 'gawk'. -* GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this Info file. -* Index:: Concept and Variable Index. - -* History:: The history of 'gawk' and - 'awk'. -* Names:: What name to use to find - 'awk'. -* This Manual:: Using this Info file. Includes - sample input files that you can use. -* Conventions:: Typographical Conventions. -* Manual History:: Brief history of the GNU project and - this Info file. -* How To Contribute:: Helping to save the world. -* Acknowledgments:: Acknowledgments. -* Running gawk:: How to run 'gawk' programs; - includes command-line syntax. -* One-shot:: Running a short throwaway - 'awk' program. -* Read Terminal:: Using no input files (input from the - keyboard instead). -* Long:: Putting permanent 'awk' - programs in files. -* Executable Scripts:: Making self-contained 'awk' - programs. -* Comments:: Adding documentation to 'gawk' - programs. -* Quoting:: More discussion of shell quoting - issues. -* DOS Quoting:: Quoting in Windows Batch Files. -* Sample Data Files:: Sample data files for use in the - 'awk' programs illustrated in - this Info file. -* Very Simple:: A very simple example. -* Two Rules:: A less simple one-line example using - two rules. -* More Complex:: A more complex example. -* Statements/Lines:: Subdividing or combining statements - into lines. -* Other Features:: Other Features of 'awk'. -* When:: When to use 'gawk' and when to - use other things. -* Intro Summary:: Summary of the introduction. -* Command Line:: How to run 'awk'. -* Options:: Command-line options and their - meanings. -* Other Arguments:: Input file names and variable - assignments. -* Naming Standard Input:: How to specify standard input with - other files. -* Environment Variables:: The environment variables - 'gawk' uses. -* AWKPATH Variable:: Searching directories for - 'awk' programs. -* AWKLIBPATH Variable:: Searching directories for - 'awk' shared libraries. -* Other Environment Variables:: The environment variables. -* Exit Status:: 'gawk''s exit status. -* Include Files:: Including other files into your - program. -* Loading Shared Libraries:: Loading shared libraries into your - program. -* Obsolete:: Obsolete Options and/or features. -* Undocumented:: Undocumented Options and Features. -* Invoking Summary:: Invocation summary. -* Regexp Usage:: How to Use Regular Expressions. -* Escape Sequences:: How to write nonprinting characters. -* Regexp Operators:: Regular Expression Operators. -* Bracket Expressions:: What can go between '[...]'. -* Leftmost Longest:: How much text matches. -* Computed Regexps:: Using Dynamic Regexps. -* GNU Regexp Operators:: Operators specific to GNU software. -* Case-sensitivity:: How to do case-insensitive matching. -* Strong Regexp Constants:: Strongly typed regexp constants. -* Regexp Summary:: Regular expressions summary. -* Records:: Controlling how data is split into - records. -* awk split records:: How standard 'awk' splits - records. -* gawk split records:: How 'gawk' splits records. -* Fields:: An introduction to fields. -* Nonconstant Fields:: Nonconstant Field Numbers. -* Changing Fields:: Changing the Contents of a Field. -* Field Separators:: The field separator and how to change - it. -* Default Field Splitting:: How fields are normally separated. -* Regexp Field Splitting:: Using regexps as the field separator. -* Single Character Fields:: Making each character a separate - field. -* Command Line Field Separator:: Setting 'FS' from the command - line. -* Full Line Fields:: Making the full line be a single - field. -* Field Splitting Summary:: Some final points and a summary table. -* Constant Size:: Reading constant width data. -* Splitting By Content:: Defining Fields By Content -* Multiple Line:: Reading multiline records. -* Getline:: Reading files under explicit program - control using the 'getline' - function. -* Plain Getline:: Using 'getline' with no - arguments. -* Getline/Variable:: Using 'getline' into a variable. -* Getline/File:: Using 'getline' from a file. -* Getline/Variable/File:: Using 'getline' into a variable - from a file. -* Getline/Pipe:: Using 'getline' from a pipe. -* Getline/Variable/Pipe:: Using 'getline' into a variable - from a pipe. -* Getline/Coprocess:: Using 'getline' from a coprocess. -* Getline/Variable/Coprocess:: Using 'getline' into a variable - from a coprocess. -* Getline Notes:: Important things to know about - 'getline'. -* Getline Summary:: Summary of 'getline' Variants. -* Read Timeout:: Reading input with a timeout. -* Retrying Input:: Retrying input after certain errors. -* Command-line directories:: What happens if you put a directory on - the command line. -* Input Summary:: Input summary. -* Input Exercises:: Exercises. -* Print:: The 'print' statement. -* Print Examples:: Simple examples of 'print' - statements. -* Output Separators:: The output separators and how to - change them. -* OFMT:: Controlling Numeric Output With - 'print'. -* Printf:: The 'printf' statement. -* Basic Printf:: Syntax of the 'printf' statement. -* Control Letters:: Format-control letters. -* Format Modifiers:: Format-specification modifiers. -* Printf Examples:: Several examples. -* Redirection:: How to redirect output to multiple - files and pipes. -* Special FD:: Special files for I/O. -* Special Files:: File name interpretation in - 'gawk'. 'gawk' allows - access to inherited file descriptors. -* Other Inherited Files:: Accessing other open files with - 'gawk'. -* Special Network:: Special files for network - communications. -* Special Caveats:: Things to watch out for. -* Close Files And Pipes:: Closing Input and Output Files and - Pipes. -* Nonfatal:: Enabling Nonfatal Output. -* Output Summary:: Output summary. -* Output Exercises:: Exercises. -* Values:: Constants, Variables, and Regular - Expressions. -* Constants:: String, numeric and regexp constants. -* Scalar Constants:: Numeric and string constants. -* Nondecimal-numbers:: What are octal and hex numbers. -* Regexp Constants:: Regular Expression constants. -* Using Constant Regexps:: When and how to use a regexp constant. -* Variables:: Variables give names to values for - later use. -* Using Variables:: Using variables in your programs. -* Assignment Options:: Setting variables on the command line - and a summary of command-line syntax. - This is an advanced method of input. -* Conversion:: The conversion of strings to numbers - and vice versa. -* Strings And Numbers:: How 'awk' Converts Between - Strings And Numbers. -* Locale influences conversions:: How the locale may affect conversions. -* All Operators:: 'gawk''s operators. -* Arithmetic Ops:: Arithmetic operations ('+', - '-', etc.) -* Concatenation:: Concatenating strings. -* Assignment Ops:: Changing the value of a variable or a - field. -* Increment Ops:: Incrementing the numeric value of a - variable. -* Truth Values and Conditions:: Testing for true and false. -* Truth Values:: What is "true" and what is - "false". -* Typing and Comparison:: How variables acquire types and how - this affects comparison of numbers and - strings with '<', etc. -* Variable Typing:: String type versus numeric type. -* Comparison Operators:: The comparison operators. -* POSIX String Comparison:: String comparison with POSIX rules. -* Boolean Ops:: Combining comparison expressions using - boolean operators '||' ("or"), - '&&' ("and") and '!' - ("not"). -* Conditional Exp:: Conditional expressions select between - two subexpressions under control of a - third subexpression. -* Function Calls:: A function call is an expression. -* Precedence:: How various operators nest. -* Locales:: How the locale affects things. -* Expressions Summary:: Expressions summary. -* Pattern Overview:: What goes into a pattern. -* Regexp Patterns:: Using regexps as patterns. -* Expression Patterns:: Any expression can be used as a - pattern. -* Ranges:: Pairs of patterns specify record - ranges. -* BEGIN/END:: Specifying initialization and cleanup - rules. -* Using BEGIN/END:: How and why to use BEGIN/END rules. -* I/O And BEGIN/END:: I/O issues in BEGIN/END rules. -* BEGINFILE/ENDFILE:: Two special patterns for advanced - control. -* Empty:: The empty pattern, which matches every - record. -* Using Shell Variables:: How to use shell variables with - 'awk'. -* Action Overview:: What goes into an action. -* Statements:: Describes the various control - statements in detail. -* If Statement:: Conditionally execute some - 'awk' statements. -* While Statement:: Loop until some condition is - satisfied. -* Do Statement:: Do specified action while looping - until some condition is satisfied. -* For Statement:: Another looping statement, that - provides initialization and increment - clauses. -* Switch Statement:: Switch/case evaluation for conditional - execution of statements based on a - value. -* Break Statement:: Immediately exit the innermost - enclosing loop. -* Continue Statement:: Skip to the end of the innermost - enclosing loop. -* Next Statement:: Stop processing the current input - record. -* Nextfile Statement:: Stop processing the current file. -* Exit Statement:: Stop execution of 'awk'. -* Built-in Variables:: Summarizes the predefined variables. -* User-modified:: Built-in variables that you change to - control 'awk'. -* Auto-set:: Built-in variables where 'awk' - gives you information. -* ARGC and ARGV:: Ways to use 'ARGC' and - 'ARGV'. -* Pattern Action Summary:: Patterns and Actions summary. -* Array Basics:: The basics of arrays. -* Array Intro:: Introduction to Arrays -* Reference to Elements:: How to examine one element of an - array. -* Assigning Elements:: How to change an element of an array. -* Array Example:: Basic Example of an Array -* Scanning an Array:: A variation of the 'for' - statement. It loops through the - indices of an array's existing - elements. -* Controlling Scanning:: Controlling the order in which arrays - are scanned. -* Numeric Array Subscripts:: How to use numbers as subscripts in - 'awk'. -* Uninitialized Subscripts:: Using Uninitialized variables as - subscripts. -* Delete:: The 'delete' statement removes an - element from an array. -* Multidimensional:: Emulating multidimensional arrays in - 'awk'. -* Multiscanning:: Scanning multidimensional arrays. -* Arrays of Arrays:: True multidimensional arrays. -* Arrays Summary:: Summary of arrays. -* Built-in:: Summarizes the built-in functions. -* Calling Built-in:: How to call built-in functions. -* Numeric Functions:: Functions that work with numbers, - including 'int()', 'sin()' - and 'rand()'. -* String Functions:: Functions for string manipulation, - such as 'split()', 'match()' - and 'sprintf()'. -* Gory Details:: More than you want to know about - '\' and '&' with - 'sub()', 'gsub()', and - 'gensub()'. -* I/O Functions:: Functions for files and shell - commands. -* Time Functions:: Functions for dealing with timestamps. -* Bitwise Functions:: Functions for bitwise operations. -* Type Functions:: Functions for type information. -* I18N Functions:: Functions for string translation. -* User-defined:: Describes User-defined functions in - detail. -* Definition Syntax:: How to write definitions and what they - mean. -* Function Example:: An example function definition and - what it does. -* Function Caveats:: Things to watch out for. -* Calling A Function:: Don't use spaces. -* Variable Scope:: Controlling variable scope. -* Pass By Value/Reference:: Passing parameters. -* Return Statement:: Specifying the value a function - returns. -* Dynamic Typing:: How variable types can change at - runtime. -* Indirect Calls:: Choosing the function to call at - runtime. -* Functions Summary:: Summary of functions. -* Library Names:: How to best name private global - variables in library functions. -* General Functions:: Functions that are of general use. -* Strtonum Function:: A replacement for the built-in - 'strtonum()' function. -* Assert Function:: A function for assertions in - 'awk' programs. -* Round Function:: A function for rounding if - 'sprintf()' does not do it - correctly. -* Cliff Random Function:: The Cliff Random Number Generator. -* Ordinal Functions:: Functions for using characters as - numbers and vice versa. -* Join Function:: A function to join an array into a - string. -* Getlocaltime Function:: A function to get formatted times. -* Readfile Function:: A function to read an entire file at - once. -* Shell Quoting:: A function to quote strings for the - shell. -* Data File Management:: Functions for managing command-line - data files. -* Filetrans Function:: A function for handling data file - transitions. -* Rewind Function:: A function for rereading the current - file. -* File Checking:: Checking that data files are readable. -* Empty Files:: Checking for zero-length files. -* Ignoring Assigns:: Treating assignments as file names. -* Getopt Function:: A function for processing command-line - arguments. -* Passwd Functions:: Functions for getting user - information. -* Group Functions:: Functions for getting group - information. -* Walking Arrays:: A function to walk arrays of arrays. -* Library Functions Summary:: Summary of library functions. -* Library Exercises:: Exercises. -* Running Examples:: How to run these examples. -* Clones:: Clones of common utilities. -* Cut Program:: The 'cut' utility. -* Egrep Program:: The 'egrep' utility. -* Id Program:: The 'id' utility. -* Split Program:: The 'split' utility. -* Tee Program:: The 'tee' utility. -* Uniq Program:: The 'uniq' utility. -* Wc Program:: The 'wc' utility. -* Miscellaneous Programs:: Some interesting 'awk' - programs. -* Dupword Program:: Finding duplicated words in a - document. -* Alarm Program:: An alarm clock. -* Translate Program:: A program similar to the 'tr' - utility. -* Labels Program:: Printing mailing labels. -* Word Sorting:: A program to produce a word usage - count. -* History Sorting:: Eliminating duplicate entries from a - history file. -* Extract Program:: Pulling out programs from Texinfo - source files. -* Simple Sed:: A Simple Stream Editor. -* Igawk Program:: A wrapper for 'awk' that - includes files. -* Anagram Program:: Finding anagrams from a dictionary. -* Signature Program:: People do amazing things with too much - time on their hands. -* Programs Summary:: Summary of programs. -* Programs Exercises:: Exercises. -* Nondecimal Data:: Allowing nondecimal input data. -* Array Sorting:: Facilities for controlling array - traversal and sorting arrays. -* Controlling Array Traversal:: How to use PROCINFO["sorted_in"]. -* Array Sorting Functions:: How to use 'asort()' and - 'asorti()'. -* Two-way I/O:: Two-way communications with another - process. -* TCP/IP Networking:: Using 'gawk' for network - programming. -* Profiling:: Profiling your 'awk' programs. -* Advanced Features Summary:: Summary of advanced features. -* I18N and L10N:: Internationalization and Localization. -* Explaining gettext:: How GNU 'gettext' works. -* Programmer i18n:: Features for the programmer. -* Translator i18n:: Features for the translator. -* String Extraction:: Extracting marked strings. -* Printf Ordering:: Rearranging 'printf' arguments. -* I18N Portability:: 'awk'-level portability - issues. -* I18N Example:: A simple i18n example. -* Gawk I18N:: 'gawk' is also - internationalized. -* I18N Summary:: Summary of I18N stuff. -* Debugging:: Introduction to 'gawk' - debugger. -* Debugging Concepts:: Debugging in General. -* Debugging Terms:: Additional Debugging Concepts. -* Awk Debugging:: Awk Debugging. -* Sample Debugging Session:: Sample debugging session. -* Debugger Invocation:: How to Start the Debugger. -* Finding The Bug:: Finding the Bug. -* List of Debugger Commands:: Main debugger commands. -* Breakpoint Control:: Control of Breakpoints. -* Debugger Execution Control:: Control of Execution. -* Viewing And Changing Data:: Viewing and Changing Data. -* Execution Stack:: Dealing with the Stack. -* Debugger Info:: Obtaining Information about the - Program and the Debugger State. -* Miscellaneous Debugger Commands:: Miscellaneous Commands. -* Readline Support:: Readline support. -* Limitations:: Limitations and future plans. -* Debugging Summary:: Debugging summary. -* Computer Arithmetic:: A quick intro to computer math. -* Math Definitions:: Defining terms used. -* MPFR features:: The MPFR features in 'gawk'. -* FP Math Caution:: Things to know. -* Inexactness of computations:: Floating point math is not exact. -* Inexact representation:: Numbers are not exactly represented. -* Comparing FP Values:: How to compare floating point values. -* Errors accumulate:: Errors get bigger as they go. -* Getting Accuracy:: Getting more accuracy takes some work. -* Try To Round:: Add digits and round. -* Setting precision:: How to set the precision. -* Setting the rounding mode:: How to set the rounding mode. -* Arbitrary Precision Integers:: Arbitrary Precision Integer Arithmetic - with 'gawk'. -* POSIX Floating Point Problems:: Standards Versus Existing Practice. -* Floating point summary:: Summary of floating point discussion. -* Extension Intro:: What is an extension. -* Plugin License:: A note about licensing. -* Extension Mechanism Outline:: An outline of how it works. -* Extension API Description:: A full description of the API. -* Extension API Functions Introduction:: Introduction to the API functions. -* General Data Types:: The data types. -* Memory Allocation Functions:: Functions for allocating memory. -* Constructor Functions:: Functions for creating values. -* Registration Functions:: Functions to register things with - 'gawk'. -* Extension Functions:: Registering extension functions. -* Exit Callback Functions:: Registering an exit callback. -* Extension Version String:: Registering a version string. -* Input Parsers:: Registering an input parser. -* Output Wrappers:: Registering an output wrapper. -* Two-way processors:: Registering a two-way processor. -* Printing Messages:: Functions for printing messages. -* Updating ERRNO:: Functions for updating 'ERRNO'. -* Requesting Values:: How to get a value. -* Accessing Parameters:: Functions for accessing parameters. -* Symbol Table Access:: Functions for accessing global - variables. -* Symbol table by name:: Accessing variables by name. -* Symbol table by cookie:: Accessing variables by "cookie". -* Cached values:: Creating and using cached values. -* Array Manipulation:: Functions for working with arrays. -* Array Data Types:: Data types for working with arrays. -* Array Functions:: Functions for working with arrays. -* Flattening Arrays:: How to flatten arrays. -* Creating Arrays:: How to create and populate arrays. -* Redirection API:: How to access and manipulate redirections. -* Extension API Variables:: Variables provided by the API. -* Extension Versioning:: API Version information. -* Extension API Informational Variables:: Variables providing information about - 'gawk''s invocation. -* Extension API Boilerplate:: Boilerplate code for using the API. -* Finding Extensions:: How 'gawk' finds compiled - extensions. -* Extension Example:: Example C code for an extension. -* Internal File Description:: What the new functions will do. -* Internal File Ops:: The code for internal file operations. -* Using Internal File Ops:: How to use an external extension. -* Extension Samples:: The sample extensions that ship with - 'gawk'. -* Extension Sample File Functions:: The file functions sample. -* Extension Sample Fnmatch:: An interface to 'fnmatch()'. -* Extension Sample Fork:: An interface to 'fork()' and - other process functions. -* Extension Sample Inplace:: Enabling in-place file editing. -* Extension Sample Ord:: Character to value to character - conversions. -* Extension Sample Readdir:: An interface to 'readdir()'. -* Extension Sample Revout:: Reversing output sample output - wrapper. -* Extension Sample Rev2way:: Reversing data sample two-way - processor. -* Extension Sample Read write array:: Serializing an array to a file. -* Extension Sample Readfile:: Reading an entire file into a string. -* Extension Sample Time:: An interface to 'gettimeofday()' - and 'sleep()'. -* Extension Sample API Tests:: Tests for the API. -* gawkextlib:: The 'gawkextlib' project. -* Extension summary:: Extension summary. -* Extension Exercises:: Exercises. -* V7/SVR3.1:: The major changes between V7 and - System V Release 3.1. -* SVR4:: Minor changes between System V - Releases 3.1 and 4. -* POSIX:: New features from the POSIX standard. -* BTL:: New features from Brian Kernighan's - version of 'awk'. -* POSIX/GNU:: The extensions in 'gawk' not - in POSIX 'awk'. -* Feature History:: The history of the features in - 'gawk'. -* Common Extensions:: Common Extensions Summary. -* Ranges and Locales:: How locales used to affect regexp - ranges. -* Contributors:: The major contributors to - 'gawk'. -* History summary:: History summary. -* Gawk Distribution:: What is in the 'gawk' - distribution. -* Getting:: How to get the distribution. -* Extracting:: How to extract the distribution. -* Distribution contents:: What is in the distribution. -* Unix Installation:: Installing 'gawk' under - various versions of Unix. -* Quick Installation:: Compiling 'gawk' under Unix. -* Shell Startup Files:: Shell convenience functions. -* Additional Configuration Options:: Other compile-time options. -* Configuration Philosophy:: How it's all supposed to work. -* Non-Unix Installation:: Installation on Other Operating - Systems. -* PC Installation:: Installing and Compiling 'gawk' on - Microsoft Windows. -* PC Binary Installation:: Installing a prepared distribution. -* PC Compiling:: Compiling 'gawk' for Windows32. -* PC Using:: Running 'gawk' on Windows32. -* Cygwin:: Building and running 'gawk' - for Cygwin. -* MSYS:: Using 'gawk' In The MSYS - Environment. -* VMS Installation:: Installing 'gawk' on VMS. -* VMS Compilation:: How to compile 'gawk' under - VMS. -* VMS Dynamic Extensions:: Compiling 'gawk' dynamic - extensions on VMS. -* VMS Installation Details:: How to install 'gawk' under - VMS. -* VMS Running:: How to run 'gawk' under VMS. -* VMS GNV:: The VMS GNV Project. -* VMS Old Gawk:: An old version comes with some VMS - systems. -* Bugs:: Reporting Problems and Bugs. -* Bug address:: Where to send reports to. -* Usenet:: Where not to send reports to. -* Maintainers:: Maintainers of non-*nix ports. -* Other Versions:: Other freely available 'awk' - implementations. -* Installation summary:: Summary of installation. -* Compatibility Mode:: How to disable certain 'gawk' - extensions. -* Additions:: Making Additions To 'gawk'. -* Accessing The Source:: Accessing the Git repository. -* Adding Code:: Adding code to the main body of - 'gawk'. -* New Ports:: Porting 'gawk' to a new - operating system. -* Derived Files:: Why derived files are kept in the Git - repository. -* Future Extensions:: New features that may be implemented - one day. -* Implementation Limitations:: Some limitations of the - implementation. -* Extension Design:: Design notes about the extension API. -* Old Extension Problems:: Problems with the old mechanism. -* Extension New Mechanism Goals:: Goals for the new mechanism. -* Extension Other Design Decisions:: Some other design decisions. -* Extension Future Growth:: Some room for future growth. -* Old Extension Mechanism:: Some compatibility for old extensions. -* Notes summary:: Summary of implementation notes. -* Basic High Level:: The high level view. -* Basic Data Typing:: A very quick intro to data types. - - To my parents, for their love, and for the wonderful example they set -for me. - - To my wife Miriam, for making me complete. Thank you for building -your life together with me. - - To our children Chana, Rivka, Nachum and Malka, for enrichening our -lives in innumerable ways. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Foreword3, Next: Foreword4, Prev: Top, Up: Top - -Foreword to the Third Edition -***************************** - -Arnold Robbins and I are good friends. We were introduced in 1990 by -circumstances--and our favorite programming language, AWK. The -circumstances started a couple of years earlier. I was working at a new -job and noticed an unplugged Unix computer sitting in the corner. No -one knew how to use it, and neither did I. However, a couple of days -later, it was running, and I was 'root' and the one-and-only user. That -day, I began the transition from statistician to Unix programmer. - - On one of many trips to the library or bookstore in search of books -on Unix, I found the gray AWK book, a.k.a. Alfred V. Aho, Brian W. -Kernighan, and Peter J. Weinberger's 'The AWK Programming Language' -(Addison-Wesley, 1988). 'awk''s simple programming paradigm--find a -pattern in the input and then perform an action--often reduced complex -or tedious data manipulations to a few lines of code. I was excited to -try my hand at programming in AWK. - - Alas, the 'awk' on my computer was a limited version of the language -described in the gray book. I discovered that my computer had "old -'awk'" and the book described "new 'awk'." I learned that this was -typical; the old version refused to step aside or relinquish its name. -If a system had a new 'awk', it was invariably called 'nawk', and few -systems had it. The best way to get a new 'awk' was to 'ftp' the source -code for 'gawk' from 'prep.ai.mit.edu'. 'gawk' was a version of new -'awk' written by David Trueman and Arnold, and available under the GNU -General Public License. - - (Incidentally, it's no longer difficult to find a new 'awk'. 'gawk' -ships with GNU/Linux, and you can download binaries or source code for -almost any system; my wife uses 'gawk' on her VMS box.) - - My Unix system started out unplugged from the wall; it certainly was -not plugged into a network. So, oblivious to the existence of 'gawk' -and the Unix community in general, and desiring a new 'awk', I wrote my -own, called 'mawk'. Before I was finished, I knew about 'gawk', but it -was too late to stop, so I eventually posted to a 'comp.sources' -newsgroup. - - A few days after my posting, I got a friendly email from Arnold -introducing himself. He suggested we share design and algorithms and -attached a draft of the POSIX standard so that I could update 'mawk' to -support language extensions added after publication of 'The AWK -Programming Language'. - - Frankly, if our roles had been reversed, I would not have been so -open and we probably would have never met. I'm glad we did meet. He is -an AWK expert's AWK expert and a genuinely nice person. Arnold -contributes significant amounts of his expertise and time to the Free -Software Foundation. - - This book is the 'gawk' reference manual, but at its core it is a -book about AWK programming that will appeal to a wide audience. It is a -definitive reference to the AWK language as defined by the 1987 Bell -Laboratories release and codified in the 1992 POSIX Utilities standard. - - On the other hand, the novice AWK programmer can study a wealth of -practical programs that emphasize the power of AWK's basic idioms: -data-driven control flow, pattern matching with regular expressions, and -associative arrays. Those looking for something new can try out -'gawk''s interface to network protocols via special '/inet' files. - - The programs in this book make clear that an AWK program is typically -much smaller and faster to develop than a counterpart written in C. -Consequently, there is often a payoff to prototyping an algorithm or -design in AWK to get it running quickly and expose problems early. -Often, the interpreted performance is adequate and the AWK prototype -becomes the product. - - The new 'pgawk' (profiling 'gawk'), produces program execution -counts. I recently experimented with an algorithm that for n lines of -input, exhibited ~ C n^2 performance, while theory predicted ~ C n log n -behavior. A few minutes poring over the 'awkprof.out' profile -pinpointed the problem to a single line of code. 'pgawk' is a welcome -addition to my programmer's toolbox. - - Arnold has distilled over a decade of experience writing and using -AWK programs, and developing 'gawk', into this book. If you use AWK or -want to learn how, then read this book. - - Michael Brennan - Author of 'mawk' - March 2001 - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Foreword4, Next: Preface, Prev: Foreword3, Up: Top - -Foreword to the Fourth Edition -****************************** - -Some things don't change. Thirteen years ago I wrote: "If you use AWK -or want to learn how, then read this book." True then, and still true -today. - - Learning to use a programming language is about more than mastering -the syntax. One needs to acquire an understanding of how to use the -features of the language to solve practical programming problems. A -focus of this book is many examples that show how to use AWK. - - Some things do change. Our computers are much faster and have more -memory. Consequently, speed and storage inefficiencies of a high-level -language matter less. Prototyping in AWK and then rewriting in C for -performance reasons happens less, because more often the prototype is -fast enough. - - Of course, there are computing operations that are best done in C or -C++. With 'gawk' 4.1 and later, you do not have to choose between -writing your program in AWK or in C/C++. You can write most of your -program in AWK and the aspects that require C/C++ capabilities can be -written in C/C++, and then the pieces glued together when the 'gawk' -module loads the C/C++ module as a dynamic plug-in. *note Dynamic -Extensions::, has all the details, and, as expected, many examples to -help you learn the ins and outs. - - I enjoy programming in AWK and had fun (re)reading this book. I -think you will too. - - Michael Brennan - Author of 'mawk' - October 2014 - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Preface, Next: Getting Started, Prev: Foreword4, Up: Top - -Preface -******* - -Several kinds of tasks occur repeatedly when working with text files. -You might want to extract certain lines and discard the rest. Or you -may need to make changes wherever certain patterns appear, but leave the -rest of the file alone. Such jobs are often easy with 'awk'. The 'awk' -utility interprets a special-purpose programming language that makes it -easy to handle simple data-reformatting jobs. - - The GNU implementation of 'awk' is called 'gawk'; if you invoke it -with the proper options or environment variables, it is fully compatible -with the POSIX(1) specification of the 'awk' language and with the Unix -version of 'awk' maintained by Brian Kernighan. This means that all -properly written 'awk' programs should work with 'gawk'. So most of the -time, we don't distinguish between 'gawk' and other 'awk' -implementations. - - Using 'awk' you can: - - * Manage small, personal databases - - * Generate reports - - * Validate data - - * Produce indexes and perform other document-preparation tasks - - * Experiment with algorithms that you can adapt later to other - computer languages - - In addition, 'gawk' provides facilities that make it easy to: - - * Extract bits and pieces of data for processing - - * Sort data - - * Perform simple network communications - - * Profile and debug 'awk' programs - - * Extend the language with functions written in C or C++ - - This Info file teaches you about the 'awk' language and how you can -use it effectively. You should already be familiar with basic system -commands, such as 'cat' and 'ls',(2) as well as basic shell facilities, -such as input/output (I/O) redirection and pipes. - - Implementations of the 'awk' language are available for many -different computing environments. This Info file, while describing the -'awk' language in general, also describes the particular implementation -of 'awk' called 'gawk' (which stands for "GNU 'awk'"). 'gawk' runs on a -broad range of Unix systems, ranging from Intel-architecture PC-based -computers up through large-scale systems. 'gawk' has also been ported -to Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows (all versions), and OpenVMS.(3) - -* Menu: - -* History:: The history of 'gawk' and - 'awk'. -* Names:: What name to use to find 'awk'. -* This Manual:: Using this Info file. Includes sample - input files that you can use. -* Conventions:: Typographical Conventions. -* Manual History:: Brief history of the GNU project and this - Info file. -* How To Contribute:: Helping to save the world. -* Acknowledgments:: Acknowledgments. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The 2008 POSIX standard is accessible online at -. - - (2) These utilities are available on POSIX-compliant systems, as well -as on traditional Unix-based systems. If you are using some other -operating system, you still need to be familiar with the ideas of I/O -redirection and pipes. - - (3) Some other, obsolete systems to which 'gawk' was once ported are -no longer supported and the code for those systems has been removed. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: History, Next: Names, Up: Preface - -History of 'awk' and 'gawk' -=========================== - - Recipe for a Programming Language - - 1 part 'egrep' 1 part 'snobol' - 2 parts 'ed' 3 parts C - - Blend all parts well using 'lex' and 'yacc'. Document minimally and -release. - - After eight years, add another part 'egrep' and two more parts C. -Document very well and release. - - The name 'awk' comes from the initials of its designers: Alfred V. -Aho, Peter J. Weinberger, and Brian W. Kernighan. The original version -of 'awk' was written in 1977 at AT&T Bell Laboratories. In 1985, a new -version made the programming language more powerful, introducing -user-defined functions, multiple input streams, and computed regular -expressions. This new version became widely available with Unix System -V Release 3.1 (1987). The version in System V Release 4 (1989) added -some new features and cleaned up the behavior in some of the "dark -corners" of the language. The specification for 'awk' in the POSIX -Command Language and Utilities standard further clarified the language. -Both the 'gawk' designers and the original 'awk' designers at Bell -Laboratories provided feedback for the POSIX specification. - - Paul Rubin wrote 'gawk' in 1986. Jay Fenlason completed it, with -advice from Richard Stallman. John Woods contributed parts of the code -as well. In 1988 and 1989, David Trueman, with help from me, thoroughly -reworked 'gawk' for compatibility with the newer 'awk'. Circa 1994, I -became the primary maintainer. Current development focuses on bug -fixes, performance improvements, standards compliance, and, -occasionally, new features. - - In May 1997, Ju"rgen Kahrs felt the need for network access from -'awk', and with a little help from me, set about adding features to do -this for 'gawk'. At that time, he also wrote the bulk of 'TCP/IP -Internetworking with 'gawk'' (a separate document, available as part of -the 'gawk' distribution). His code finally became part of the main -'gawk' distribution with 'gawk' version 3.1. - - John Haque rewrote the 'gawk' internals, in the process providing an -'awk'-level debugger. This version became available as 'gawk' version -4.0 in 2011. - - *Note Contributors:: for a full list of those who have made important -contributions to 'gawk'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Names, Next: This Manual, Prev: History, Up: Preface - -A Rose by Any Other Name -======================== - -The 'awk' language has evolved over the years. Full details are -provided in *note Language History::. The language described in this -Info file is often referred to as "new 'awk'." By analogy, the original -version of 'awk' is referred to as "old 'awk'." - - On most current systems, when you run the 'awk' utility you get some -version of new 'awk'.(1) If your system's standard 'awk' is the old -one, you will see something like this if you try the test program: - - $ awk 1 /dev/null - error-> awk: syntax error near line 1 - error-> awk: bailing out near line 1 - -In this case, you should find a version of new 'awk', or just install -'gawk'! - - Throughout this Info file, whenever we refer to a language feature -that should be available in any complete implementation of POSIX 'awk', -we simply use the term 'awk'. When referring to a feature that is -specific to the GNU implementation, we use the term 'gawk'. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Only Solaris systems still use an old 'awk' for the default 'awk' -utility. A more modern 'awk' lives in '/usr/xpg6/bin' on these systems. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: This Manual, Next: Conventions, Prev: Names, Up: Preface - -Using This Book -=============== - -The term 'awk' refers to a particular program as well as to the language -you use to tell this program what to do. When we need to be careful, we -call the language "the 'awk' language," and the program "the 'awk' -utility." This Info file explains both how to write programs in the -'awk' language and how to run the 'awk' utility. The term "'awk' -program" refers to a program written by you in the 'awk' programming -language. - - Primarily, this Info file explains the features of 'awk' as defined -in the POSIX standard. It does so in the context of the 'gawk' -implementation. While doing so, it also attempts to describe important -differences between 'gawk' and other 'awk' implementations.(1) Finally, -it notes any 'gawk' features that are not in the POSIX standard for -'awk'. - - There are sidebars scattered throughout the Info file. They add a -more complete explanation of points that are relevant, but not likely to -be of interest on first reading. All appear in the index, under the -heading "sidebar." - - Most of the time, the examples use complete 'awk' programs. Some of -the more advanced minor nodes show only the part of the 'awk' program -that illustrates the concept being described. - - Although this Info file is aimed principally at people who have not -been exposed to 'awk', there is a lot of information here that even the -'awk' expert should find useful. In particular, the description of -POSIX 'awk' and the example programs in *note Library Functions::, and -in *note Sample Programs::, should be of interest. - - This Info file is split into several parts, as follows: - - * Part I describes the 'awk' language and the 'gawk' program in - detail. It starts with the basics, and continues through all of - the features of 'awk'. It contains the following chapters: - - - *note Getting Started::, provides the essentials you need to - know to begin using 'awk'. - - - *note Invoking Gawk::, describes how to run 'gawk', the - meaning of its command-line options, and how it finds 'awk' - program source files. - - - *note Regexp::, introduces regular expressions in general, and - in particular the flavors supported by POSIX 'awk' and 'gawk'. - - - *note Reading Files::, describes how 'awk' reads your data. - It introduces the concepts of records and fields, as well as - the 'getline' command. I/O redirection is first described - here. Network I/O is also briefly introduced here. - - - *note Printing::, describes how 'awk' programs can produce - output with 'print' and 'printf'. - - - *note Expressions::, describes expressions, which are the - basic building blocks for getting most things done in a - program. - - - *note Patterns and Actions::, describes how to write patterns - for matching records, actions for doing something when a - record is matched, and the predefined variables 'awk' and - 'gawk' use. - - - *note Arrays::, covers 'awk''s one-and-only data structure: - the associative array. Deleting array elements and whole - arrays is described, as well as sorting arrays in 'gawk'. The - major node also describes how 'gawk' provides arrays of - arrays. - - - *note Functions::, describes the built-in functions 'awk' and - 'gawk' provide, as well as how to define your own functions. - It also discusses how 'gawk' lets you call functions - indirectly. - - * Part II shows how to use 'awk' and 'gawk' for problem solving. - There is lots of code here for you to read and learn from. This - part contains the following chapters: - - - *note Library Functions::, provides a number of functions - meant to be used from main 'awk' programs. - - - *note Sample Programs::, provides many sample 'awk' programs. - - Reading these two chapters allows you to see 'awk' solving real - problems. - - * Part III focuses on features specific to 'gawk'. It contains the - following chapters: - - - *note Advanced Features::, describes a number of advanced - features. Of particular note are the abilities to control the - order of array traversal, have two-way communications with - another process, perform TCP/IP networking, and profile your - 'awk' programs. - - - *note Internationalization::, describes special features for - translating program messages into different languages at - runtime. - - - *note Debugger::, describes the 'gawk' debugger. - - - *note Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic::, describes advanced - arithmetic facilities. - - - *note Dynamic Extensions::, describes how to add new variables - and functions to 'gawk' by writing extensions in C or C++. - - * Part IV provides the appendices, the Glossary, and two licenses - that cover the 'gawk' source code and this Info file, respectively. - It contains the following appendices: - - - *note Language History::, describes how the 'awk' language has - evolved since its first release to the present. It also - describes how 'gawk' has acquired features over time. - - - *note Installation::, describes how to get 'gawk', how to - compile it on POSIX-compatible systems, and how to compile and - use it on different non-POSIX systems. It also describes how - to report bugs in 'gawk' and where to get other freely - available 'awk' implementations. - - - *note Notes::, describes how to disable 'gawk''s extensions, - as well as how to contribute new code to 'gawk', and some - possible future directions for 'gawk' development. - - - *note Basic Concepts::, provides some very cursory background - material for those who are completely unfamiliar with computer - programming. - - The *note Glossary::, defines most, if not all, of the - significant terms used throughout the Info file. If you find - terms that you aren't familiar with, try looking them up here. - - - *note Copying::, and *note GNU Free Documentation License::, - present the licenses that cover the 'gawk' source code and - this Info file, respectively. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) All such differences appear in the index under the entry -"differences in 'awk' and 'gawk'." - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Conventions, Next: Manual History, Prev: This Manual, Up: Preface - -Typographical Conventions -========================= - -This Info file is written in Texinfo -(http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/), the GNU documentation formatting -language. A single Texinfo source file is used to produce both the -printed and online versions of the documentation. This minor node -briefly documents the typographical conventions used in Texinfo. - - Examples you would type at the command line are preceded by the -common shell primary and secondary prompts, '$' and '>'. Input that you -type is shown 'like this'. Output from the command is preceded by the -glyph "-|". This typically represents the command's standard output. -Error messages and other output on the command's standard error are -preceded by the glyph "error->". For example: - - $ echo hi on stdout - -| hi on stdout - $ echo hello on stderr 1>&2 - error-> hello on stderr - - Characters that you type at the keyboard look 'like this'. In -particular, there are special characters called "control characters." -These are characters that you type by holding down both the 'CONTROL' -key and another key, at the same time. For example, a 'Ctrl-d' is typed -by first pressing and holding the 'CONTROL' key, next pressing the 'd' -key, and finally releasing both keys. - - For the sake of brevity, throughout this Info file, we refer to Brian -Kernighan's version of 'awk' as "BWK 'awk'." (*Note Other Versions:: -for information on his and other versions.) - -Dark Corners ------------- - - Dark corners are basically fractal--no matter how much you - illuminate, there's always a smaller but darker one. - -- _Brian Kernighan_ - - Until the POSIX standard (and 'GAWK: Effective AWK Programming'), -many features of 'awk' were either poorly documented or not documented -at all. Descriptions of such features (often called "dark corners") are -noted in this Info file with "(d.c.)." They also appear in the index -under the heading "dark corner." - - But, as noted by the opening quote, any coverage of dark corners is -by definition incomplete. - - Extensions to the standard 'awk' language that are supported by more -than one 'awk' implementation are marked "(c.e.)," and listed in the -index under "common extensions" and "extensions, common." - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Manual History, Next: How To Contribute, Prev: Conventions, Up: Preface - -The GNU Project and This Book -============================= - -The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated -to the production and distribution of freely distributable software. It -was founded by Richard M. Stallman, the author of the original Emacs -editor. GNU Emacs is the most widely used version of Emacs today. - - The GNU(1) Project is an ongoing effort on the part of the Free -Software Foundation to create a complete, freely distributable, -POSIX-compliant computing environment. The FSF uses the GNU General -Public License (GPL) to ensure that its software's source code is always -available to the end user. A copy of the GPL is included for your -reference (*note Copying::). The GPL applies to the C language source -code for 'gawk'. To find out more about the FSF and the GNU Project -online, see the GNU Project's home page (http://www.gnu.org). This Info -file may also be read from GNU's website -(http://www.gnu.org/software/gawk/manual/). - - A shell, an editor (Emacs), highly portable optimizing C, C++, and -Objective-C compilers, a symbolic debugger and dozens of large and small -utilities (such as 'gawk'), have all been completed and are freely -available. The GNU operating system kernel (the HURD), has been -released but remains in an early stage of development. - - Until the GNU operating system is more fully developed, you should -consider using GNU/Linux, a freely distributable, Unix-like operating -system for Intel, Power Architecture, Sun SPARC, IBM S/390, and other -systems.(2) Many GNU/Linux distributions are available for download -from the Internet. - - The Info file itself has gone through multiple previous editions. -Paul Rubin wrote the very first draft of 'The GAWK Manual'; it was -around 40 pages long. Diane Close and Richard Stallman improved it, -yielding a version that was around 90 pages and barely described the -original, "old" version of 'awk'. - - I started working with that version in the fall of 1988. As work on -it progressed, the FSF published several preliminary versions (numbered -0.X). In 1996, edition 1.0 was released with 'gawk' 3.0.0. The FSF -published the first two editions under the title 'The GNU Awk User's -Guide'. - - This edition maintains the basic structure of the previous editions. -For FSF edition 4.0, the content was thoroughly reviewed and updated. -All references to 'gawk' versions prior to 4.0 were removed. Of -significant note for that edition was the addition of *note Debugger::. - - For FSF edition 4.1, the content has been reorganized into parts, and -the major new additions are *note Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic::, and -*note Dynamic Extensions::. - - This Info file will undoubtedly continue to evolve. If you find an -error in the Info file, please report it! *Note Bugs:: for information -on submitting problem reports electronically. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) GNU stands for "GNU's Not Unix." - - (2) The terminology "GNU/Linux" is explained in the *note Glossary::. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: How To Contribute, Next: Acknowledgments, Prev: Manual History, Up: Preface - -How to Contribute -================= - -As the maintainer of GNU 'awk', I once thought that I would be able to -manage a collection of publicly available 'awk' programs and I even -solicited contributions. Making things available on the Internet helps -keep the 'gawk' distribution down to manageable size. - - The initial collection of material, such as it is, is still available -at . In the hopes of doing -something more broad, I acquired the 'awk.info' domain. - - However, I found that I could not dedicate enough time to managing -contributed code: the archive did not grow and the domain went unused -for several years. - - Late in 2008, a volunteer took on the task of setting up an -'awk'-related website----and did a very nice job. - - If you have written an interesting 'awk' program, or have written a -'gawk' extension that you would like to share with the rest of the -world, please see for how to contribute it -to the website. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Acknowledgments, Prev: How To Contribute, Up: Preface - -Acknowledgments -=============== - -The initial draft of 'The GAWK Manual' had the following -acknowledgments: - - Many people need to be thanked for their assistance in producing - this manual. Jay Fenlason contributed many ideas and sample - programs. Richard Mlynarik and Robert Chassell gave helpful - comments on drafts of this manual. The paper 'A Supplemental - Document for AWK' by John W. Pierce of the Chemistry Department at - UC San Diego, pinpointed several issues relevant both to 'awk' - implementation and to this manual, that would otherwise have - escaped us. - - I would like to acknowledge Richard M. Stallman, for his vision of a -better world and for his courage in founding the FSF and starting the -GNU Project. - - Earlier editions of this Info file had the following -acknowledgements: - - The following people (in alphabetical order) provided helpful - comments on various versions of this book: Rick Adams, Dr. Nelson - H.F. Beebe, Karl Berry, Dr. Michael Brennan, Rich Burridge, Claire - Cloutier, Diane Close, Scott Deifik, Christopher ("Topher") Eliot, - Jeffrey Friedl, Dr. Darrel Hankerson, Michal Jaegermann, Dr. - Richard J. LeBlanc, Michael Lijewski, Pat Rankin, Miriam Robbins, - Mary Sheehan, and Chuck Toporek. - - Robert J. Chassell provided much valuable advice on the use of - Texinfo. He also deserves special thanks for convincing me _not_ - to title this Info file 'How to Gawk Politely'. Karl Berry helped - significantly with the TeX part of Texinfo. - - I would like to thank Marshall and Elaine Hartholz of Seattle and - Dr. Bert and Rita Schreiber of Detroit for large amounts of quiet - vacation time in their homes, which allowed me to make significant - progress on this Info file and on 'gawk' itself. - - Phil Hughes of SSC contributed in a very important way by loaning - me his laptop GNU/Linux system, not once, but twice, which allowed - me to do a lot of work while away from home. - - David Trueman deserves special credit; he has done a yeoman job of - evolving 'gawk' so that it performs well and without bugs. - Although he is no longer involved with 'gawk', working with him on - this project was a significant pleasure. - - The intrepid members of the GNITS mailing list, and most notably - Ulrich Drepper, provided invaluable help and feedback for the - design of the internationalization features. - - Chuck Toporek, Mary Sheehan, and Claire Cloutier of O'Reilly & - Associates contributed significant editorial help for this Info - file for the 3.1 release of 'gawk'. - - Dr. Nelson Beebe, Andreas Buening, Dr. Manuel Collado, Antonio -Colombo, Stephen Davies, Scott Deifik, Akim Demaille, Daniel Richard G., -Darrel Hankerson, Michal Jaegermann, Ju"rgen Kahrs, Stepan Kasal, John -Malmberg, Dave Pitts, Chet Ramey, Pat Rankin, Andrew Schorr, Corinna -Vinschen, and Eli Zaretskii (in alphabetical order) make up the current -'gawk' "crack portability team." Without their hard work and help, -'gawk' would not be nearly the robust, portable program it is today. It -has been and continues to be a pleasure working with this team of fine -people. - - Notable code and documentation contributions were made by a number of -people. *Note Contributors:: for the full list. - - Thanks to Michael Brennan for the Forewords. - - Thanks to Patrice Dumas for the new 'makeinfo' program. Thanks to -Karl Berry, who continues to work to keep the Texinfo markup language -sane. - - Robert P.J. Day, Michael Brennan, and Brian Kernighan kindly acted as -reviewers for the 2015 edition of this Info file. Their feedback helped -improve the final work. - - I would also like to thank Brian Kernighan for his invaluable -assistance during the testing and debugging of 'gawk', and for his -ongoing help and advice in clarifying numerous points about the -language. We could not have done nearly as good a job on either 'gawk' -or its documentation without his help. - - Brian is in a class by himself as a programmer and technical author. -I have to thank him (yet again) for his ongoing friendship and for being -a role model to me for close to 30 years! Having him as a reviewer is -an exciting privilege. It has also been extremely humbling... - - I must thank my wonderful wife, Miriam, for her patience through the -many versions of this project, for her proofreading, and for sharing me -with the computer. I would like to thank my parents for their love, and -for the grace with which they raised and educated me. Finally, I also -must acknowledge my gratitude to G-d, for the many opportunities He has -sent my way, as well as for the gifts He has given me with which to take -advantage of those opportunities. - - -Arnold Robbins -Nof Ayalon -Israel -February 2015 - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getting Started, Next: Invoking Gawk, Prev: Preface, Up: Top - -1 Getting Started with 'awk' -**************************** - -The basic function of 'awk' is to search files for lines (or other units -of text) that contain certain patterns. When a line matches one of the -patterns, 'awk' performs specified actions on that line. 'awk' -continues to process input lines in this way until it reaches the end of -the input files. - - Programs in 'awk' are different from programs in most other -languages, because 'awk' programs are "data driven" (i.e., you describe -the data you want to work with and then what to do when you find it). -Most other languages are "procedural"; you have to describe, in great -detail, every step the program should take. When working with -procedural languages, it is usually much harder to clearly describe the -data your program will process. For this reason, 'awk' programs are -often refreshingly easy to read and write. - - When you run 'awk', you specify an 'awk' "program" that tells 'awk' -what to do. The program consists of a series of "rules" (it may also -contain "function definitions", an advanced feature that we will ignore -for now; *note User-defined::). Each rule specifies one pattern to -search for and one action to perform upon finding the pattern. - - Syntactically, a rule consists of a "pattern" followed by an -"action". The action is enclosed in braces to separate it from the -pattern. Newlines usually separate rules. Therefore, an 'awk' program -looks like this: - - PATTERN { ACTION } - PATTERN { ACTION } - ... - -* Menu: - -* Running gawk:: How to run 'gawk' programs; includes - command-line syntax. -* Sample Data Files:: Sample data files for use in the 'awk' - programs illustrated in this Info file. -* Very Simple:: A very simple example. -* Two Rules:: A less simple one-line example using two - rules. -* More Complex:: A more complex example. -* Statements/Lines:: Subdividing or combining statements into - lines. -* Other Features:: Other Features of 'awk'. -* When:: When to use 'gawk' and when to use - other things. -* Intro Summary:: Summary of the introduction. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Running gawk, Next: Sample Data Files, Up: Getting Started - -1.1 How to Run 'awk' Programs -============================= - -There are several ways to run an 'awk' program. If the program is -short, it is easiest to include it in the command that runs 'awk', like -this: - - awk 'PROGRAM' INPUT-FILE1 INPUT-FILE2 ... - - When the program is long, it is usually more convenient to put it in -a file and run it with a command like this: - - awk -f PROGRAM-FILE INPUT-FILE1 INPUT-FILE2 ... - - This minor node discusses both mechanisms, along with several -variations of each. - -* Menu: - -* One-shot:: Running a short throwaway 'awk' - program. -* Read Terminal:: Using no input files (input from the keyboard - instead). -* Long:: Putting permanent 'awk' programs in - files. -* Executable Scripts:: Making self-contained 'awk' programs. -* Comments:: Adding documentation to 'gawk' - programs. -* Quoting:: More discussion of shell quoting issues. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: One-shot, Next: Read Terminal, Up: Running gawk - -1.1.1 One-Shot Throwaway 'awk' Programs ---------------------------------------- - -Once you are familiar with 'awk', you will often type in simple programs -the moment you want to use them. Then you can write the program as the -first argument of the 'awk' command, like this: - - awk 'PROGRAM' INPUT-FILE1 INPUT-FILE2 ... - -where PROGRAM consists of a series of patterns and actions, as described -earlier. - - This command format instructs the "shell", or command interpreter, to -start 'awk' and use the PROGRAM to process records in the input file(s). -There are single quotes around PROGRAM so the shell won't interpret any -'awk' characters as special shell characters. The quotes also cause the -shell to treat all of PROGRAM as a single argument for 'awk', and allow -PROGRAM to be more than one line long. - - This format is also useful for running short or medium-sized 'awk' -programs from shell scripts, because it avoids the need for a separate -file for the 'awk' program. A self-contained shell script is more -reliable because there are no other files to misplace. - - Later in this chapter, in *note Very Simple::, we'll see examples of -several short, self-contained programs. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Read Terminal, Next: Long, Prev: One-shot, Up: Running gawk - -1.1.2 Running 'awk' Without Input Files ---------------------------------------- - -You can also run 'awk' without any input files. If you type the -following command line: - - awk 'PROGRAM' - -'awk' applies the PROGRAM to the "standard input", which usually means -whatever you type on the keyboard. This continues until you indicate -end-of-file by typing 'Ctrl-d'. (On non-POSIX operating systems, the -end-of-file character may be different.) - - As an example, the following program prints a friendly piece of -advice (from Douglas Adams's 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'), to -keep you from worrying about the complexities of computer programming: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { print "Don\47t Panic!" }' - -| Don't Panic! - - 'awk' executes statements associated with 'BEGIN' before reading any -input. If there are no other statements in your program, as is the case -here, 'awk' just stops, instead of trying to read input it doesn't know -how to process. The '\47' is a magic way (explained later) of getting a -single quote into the program, without having to engage in ugly shell -quoting tricks. - - NOTE: If you use Bash as your shell, you should execute the command - 'set +H' before running this program interactively, to disable the - C shell-style command history, which treats '!' as a special - character. We recommend putting this command into your personal - startup file. - - This next simple 'awk' program emulates the 'cat' utility; it copies -whatever you type on the keyboard to its standard output (why this works -is explained shortly): - - $ awk '{ print }' - Now is the time for all good men - -| Now is the time for all good men - to come to the aid of their country. - -| to come to the aid of their country. - Four score and seven years ago, ... - -| Four score and seven years ago, ... - What, me worry? - -| What, me worry? - Ctrl-d - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Long, Next: Executable Scripts, Prev: Read Terminal, Up: Running gawk - -1.1.3 Running Long Programs ---------------------------- - -Sometimes 'awk' programs are very long. In these cases, it is more -convenient to put the program into a separate file. In order to tell -'awk' to use that file for its program, you type: - - awk -f SOURCE-FILE INPUT-FILE1 INPUT-FILE2 ... - - The '-f' instructs the 'awk' utility to get the 'awk' program from -the file SOURCE-FILE (*note Options::). Any file name can be used for -SOURCE-FILE. For example, you could put the program: - - BEGIN { print "Don't Panic!" } - -into the file 'advice'. Then this command: - - awk -f advice - -does the same thing as this one: - - awk 'BEGIN { print "Don\47t Panic!" }' - -This was explained earlier (*note Read Terminal::). Note that you don't -usually need single quotes around the file name that you specify with -'-f', because most file names don't contain any of the shell's special -characters. Notice that in 'advice', the 'awk' program did not have -single quotes around it. The quotes are only needed for programs that -are provided on the 'awk' command line. (Also, placing the program in a -file allows us to use a literal single quote in the program text, -instead of the magic '\47'.) - - If you want to clearly identify an 'awk' program file as such, you -can add the extension '.awk' to the file name. This doesn't affect the -execution of the 'awk' program but it does make "housekeeping" easier. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Executable Scripts, Next: Comments, Prev: Long, Up: Running gawk - -1.1.4 Executable 'awk' Programs -------------------------------- - -Once you have learned 'awk', you may want to write self-contained 'awk' -scripts, using the '#!' script mechanism. You can do this on many -systems.(1) For example, you could update the file 'advice' to look -like this: - - #! /bin/awk -f - - BEGIN { print "Don't Panic!" } - -After making this file executable (with the 'chmod' utility), simply -type 'advice' at the shell and the system arranges to run 'awk' as if -you had typed 'awk -f advice': - - $ chmod +x advice - $ advice - -| Don't Panic! - -(We assume you have the current directory in your shell's search path -variable [typically '$PATH']. If not, you may need to type './advice' -at the shell.) - - Self-contained 'awk' scripts are useful when you want to write a -program that users can invoke without their having to know that the -program is written in 'awk'. - - Understanding '#!' - - 'awk' is an "interpreted" language. This means that the 'awk' -utility reads your program and then processes your data according to the -instructions in your program. (This is different from a "compiled" -language such as C, where your program is first compiled into machine -code that is executed directly by your system's processor.) The 'awk' -utility is thus termed an "interpreter". Many modern languages are -interpreted. - - The line beginning with '#!' lists the full file name of an -interpreter to run and a single optional initial command-line argument -to pass to that interpreter. The operating system then runs the -interpreter with the given argument and the full argument list of the -executed program. The first argument in the list is the full file name -of the 'awk' program. The rest of the argument list contains either -options to 'awk', or data files, or both. (Note that on many systems -'awk' may be found in '/usr/bin' instead of in '/bin'.) - - Some systems limit the length of the interpreter name to 32 -characters. Often, this can be dealt with by using a symbolic link. - - You should not put more than one argument on the '#!' line after the -path to 'awk'. It does not work. The operating system treats the rest -of the line as a single argument and passes it to 'awk'. Doing this -leads to confusing behavior--most likely a usage diagnostic of some sort -from 'awk'. - - Finally, the value of 'ARGV[0]' (*note Built-in Variables::) varies -depending upon your operating system. Some systems put 'awk' there, -some put the full pathname of 'awk' (such as '/bin/awk'), and some put -the name of your script ('advice'). (d.c.) Don't rely on the value of -'ARGV[0]' to provide your script name. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The '#!' mechanism works on GNU/Linux systems, BSD-based systems, -and commercial Unix systems. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Comments, Next: Quoting, Prev: Executable Scripts, Up: Running gawk - -1.1.5 Comments in 'awk' Programs --------------------------------- - -A "comment" is some text that is included in a program for the sake of -human readers; it is not really an executable part of the program. -Comments can explain what the program does and how it works. Nearly all -programming languages have provisions for comments, as programs are -typically hard to understand without them. - - In the 'awk' language, a comment starts with the number sign -character ('#') and continues to the end of the line. The '#' does not -have to be the first character on the line. The 'awk' language ignores -the rest of a line following a number sign. For example, we could have -put the following into 'advice': - - # This program prints a nice, friendly message. It helps - # keep novice users from being afraid of the computer. - BEGIN { print "Don't Panic!" } - - You can put comment lines into keyboard-composed throwaway 'awk' -programs, but this usually isn't very useful; the purpose of a comment -is to help you or another person understand the program when reading it -at a later time. - - CAUTION: As mentioned in *note One-shot::, you can enclose short to - medium-sized programs in single quotes, in order to keep your shell - scripts self-contained. When doing so, _don't_ put an apostrophe - (i.e., a single quote) into a comment (or anywhere else in your - program). The shell interprets the quote as the closing quote for - the entire program. As a result, usually the shell prints a - message about mismatched quotes, and if 'awk' actually runs, it - will probably print strange messages about syntax errors. For - example, look at the following: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { print "hello" } # let's be cute' - > - - The shell sees that the first two quotes match, and that a new - quoted object begins at the end of the command line. It therefore - prompts with the secondary prompt, waiting for more input. With - Unix 'awk', closing the quoted string produces this result: - - $ awk '{ print "hello" } # let's be cute' - > ' - error-> awk: can't open file be - error-> source line number 1 - - Putting a backslash before the single quote in 'let's' wouldn't - help, because backslashes are not special inside single quotes. - The next node describes the shell's quoting rules. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Quoting, Prev: Comments, Up: Running gawk - -1.1.6 Shell Quoting Issues --------------------------- - -* Menu: - -* DOS Quoting:: Quoting in Windows Batch Files. - -For short to medium-length 'awk' programs, it is most convenient to -enter the program on the 'awk' command line. This is best done by -enclosing the entire program in single quotes. This is true whether you -are entering the program interactively at the shell prompt, or writing -it as part of a larger shell script: - - awk 'PROGRAM TEXT' INPUT-FILE1 INPUT-FILE2 ... - - Once you are working with the shell, it is helpful to have a basic -knowledge of shell quoting rules. The following rules apply only to -POSIX-compliant, Bourne-style shells (such as Bash, the GNU Bourne-Again -Shell). If you use the C shell, you're on your own. - - Before diving into the rules, we introduce a concept that appears -throughout this Info file, which is that of the "null", or empty, -string. - - The null string is character data that has no value. In other words, -it is empty. It is written in 'awk' programs like this: '""'. In the -shell, it can be written using single or double quotes: '""' or ''''. -Although the null string has no characters in it, it does exist. For -example, consider this command: - - $ echo "" - -Here, the 'echo' utility receives a single argument, even though that -argument has no characters in it. In the rest of this Info file, we use -the terms "null string" and "empty string" interchangeably. Now, on to -the quoting rules: - - * Quoted items can be concatenated with nonquoted items as well as - with other quoted items. The shell turns everything into one - argument for the command. - - * Preceding any single character with a backslash ('\') quotes that - character. The shell removes the backslash and passes the quoted - character on to the command. - - * Single quotes protect everything between the opening and closing - quotes. The shell does no interpretation of the quoted text, - passing it on verbatim to the command. It is _impossible_ to embed - a single quote inside single-quoted text. Refer back to *note - Comments:: for an example of what happens if you try. - - * Double quotes protect most things between the opening and closing - quotes. The shell does at least variable and command substitution - on the quoted text. Different shells may do additional kinds of - processing on double-quoted text. - - Because certain characters within double-quoted text are processed - by the shell, they must be "escaped" within the text. Of note are - the characters '$', '`', '\', and '"', all of which must be - preceded by a backslash within double-quoted text if they are to be - passed on literally to the program. (The leading backslash is - stripped first.) Thus, the example seen in *note Read Terminal::: - - awk 'BEGIN { print "Don\47t Panic!" }' - - could instead be written this way: - - $ awk "BEGIN { print \"Don't Panic!\" }" - -| Don't Panic! - - Note that the single quote is not special within double quotes. - - * Null strings are removed when they occur as part of a non-null - command-line argument, while explicit null objects are kept. For - example, to specify that the field separator 'FS' should be set to - the null string, use: - - awk -F "" 'PROGRAM' FILES # correct - - Don't use this: - - awk -F"" 'PROGRAM' FILES # wrong! - - In the second case, 'awk' attempts to use the text of the program - as the value of 'FS', and the first file name as the text of the - program! This results in syntax errors at best, and confusing - behavior at worst. - - Mixing single and double quotes is difficult. You have to resort to -shell quoting tricks, like this: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { print "Here is a single quote <'"'"'>" }' - -| Here is a single quote <'> - -This program consists of three concatenated quoted strings. The first -and the third are single-quoted, and the second is double-quoted. - - This can be "simplified" to: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { print "Here is a single quote <'\''>" }' - -| Here is a single quote <'> - -Judge for yourself which of these two is the more readable. - - Another option is to use double quotes, escaping the embedded, -'awk'-level double quotes: - - $ awk "BEGIN { print \"Here is a single quote <'>\" }" - -| Here is a single quote <'> - -This option is also painful, because double quotes, backslashes, and -dollar signs are very common in more advanced 'awk' programs. - - A third option is to use the octal escape sequence equivalents (*note -Escape Sequences::) for the single- and double-quote characters, like -so: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { print "Here is a single quote <\47>" }' - -| Here is a single quote <'> - $ awk 'BEGIN { print "Here is a double quote <\42>" }' - -| Here is a double quote <"> - -This works nicely, but you should comment clearly what the escapes mean. - - A fourth option is to use command-line variable assignment, like -this: - - $ awk -v sq="'" 'BEGIN { print "Here is a single quote <" sq ">" }' - -| Here is a single quote <'> - - (Here, the two string constants and the value of 'sq' are -concatenated into a single string that is printed by 'print'.) - - If you really need both single and double quotes in your 'awk' -program, it is probably best to move it into a separate file, where the -shell won't be part of the picture and you can say what you mean. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: DOS Quoting, Up: Quoting - -1.1.6.1 Quoting in MS-Windows Batch Files -......................................... - -Although this Info file generally only worries about POSIX systems and -the POSIX shell, the following issue arises often enough for many users -that it is worth addressing. - - The "shells" on Microsoft Windows systems use the double-quote -character for quoting, and make it difficult or impossible to include an -escaped double-quote character in a command-line script. The following -example, courtesy of Jeroen Brink, shows how to print all lines in a -file surrounded by double quotes: - - gawk "{ print \"\042\" $0 \"\042\" }" FILE - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Sample Data Files, Next: Very Simple, Prev: Running gawk, Up: Getting Started - -1.2 Data files for the Examples -=============================== - -Many of the examples in this Info file take their input from two sample -data files. The first, 'mail-list', represents a list of peoples' names -together with their email addresses and information about those people. -The second data file, called 'inventory-shipped', contains information -about monthly shipments. In both files, each line is considered to be -one "record". - - In 'mail-list', each record contains the name of a person, his/her -phone number, his/her email address, and a code for his/her relationship -with the author of the list. The columns are aligned using spaces. An -'A' in the last column means that the person is an acquaintance. An 'F' -in the last column means that the person is a friend. An 'R' means that -the person is a relative: - - Amelia 555-5553 amelia.zodiacusque@gmail.com F - Anthony 555-3412 anthony.asserturo@hotmail.com A - Becky 555-7685 becky.algebrarum@gmail.com A - Bill 555-1675 bill.drowning@hotmail.com A - Broderick 555-0542 broderick.aliquotiens@yahoo.com R - Camilla 555-2912 camilla.infusarum@skynet.be R - Fabius 555-1234 fabius.undevicesimus@ucb.edu F - Julie 555-6699 julie.perscrutabor@skeeve.com F - Martin 555-6480 martin.codicibus@hotmail.com A - Samuel 555-3430 samuel.lanceolis@shu.edu A - Jean-Paul 555-2127 jeanpaul.campanorum@nyu.edu R - - The data file 'inventory-shipped' represents information about -shipments during the year. Each record contains the month, the number -of green crates shipped, the number of red boxes shipped, the number of -orange bags shipped, and the number of blue packages shipped, -respectively. There are 16 entries, covering the 12 months of last year -and the first four months of the current year. An empty line separates -the data for the two years: - - Jan 13 25 15 115 - Feb 15 32 24 226 - Mar 15 24 34 228 - Apr 31 52 63 420 - May 16 34 29 208 - Jun 31 42 75 492 - Jul 24 34 67 436 - Aug 15 34 47 316 - Sep 13 55 37 277 - Oct 29 54 68 525 - Nov 20 87 82 577 - Dec 17 35 61 401 - - Jan 21 36 64 620 - Feb 26 58 80 652 - Mar 24 75 70 495 - Apr 21 70 74 514 - - The sample files are included in the 'gawk' distribution, in the -directory 'awklib/eg/data'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Very Simple, Next: Two Rules, Prev: Sample Data Files, Up: Getting Started - -1.3 Some Simple Examples -======================== - -The following command runs a simple 'awk' program that searches the -input file 'mail-list' for the character string 'li' (a grouping of -characters is usually called a "string"; the term "string" is based on -similar usage in English, such as "a string of pearls" or "a string of -cars in a train"): - - awk '/li/ { print $0 }' mail-list - -When lines containing 'li' are found, they are printed because -'print $0' means print the current line. (Just 'print' by itself means -the same thing, so we could have written that instead.) - - You will notice that slashes ('/') surround the string 'li' in the -'awk' program. The slashes indicate that 'li' is the pattern to search -for. This type of pattern is called a "regular expression", which is -covered in more detail later (*note Regexp::). The pattern is allowed -to match parts of words. There are single quotes around the 'awk' -program so that the shell won't interpret any of it as special shell -characters. - - Here is what this program prints: - - $ awk '/li/ { print $0 }' mail-list - -| Amelia 555-5553 amelia.zodiacusque@gmail.com F - -| Broderick 555-0542 broderick.aliquotiens@yahoo.com R - -| Julie 555-6699 julie.perscrutabor@skeeve.com F - -| Samuel 555-3430 samuel.lanceolis@shu.edu A - - In an 'awk' rule, either the pattern or the action can be omitted, -but not both. If the pattern is omitted, then the action is performed -for _every_ input line. If the action is omitted, the default action is -to print all lines that match the pattern. - - Thus, we could leave out the action (the 'print' statement and the -braces) in the previous example and the result would be the same: 'awk' -prints all lines matching the pattern 'li'. By comparison, omitting the -'print' statement but retaining the braces makes an empty action that -does nothing (i.e., no lines are printed). - - Many practical 'awk' programs are just a line or two long. Following -is a collection of useful, short programs to get you started. Some of -these programs contain constructs that haven't been covered yet. (The -description of the program will give you a good idea of what is going -on, but you'll need to read the rest of the Info file to become an 'awk' -expert!) Most of the examples use a data file named 'data'. This is -just a placeholder; if you use these programs yourself, substitute your -own file names for 'data'. For future reference, note that there is -often more than one way to do things in 'awk'. At some point, you may -want to look back at these examples and see if you can come up with -different ways to do the same things shown here: - - * Print every line that is longer than 80 characters: - - awk 'length($0) > 80' data - - The sole rule has a relational expression as its pattern and has no - action--so it uses the default action, printing the record. - - * Print the length of the longest input line: - - awk '{ if (length($0) > max) max = length($0) } - END { print max }' data - - The code associated with 'END' executes after all input has been - read; it's the other side of the coin to 'BEGIN'. - - * Print the length of the longest line in 'data': - - expand data | awk '{ if (x < length($0)) x = length($0) } - END { print "maximum line length is " x }' - - This example differs slightly from the previous one: the input is - processed by the 'expand' utility to change TABs into spaces, so - the widths compared are actually the right-margin columns, as - opposed to the number of input characters on each line. - - * Print every line that has at least one field: - - awk 'NF > 0' data - - This is an easy way to delete blank lines from a file (or rather, - to create a new file similar to the old file but from which the - blank lines have been removed). - - * Print seven random numbers from 0 to 100, inclusive: - - awk 'BEGIN { for (i = 1; i <= 7; i++) - print int(101 * rand()) }' - - * Print the total number of bytes used by FILES: - - ls -l FILES | awk '{ x += $5 } - END { print "total bytes: " x }' - - * Print the total number of kilobytes used by FILES: - - ls -l FILES | awk '{ x += $5 } - END { print "total K-bytes:", x / 1024 }' - - * Print a sorted list of the login names of all users: - - awk -F: '{ print $1 }' /etc/passwd | sort - - * Count the lines in a file: - - awk 'END { print NR }' data - - * Print the even-numbered lines in the data file: - - awk 'NR % 2 == 0' data - - If you used the expression 'NR % 2 == 1' instead, the program would - print the odd-numbered lines. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Two Rules, Next: More Complex, Prev: Very Simple, Up: Getting Started - -1.4 An Example with Two Rules -============================= - -The 'awk' utility reads the input files one line at a time. For each -line, 'awk' tries the patterns of each rule. If several patterns match, -then several actions execute in the order in which they appear in the -'awk' program. If no patterns match, then no actions run. - - After processing all the rules that match the line (and perhaps there -are none), 'awk' reads the next line. (However, *note Next Statement:: -and also *note Nextfile Statement::.) This continues until the program -reaches the end of the file. For example, the following 'awk' program -contains two rules: - - /12/ { print $0 } - /21/ { print $0 } - -The first rule has the string '12' as the pattern and 'print $0' as the -action. The second rule has the string '21' as the pattern and also has -'print $0' as the action. Each rule's action is enclosed in its own -pair of braces. - - This program prints every line that contains the string '12' _or_ the -string '21'. If a line contains both strings, it is printed twice, once -by each rule. - - This is what happens if we run this program on our two sample data -files, 'mail-list' and 'inventory-shipped': - - $ awk '/12/ { print $0 } - > /21/ { print $0 }' mail-list inventory-shipped - -| Anthony 555-3412 anthony.asserturo@hotmail.com A - -| Camilla 555-2912 camilla.infusarum@skynet.be R - -| Fabius 555-1234 fabius.undevicesimus@ucb.edu F - -| Jean-Paul 555-2127 jeanpaul.campanorum@nyu.edu R - -| Jean-Paul 555-2127 jeanpaul.campanorum@nyu.edu R - -| Jan 21 36 64 620 - -| Apr 21 70 74 514 - -Note how the line beginning with 'Jean-Paul' in 'mail-list' was printed -twice, once for each rule. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: More Complex, Next: Statements/Lines, Prev: Two Rules, Up: Getting Started - -1.5 A More Complex Example -========================== - -Now that we've mastered some simple tasks, let's look at what typical -'awk' programs do. This example shows how 'awk' can be used to -summarize, select, and rearrange the output of another utility. It uses -features that haven't been covered yet, so don't worry if you don't -understand all the details: - - ls -l | awk '$6 == "Nov" { sum += $5 } - END { print sum }' - - This command prints the total number of bytes in all the files in the -current directory that were last modified in November (of any year). -The 'ls -l' part of this example is a system command that gives you a -listing of the files in a directory, including each file's size and the -date the file was last modified. Its output looks like this: - - -rw-r--r-- 1 arnold user 1933 Nov 7 13:05 Makefile - -rw-r--r-- 1 arnold user 10809 Nov 7 13:03 awk.h - -rw-r--r-- 1 arnold user 983 Apr 13 12:14 awk.tab.h - -rw-r--r-- 1 arnold user 31869 Jun 15 12:20 awkgram.y - -rw-r--r-- 1 arnold user 22414 Nov 7 13:03 awk1.c - -rw-r--r-- 1 arnold user 37455 Nov 7 13:03 awk2.c - -rw-r--r-- 1 arnold user 27511 Dec 9 13:07 awk3.c - -rw-r--r-- 1 arnold user 7989 Nov 7 13:03 awk4.c - -The first field contains read-write permissions, the second field -contains the number of links to the file, and the third field identifies -the file's owner. The fourth field identifies the file's group. The -fifth field contains the file's size in bytes. The sixth, seventh, and -eighth fields contain the month, day, and time, respectively, that the -file was last modified. Finally, the ninth field contains the file -name. - - The '$6 == "Nov"' in our 'awk' program is an expression that tests -whether the sixth field of the output from 'ls -l' matches the string -'Nov'. Each time a line has the string 'Nov' for its sixth field, 'awk' -performs the action 'sum += $5'. This adds the fifth field (the file's -size) to the variable 'sum'. As a result, when 'awk' has finished -reading all the input lines, 'sum' is the total of the sizes of the -files whose lines matched the pattern. (This works because 'awk' -variables are automatically initialized to zero.) - - After the last line of output from 'ls' has been processed, the 'END' -rule executes and prints the value of 'sum'. In this example, the value -of 'sum' is 80600. - - These more advanced 'awk' techniques are covered in later minor nodes -(*note Action Overview::). Before you can move on to more advanced -'awk' programming, you have to know how 'awk' interprets your input and -displays your output. By manipulating fields and using 'print' -statements, you can produce some very useful and impressive-looking -reports. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Statements/Lines, Next: Other Features, Prev: More Complex, Up: Getting Started - -1.6 'awk' Statements Versus Lines -================================= - -Most often, each line in an 'awk' program is a separate statement or -separate rule, like this: - - awk '/12/ { print $0 } - /21/ { print $0 }' mail-list inventory-shipped - - However, 'gawk' ignores newlines after any of the following symbols -and keywords: - - , { ? : || && do else - -A newline at any other point is considered the end of the statement.(1) - - If you would like to split a single statement into two lines at a -point where a newline would terminate it, you can "continue" it by -ending the first line with a backslash character ('\'). The backslash -must be the final character on the line in order to be recognized as a -continuation character. A backslash is allowed anywhere in the -statement, even in the middle of a string or regular expression. For -example: - - awk '/This regular expression is too long, so continue it\ - on the next line/ { print $1 }' - -We have generally not used backslash continuation in our sample -programs. 'gawk' places no limit on the length of a line, so backslash -continuation is never strictly necessary; it just makes programs more -readable. For this same reason, as well as for clarity, we have kept -most statements short in the programs presented throughout the Info -file. Backslash continuation is most useful when your 'awk' program is -in a separate source file instead of entered from the command line. You -should also note that many 'awk' implementations are more particular -about where you may use backslash continuation. For example, they may -not allow you to split a string constant using backslash continuation. -Thus, for maximum portability of your 'awk' programs, it is best not to -split your lines in the middle of a regular expression or a string. - - CAUTION: _Backslash continuation does not work as described with - the C shell._ It works for 'awk' programs in files and for - one-shot programs, _provided_ you are using a POSIX-compliant - shell, such as the Unix Bourne shell or Bash. But the C shell - behaves differently! There you must use two backslashes in a row, - followed by a newline. Note also that when using the C shell, - _every_ newline in your 'awk' program must be escaped with a - backslash. To illustrate: - - % awk 'BEGIN { \ - ? print \\ - ? "hello, world" \ - ? }' - -| hello, world - - Here, the '%' and '?' are the C shell's primary and secondary - prompts, analogous to the standard shell's '$' and '>'. - - Compare the previous example to how it is done with a - POSIX-compliant shell: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { - > print \ - > "hello, world" - > }' - -| hello, world - - 'awk' is a line-oriented language. Each rule's action has to begin -on the same line as the pattern. To have the pattern and action on -separate lines, you _must_ use backslash continuation; there is no other -option. - - Another thing to keep in mind is that backslash continuation and -comments do not mix. As soon as 'awk' sees the '#' that starts a -comment, it ignores _everything_ on the rest of the line. For example: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { print "dont panic" # a friendly \ - > BEGIN rule - > }' - error-> gawk: cmd. line:2: BEGIN rule - error-> gawk: cmd. line:2: ^ syntax error - -In this case, it looks like the backslash would continue the comment -onto the next line. However, the backslash-newline combination is never -even noticed because it is "hidden" inside the comment. Thus, the -'BEGIN' is noted as a syntax error. - - When 'awk' statements within one rule are short, you might want to -put more than one of them on a line. This is accomplished by separating -the statements with a semicolon (';'). This also applies to the rules -themselves. Thus, the program shown at the start of this minor node -could also be written this way: - - /12/ { print $0 } ; /21/ { print $0 } - - NOTE: The requirement that states that rules on the same line must - be separated with a semicolon was not in the original 'awk' - language; it was added for consistency with the treatment of - statements within an action. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The '?' and ':' referred to here is the three-operand conditional -expression described in *note Conditional Exp::. Splitting lines after -'?' and ':' is a minor 'gawk' extension; if '--posix' is specified -(*note Options::), then this extension is disabled. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Other Features, Next: When, Prev: Statements/Lines, Up: Getting Started - -1.7 Other Features of 'awk' -=========================== - -The 'awk' language provides a number of predefined, or "built-in", -variables that your programs can use to get information from 'awk'. -There are other variables your program can set as well to control how -'awk' processes your data. - - In addition, 'awk' provides a number of built-in functions for doing -common computational and string-related operations. 'gawk' provides -built-in functions for working with timestamps, performing bit -manipulation, for runtime string translation (internationalization), -determining the type of a variable, and array sorting. - - As we develop our presentation of the 'awk' language, we will -introduce most of the variables and many of the functions. They are -described systematically in *note Built-in Variables:: and in *note -Built-in::. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: When, Next: Intro Summary, Prev: Other Features, Up: Getting Started - -1.8 When to Use 'awk' -===================== - -Now that you've seen some of what 'awk' can do, you might wonder how -'awk' could be useful for you. By using utility programs, advanced -patterns, field separators, arithmetic statements, and other selection -criteria, you can produce much more complex output. The 'awk' language -is very useful for producing reports from large amounts of raw data, -such as summarizing information from the output of other utility -programs like 'ls'. (*Note More Complex::.) - - Programs written with 'awk' are usually much smaller than they would -be in other languages. This makes 'awk' programs easy to compose and -use. Often, 'awk' programs can be quickly composed at your keyboard, -used once, and thrown away. Because 'awk' programs are interpreted, you -can avoid the (usually lengthy) compilation part of the typical -edit-compile-test-debug cycle of software development. - - Complex programs have been written in 'awk', including a complete -retargetable assembler for eight-bit microprocessors (*note Glossary::, -for more information), and a microcode assembler for a special-purpose -Prolog computer. The original 'awk''s capabilities were strained by -tasks of such complexity, but modern versions are more capable. - - If you find yourself writing 'awk' scripts of more than, say, a few -hundred lines, you might consider using a different programming -language. The shell is good at string and pattern matching; in -addition, it allows powerful use of the system utilities. Python offers -a nice balance between high-level ease of programming and access to -system facilities.(1) - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Other popular scripting languages include Ruby and Perl. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Intro Summary, Prev: When, Up: Getting Started - -1.9 Summary -=========== - - * Programs in 'awk' consist of PATTERN-ACTION pairs. - - * An ACTION without a PATTERN always runs. The default ACTION for a - pattern without one is '{ print $0 }'. - - * Use either 'awk 'PROGRAM' FILES' or 'awk -f PROGRAM-FILE FILES' to - run 'awk'. - - * You may use the special '#!' header line to create 'awk' programs - that are directly executable. - - * Comments in 'awk' programs start with '#' and continue to the end - of the same line. - - * Be aware of quoting issues when writing 'awk' programs as part of a - larger shell script (or MS-Windows batch file). - - * You may use backslash continuation to continue a source line. - Lines are automatically continued after a comma, open brace, - question mark, colon, '||', '&&', 'do', and 'else'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Invoking Gawk, Next: Regexp, Prev: Getting Started, Up: Top - -2 Running 'awk' and 'gawk' -************************** - -This major node covers how to run 'awk', both POSIX-standard and -'gawk'-specific command-line options, and what 'awk' and 'gawk' do with -nonoption arguments. It then proceeds to cover how 'gawk' searches for -source files, reading standard input along with other files, 'gawk''s -environment variables, 'gawk''s exit status, using include files, and -obsolete and undocumented options and/or features. - - Many of the options and features described here are discussed in more -detail later in the Info file; feel free to skip over things in this -major node that don't interest you right now. - -* Menu: - -* Command Line:: How to run 'awk'. -* Options:: Command-line options and their meanings. -* Other Arguments:: Input file names and variable assignments. -* Naming Standard Input:: How to specify standard input with other - files. -* Environment Variables:: The environment variables 'gawk' uses. -* Exit Status:: 'gawk''s exit status. -* Include Files:: Including other files into your program. -* Loading Shared Libraries:: Loading shared libraries into your program. -* Obsolete:: Obsolete Options and/or features. -* Undocumented:: Undocumented Options and Features. -* Invoking Summary:: Invocation summary. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Command Line, Next: Options, Up: Invoking Gawk - -2.1 Invoking 'awk' -================== - -There are two ways to run 'awk'--with an explicit program or with one or -more program files. Here are templates for both of them; items enclosed -in [...] in these templates are optional: - - 'awk' [OPTIONS] '-f' PROGFILE ['--'] FILE ... - 'awk' [OPTIONS] ['--'] ''PROGRAM'' FILE ... - - In addition to traditional one-letter POSIX-style options, 'gawk' -also supports GNU long options. - - It is possible to invoke 'awk' with an empty program: - - awk '' datafile1 datafile2 - -Doing so makes little sense, though; 'awk' exits silently when given an -empty program. (d.c.) If '--lint' has been specified on the command -line, 'gawk' issues a warning that the program is empty. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Options, Next: Other Arguments, Prev: Command Line, Up: Invoking Gawk - -2.2 Command-Line Options -======================== - -Options begin with a dash and consist of a single character. GNU-style -long options consist of two dashes and a keyword. The keyword can be -abbreviated, as long as the abbreviation allows the option to be -uniquely identified. If the option takes an argument, either the -keyword is immediately followed by an equals sign ('=') and the -argument's value, or the keyword and the argument's value are separated -by whitespace. If a particular option with a value is given more than -once, it is the last value that counts. - - Each long option for 'gawk' has a corresponding POSIX-style short -option. The long and short options are interchangeable in all contexts. -The following list describes options mandated by the POSIX standard: - -'-F FS' -'--field-separator FS' - Set the 'FS' variable to FS (*note Field Separators::). - -'-f SOURCE-FILE' -'--file SOURCE-FILE' - Read the 'awk' program source from SOURCE-FILE instead of in the - first nonoption argument. This option may be given multiple times; - the 'awk' program consists of the concatenation of the contents of - each specified SOURCE-FILE. - -'-v VAR=VAL' -'--assign VAR=VAL' - Set the variable VAR to the value VAL _before_ execution of the - program begins. Such variable values are available inside the - 'BEGIN' rule (*note Other Arguments::). - - The '-v' option can only set one variable, but it can be used more - than once, setting another variable each time, like this: 'awk - -v foo=1 -v bar=2 ...'. - - CAUTION: Using '-v' to set the values of the built-in - variables may lead to surprising results. 'awk' will reset - the values of those variables as it needs to, possibly - ignoring any initial value you may have given. - -'-W GAWK-OPT' - Provide an implementation-specific option. This is the POSIX - convention for providing implementation-specific options. These - options also have corresponding GNU-style long options. Note that - the long options may be abbreviated, as long as the abbreviations - remain unique. The full list of 'gawk'-specific options is - provided next. - -'--' - Signal the end of the command-line options. The following - arguments are not treated as options even if they begin with '-'. - This interpretation of '--' follows the POSIX argument parsing - conventions. - - This is useful if you have file names that start with '-', or in - shell scripts, if you have file names that will be specified by the - user that could start with '-'. It is also useful for passing - options on to the 'awk' program; see *note Getopt Function::. - - The following list describes 'gawk'-specific options: - -'-b' -'--characters-as-bytes' - Cause 'gawk' to treat all input data as single-byte characters. In - addition, all output written with 'print' or 'printf' is treated as - single-byte characters. - - Normally, 'gawk' follows the POSIX standard and attempts to process - its input data according to the current locale (*note Locales::). - This can often involve converting multibyte characters into wide - characters (internally), and can lead to problems or confusion if - the input data does not contain valid multibyte characters. This - option is an easy way to tell 'gawk', "Hands off my data!" - -'-c' -'--traditional' - Specify "compatibility mode", in which the GNU extensions to the - 'awk' language are disabled, so that 'gawk' behaves just like BWK - 'awk'. *Note POSIX/GNU::, which summarizes the extensions. Also - see *note Compatibility Mode::. - -'-C' -'--copyright' - Print the short version of the General Public License and then - exit. - -'-d'[FILE] -'--dump-variables'['='FILE] - Print a sorted list of global variables, their types, and final - values to FILE. If no FILE is provided, print this list to a file - named 'awkvars.out' in the current directory. No space is allowed - between the '-d' and FILE, if FILE is supplied. - - Having a list of all global variables is a good way to look for - typographical errors in your programs. You would also use this - option if you have a large program with a lot of functions, and you - want to be sure that your functions don't inadvertently use global - variables that you meant to be local. (This is a particularly easy - mistake to make with simple variable names like 'i', 'j', etc.) - -'-D'[FILE] -'--debug'['='FILE] - Enable debugging of 'awk' programs (*note Debugging::). By - default, the debugger reads commands interactively from the - keyboard (standard input). The optional FILE argument allows you - to specify a file with a list of commands for the debugger to - execute noninteractively. No space is allowed between the '-D' and - FILE, if FILE is supplied. - -'-e' PROGRAM-TEXT -'--source' PROGRAM-TEXT - Provide program source code in the PROGRAM-TEXT. This option - allows you to mix source code in files with source code that you - enter on the command line. This is particularly useful when you - have library functions that you want to use from your command-line - programs (*note AWKPATH Variable::). - -'-E' FILE -'--exec' FILE - Similar to '-f', read 'awk' program text from FILE. There are two - differences from '-f': - - * This option terminates option processing; anything else on the - command line is passed on directly to the 'awk' program. - - * Command-line variable assignments of the form 'VAR=VALUE' are - disallowed. - - This option is particularly necessary for World Wide Web CGI - applications that pass arguments through the URL; using this option - prevents a malicious (or other) user from passing in options, - assignments, or 'awk' source code (via '-e') to the CGI - application.(1) This option should be used with '#!' scripts - (*note Executable Scripts::), like so: - - #! /usr/local/bin/gawk -E - - AWK PROGRAM HERE ... - -'-g' -'--gen-pot' - Analyze the source program and generate a GNU 'gettext' portable - object template file on standard output for all string constants - that have been marked for translation. *Note - Internationalization::, for information about this option. - -'-h' -'--help' - Print a "usage" message summarizing the short- and long-style - options that 'gawk' accepts and then exit. - -'-i' SOURCE-FILE -'--include' SOURCE-FILE - Read an 'awk' source library from SOURCE-FILE. This option is - completely equivalent to using the '@include' directive inside your - program. It is very similar to the '-f' option, but there are two - important differences. First, when '-i' is used, the program - source is not loaded if it has been previously loaded, whereas with - '-f', 'gawk' always loads the file. Second, because this option is - intended to be used with code libraries, 'gawk' does not recognize - such files as constituting main program input. Thus, after - processing an '-i' argument, 'gawk' still expects to find the main - source code via the '-f' option or on the command line. - -'-l' EXT -'--load' EXT - Load a dynamic extension named EXT. Extensions are stored as - system shared libraries. This option searches for the library - using the 'AWKLIBPATH' environment variable. The correct library - suffix for your platform will be supplied by default, so it need - not be specified in the extension name. The extension - initialization routine should be named 'dl_load()'. An alternative - is to use the '@load' keyword inside the program to load a shared - library. This advanced feature is described in detail in *note - Dynamic Extensions::. - -'-L'[VALUE] -'--lint'['='VALUE] - Warn about constructs that are dubious or nonportable to other - 'awk' implementations. No space is allowed between the '-L' and - VALUE, if VALUE is supplied. Some warnings are issued when 'gawk' - first reads your program. Others are issued at runtime, as your - program executes. With an optional argument of 'fatal', lint - warnings become fatal errors. This may be drastic, but its use - will certainly encourage the development of cleaner 'awk' programs. - With an optional argument of 'invalid', only warnings about things - that are actually invalid are issued. (This is not fully - implemented yet.) - - Some warnings are only printed once, even if the dubious constructs - they warn about occur multiple times in your 'awk' program. Thus, - when eliminating problems pointed out by '--lint', you should take - care to search for all occurrences of each inappropriate construct. - As 'awk' programs are usually short, doing so is not burdensome. - -'-M' -'--bignum' - Select arbitrary-precision arithmetic on numbers. This option has - no effect if 'gawk' is not compiled to use the GNU MPFR and MP - libraries (*note Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic::). - -'-n' -'--non-decimal-data' - Enable automatic interpretation of octal and hexadecimal values in - input data (*note Nondecimal Data::). - - CAUTION: This option can severely break old programs. Use - with care. Also note that this option may disappear in a - future version of 'gawk'. - -'-N' -'--use-lc-numeric' - Force the use of the locale's decimal point character when parsing - numeric input data (*note Locales::). - -'-o'[FILE] -'--pretty-print'['='FILE] - Enable pretty-printing of 'awk' programs. Implies '--no-optimize'. - By default, the output program is created in a file named - 'awkprof.out' (*note Profiling::). The optional FILE argument - allows you to specify a different file name for the output. No - space is allowed between the '-o' and FILE, if FILE is supplied. - - NOTE: In the past, this option would also execute your - program. This is no longer the case. - -'-O' -'--optimize' - Enable 'gawk''s default optimizations on the internal - representation of the program. At the moment, this includes simple - constant folding and tail recursion elimination in function calls. - - These optimizations are enabled by default. This option remains - primarily for backwards compatibility. However, it may be used to - cancel the effect of an earlier '-s' option (see later in this - list). - -'-p'[FILE] -'--profile'['='FILE] - Enable profiling of 'awk' programs (*note Profiling::). Implies - '--no-optimize'. By default, profiles are created in a file named - 'awkprof.out'. The optional FILE argument allows you to specify a - different file name for the profile file. No space is allowed - between the '-p' and FILE, if FILE is supplied. - - The profile contains execution counts for each statement in the - program in the left margin, and function call counts for each - function. - -'-P' -'--posix' - Operate in strict POSIX mode. This disables all 'gawk' extensions - (just like '--traditional') and disables all extensions not allowed - by POSIX. *Note Common Extensions:: for a summary of the extensions - in 'gawk' that are disabled by this option. Also, the following - additional restrictions apply: - - * Newlines are not allowed after '?' or ':' (*note Conditional - Exp::). - - * Specifying '-Ft' on the command line does not set the value of - 'FS' to be a single TAB character (*note Field Separators::). - - * The locale's decimal point character is used for parsing input - data (*note Locales::). - - If you supply both '--traditional' and '--posix' on the command - line, '--posix' takes precedence. 'gawk' issues a warning if both - options are supplied. - -'-r' -'--re-interval' - Allow interval expressions (*note Regexp Operators::) in regexps. - This is now 'gawk''s default behavior. Nevertheless, this option - remains (both for backward compatibility and for use in combination - with '--traditional'). - -'-s' -'--no-optimize' - Disable 'gawk''s default optimizations on the internal - representation of the program. - -'-S' -'--sandbox' - Disable the 'system()' function, input redirections with 'getline', - output redirections with 'print' and 'printf', and dynamic - extensions. This is particularly useful when you want to run 'awk' - scripts from questionable sources and need to make sure the scripts - can't access your system (other than the specified input data - file). - -'-t' -'--lint-old' - Warn about constructs that are not available in the original - version of 'awk' from Version 7 Unix (*note V7/SVR3.1::). - -'-V' -'--version' - Print version information for this particular copy of 'gawk'. This - allows you to determine if your copy of 'gawk' is up to date with - respect to whatever the Free Software Foundation is currently - distributing. It is also useful for bug reports (*note Bugs::). - - As long as program text has been supplied, any other options are -flagged as invalid with a warning message but are otherwise ignored. - - In compatibility mode, as a special case, if the value of FS supplied -to the '-F' option is 't', then 'FS' is set to the TAB character -('"\t"'). This is true only for '--traditional' and not for '--posix' -(*note Field Separators::). - - The '-f' option may be used more than once on the command line. If -it is, 'awk' reads its program source from all of the named files, as if -they had been concatenated together into one big file. This is useful -for creating libraries of 'awk' functions. These functions can be -written once and then retrieved from a standard place, instead of having -to be included in each individual program. The '-i' option is similar -in this regard. (As mentioned in *note Definition Syntax::, function -names must be unique.) - - With standard 'awk', library functions can still be used, even if the -program is entered at the keyboard, by specifying '-f /dev/tty'. After -typing your program, type 'Ctrl-d' (the end-of-file character) to -terminate it. (You may also use '-f -' to read program source from the -standard input, but then you will not be able to also use the standard -input as a source of data.) - - Because it is clumsy using the standard 'awk' mechanisms to mix -source file and command-line 'awk' programs, 'gawk' provides the '-e' -option. This does not require you to preempt the standard input for -your source code; it allows you to easily mix command-line and library -source code (*note AWKPATH Variable::). As with '-f', the '-e' and '-i' -options may also be used multiple times on the command line. - - If no '-f' or '-e' option is specified, then 'gawk' uses the first -nonoption command-line argument as the text of the program source code. - - If the environment variable 'POSIXLY_CORRECT' exists, then 'gawk' -behaves in strict POSIX mode, exactly as if you had supplied '--posix'. -Many GNU programs look for this environment variable to suppress -extensions that conflict with POSIX, but 'gawk' behaves differently: it -suppresses all extensions, even those that do not conflict with POSIX, -and behaves in strict POSIX mode. If '--lint' is supplied on the -command line and 'gawk' turns on POSIX mode because of -'POSIXLY_CORRECT', then it issues a warning message indicating that -POSIX mode is in effect. You would typically set this variable in your -shell's startup file. For a Bourne-compatible shell (such as Bash), you -would add these lines to the '.profile' file in your home directory: - - POSIXLY_CORRECT=true - export POSIXLY_CORRECT - - For a C shell-compatible shell,(2) you would add this line to the -'.login' file in your home directory: - - setenv POSIXLY_CORRECT true - - Having 'POSIXLY_CORRECT' set is not recommended for daily use, but it -is good for testing the portability of your programs to other -environments. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) For more detail, please see Section 4.4 of RFC 3875 -(http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3875). Also see the explanatory note sent -to the 'gawk' bug mailing list -(http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-gawk/2014-11/msg00022.html). - - (2) Not recommended. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Other Arguments, Next: Naming Standard Input, Prev: Options, Up: Invoking Gawk - -2.3 Other Command-Line Arguments -================================ - -Any additional arguments on the command line are normally treated as -input files to be processed in the order specified. However, an -argument that has the form 'VAR=VALUE', assigns the value VALUE to the -variable VAR--it does not specify a file at all. (See *note Assignment -Options::.) In the following example, COUNT=1 is a variable assignment, -not a file name: - - awk -f program.awk file1 count=1 file2 - - All the command-line arguments are made available to your 'awk' -program in the 'ARGV' array (*note Built-in Variables::). Command-line -options and the program text (if present) are omitted from 'ARGV'. All -other arguments, including variable assignments, are included. As each -element of 'ARGV' is processed, 'gawk' sets 'ARGIND' to the index in -'ARGV' of the current element. - - Changing 'ARGC' and 'ARGV' in your 'awk' program lets you control how -'awk' processes the input files; this is described in more detail in -*note ARGC and ARGV::. - - The distinction between file name arguments and variable-assignment -arguments is made when 'awk' is about to open the next input file. At -that point in execution, it checks the file name to see whether it is -really a variable assignment; if so, 'awk' sets the variable instead of -reading a file. - - Therefore, the variables actually receive the given values after all -previously specified files have been read. In particular, the values of -variables assigned in this fashion are _not_ available inside a 'BEGIN' -rule (*note BEGIN/END::), because such rules are run before 'awk' begins -scanning the argument list. - - The variable values given on the command line are processed for -escape sequences (*note Escape Sequences::). (d.c.) - - In some very early implementations of 'awk', when a variable -assignment occurred before any file names, the assignment would happen -_before_ the 'BEGIN' rule was executed. 'awk''s behavior was thus -inconsistent; some command-line assignments were available inside the -'BEGIN' rule, while others were not. Unfortunately, some applications -came to depend upon this "feature." When 'awk' was changed to be more -consistent, the '-v' option was added to accommodate applications that -depended upon the old behavior. - - The variable assignment feature is most useful for assigning to -variables such as 'RS', 'OFS', and 'ORS', which control input and output -formats, before scanning the data files. It is also useful for -controlling state if multiple passes are needed over a data file. For -example: - - awk 'pass == 1 { PASS 1 STUFF } - pass == 2 { PASS 2 STUFF }' pass=1 mydata pass=2 mydata - - Given the variable assignment feature, the '-F' option for setting -the value of 'FS' is not strictly necessary. It remains for historical -compatibility. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Naming Standard Input, Next: Environment Variables, Prev: Other Arguments, Up: Invoking Gawk - -2.4 Naming Standard Input -========================= - -Often, you may wish to read standard input together with other files. -For example, you may wish to read one file, read standard input coming -from a pipe, and then read another file. - - The way to name the standard input, with all versions of 'awk', is to -use a single, standalone minus sign or dash, '-'. For example: - - SOME_COMMAND | awk -f myprog.awk file1 - file2 - -Here, 'awk' first reads 'file1', then it reads the output of -SOME_COMMAND, and finally it reads 'file2'. - - You may also use '"-"' to name standard input when reading files with -'getline' (*note Getline/File::). - - In addition, 'gawk' allows you to specify the special file name -'/dev/stdin', both on the command line and with 'getline'. Some other -versions of 'awk' also support this, but it is not standard. (Some -operating systems provide a '/dev/stdin' file in the filesystem; -however, 'gawk' always processes this file name itself.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Environment Variables, Next: Exit Status, Prev: Naming Standard Input, Up: Invoking Gawk - -2.5 The Environment Variables 'gawk' Uses -========================================= - -A number of environment variables influence how 'gawk' behaves. - -* Menu: - -* AWKPATH Variable:: Searching directories for 'awk' - programs. -* AWKLIBPATH Variable:: Searching directories for 'awk' shared - libraries. -* Other Environment Variables:: The environment variables. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: AWKPATH Variable, Next: AWKLIBPATH Variable, Up: Environment Variables - -2.5.1 The 'AWKPATH' Environment Variable ----------------------------------------- - -The previous minor node described how 'awk' program files can be named -on the command line with the '-f' option. In most 'awk' -implementations, you must supply a precise pathname for each program -file, unless the file is in the current directory. But with 'gawk', if -the file name supplied to the '-f' or '-i' options does not contain a -directory separator '/', then 'gawk' searches a list of directories -(called the "search path") one by one, looking for a file with the -specified name. - - The search path is a string consisting of directory names separated -by colons.(1) 'gawk' gets its search path from the 'AWKPATH' -environment variable. If that variable does not exist, or if it has an -empty value, 'gawk' uses a default path (described shortly). - - The search path feature is particularly helpful for building -libraries of useful 'awk' functions. The library files can be placed in -a standard directory in the default path and then specified on the -command line with a short file name. Otherwise, you would have to type -the full file name for each file. - - By using the '-i' or '-f' options, your command-line 'awk' programs -can use facilities in 'awk' library files (*note Library Functions::). -Path searching is not done if 'gawk' is in compatibility mode. This is -true for both '--traditional' and '--posix'. *Note Options::. - - If the source code file is not found after the initial search, the -path is searched again after adding the suffix '.awk' to the file name. - - 'gawk''s path search mechanism is similar to the shell's. (See 'The -Bourne-Again SHell manual' (http://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/).) -It treats a null entry in the path as indicating the current directory. -(A null entry is indicated by starting or ending the path with a colon -or by placing two colons next to each other ['::'].) - - NOTE: To include the current directory in the path, either place - '.' as an entry in the path or write a null entry in the path. - - Different past versions of 'gawk' would also look explicitly in the - current directory, either before or after the path search. As of - version 4.1.2, this no longer happens; if you wish to look in the - current directory, you must include '.' either as a separate entry - or as a null entry in the search path. - - The default value for 'AWKPATH' is '.:/usr/local/share/awk'.(2) -Since '.' is included at the beginning, 'gawk' searches first in the -current directory and then in '/usr/local/share/awk'. In practice, this -means that you will rarely need to change the value of 'AWKPATH'. - - *Note Shell Startup Files::, for information on functions that help -to manipulate the 'AWKPATH' variable. - - 'gawk' places the value of the search path that it used into -'ENVIRON["AWKPATH"]'. This provides access to the actual search path -value from within an 'awk' program. - - Although you can change 'ENVIRON["AWKPATH"]' within your 'awk' -program, this has no effect on the running program's behavior. This -makes sense: the 'AWKPATH' environment variable is used to find the -program source files. Once your program is running, all the files have -been found, and 'gawk' no longer needs to use 'AWKPATH'. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Semicolons on MS-Windows. - - (2) Your version of 'gawk' may use a different directory; it will -depend upon how 'gawk' was built and installed. The actual directory is -the value of '$(datadir)' generated when 'gawk' was configured. You -probably don't need to worry about this, though. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: AWKLIBPATH Variable, Next: Other Environment Variables, Prev: AWKPATH Variable, Up: Environment Variables - -2.5.2 The 'AWKLIBPATH' Environment Variable -------------------------------------------- - -The 'AWKLIBPATH' environment variable is similar to the 'AWKPATH' -variable, but it is used to search for loadable extensions (stored as -system shared libraries) specified with the '-l' option rather than for -source files. If the extension is not found, the path is searched again -after adding the appropriate shared library suffix for the platform. -For example, on GNU/Linux systems, the suffix '.so' is used. The search -path specified is also used for extensions loaded via the '@load' -keyword (*note Loading Shared Libraries::). - - If 'AWKLIBPATH' does not exist in the environment, or if it has an -empty value, 'gawk' uses a default path; this is typically -'/usr/local/lib/gawk', although it can vary depending upon how 'gawk' -was built. - - *Note Shell Startup Files::, for information on functions that help -to manipulate the 'AWKLIBPATH' variable. - - 'gawk' places the value of the search path that it used into -'ENVIRON["AWKLIBPATH"]'. This provides access to the actual search path -value from within an 'awk' program. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Other Environment Variables, Prev: AWKLIBPATH Variable, Up: Environment Variables - -2.5.3 Other Environment Variables ---------------------------------- - -A number of other environment variables affect 'gawk''s behavior, but -they are more specialized. Those in the following list are meant to be -used by regular users: - -'GAWK_MSEC_SLEEP' - Specifies the interval between connection retries, in milliseconds. - On systems that do not support the 'usleep()' system call, the - value is rounded up to an integral number of seconds. - -'GAWK_READ_TIMEOUT' - Specifies the time, in milliseconds, for 'gawk' to wait for input - before returning with an error. *Note Read Timeout::. - -'GAWK_SOCK_RETRIES' - Controls the number of times 'gawk' attempts to retry a two-way - TCP/IP (socket) connection before giving up. *Note TCP/IP - Networking::. Note that when nonfatal I/O is enabled (*note - Nonfatal::), 'gawk' only tries to open a TCP/IP socket once. - -'POSIXLY_CORRECT' - Causes 'gawk' to switch to POSIX-compatibility mode, disabling all - traditional and GNU extensions. *Note Options::. - - The environment variables in the following list are meant for use by -the 'gawk' developers for testing and tuning. They are subject to -change. The variables are: - -'AWKBUFSIZE' - This variable only affects 'gawk' on POSIX-compliant systems. With - a value of 'exact', 'gawk' uses the size of each input file as the - size of the memory buffer to allocate for I/O. Otherwise, the value - should be a number, and 'gawk' uses that number as the size of the - buffer to allocate. (When this variable is not set, 'gawk' uses - the smaller of the file's size and the "default" blocksize, which - is usually the filesystem's I/O blocksize.) - -'AWK_HASH' - If this variable exists with a value of 'gst', 'gawk' switches to - using the hash function from GNU Smalltalk for managing arrays. - This function may be marginally faster than the standard function. - -'AWKREADFUNC' - If this variable exists, 'gawk' switches to reading source files - one line at a time, instead of reading in blocks. This exists for - debugging problems on filesystems on non-POSIX operating systems - where I/O is performed in records, not in blocks. - -'GAWK_MSG_SRC' - If this variable exists, 'gawk' includes the file name and line - number within the 'gawk' source code from which warning and/or - fatal messages are generated. Its purpose is to help isolate the - source of a message, as there are multiple places that produce the - same warning or error message. - -'GAWK_LOCALE_DIR' - Specifies the location of compiled message object files for 'gawk' - itself. This is passed to the 'bindtextdomain()' function when - 'gawk' starts up. - -'GAWK_NO_DFA' - If this variable exists, 'gawk' does not use the DFA regexp matcher - for "does it match" kinds of tests. This can cause 'gawk' to be - slower. Its purpose is to help isolate differences between the two - regexp matchers that 'gawk' uses internally. (There aren't - supposed to be differences, but occasionally theory and practice - don't coordinate with each other.) - -'GAWK_STACKSIZE' - This specifies the amount by which 'gawk' should grow its internal - evaluation stack, when needed. - -'INT_CHAIN_MAX' - This specifies intended maximum number of items 'gawk' will - maintain on a hash chain for managing arrays indexed by integers. - -'STR_CHAIN_MAX' - This specifies intended maximum number of items 'gawk' will - maintain on a hash chain for managing arrays indexed by strings. - -'TIDYMEM' - If this variable exists, 'gawk' uses the 'mtrace()' library calls - from the GNU C library to help track down possible memory leaks. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Exit Status, Next: Include Files, Prev: Environment Variables, Up: Invoking Gawk - -2.6 'gawk''s Exit Status -======================== - -If the 'exit' statement is used with a value (*note Exit Statement::), -then 'gawk' exits with the numeric value given to it. - - Otherwise, if there were no problems during execution, 'gawk' exits -with the value of the C constant 'EXIT_SUCCESS'. This is usually zero. - - If an error occurs, 'gawk' exits with the value of the C constant -'EXIT_FAILURE'. This is usually one. - - If 'gawk' exits because of a fatal error, the exit status is two. On -non-POSIX systems, this value may be mapped to 'EXIT_FAILURE'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Include Files, Next: Loading Shared Libraries, Prev: Exit Status, Up: Invoking Gawk - -2.7 Including Other Files into Your Program -=========================================== - -This minor node describes a feature that is specific to 'gawk'. - - The '@include' keyword can be used to read external 'awk' source -files. This gives you the ability to split large 'awk' source files -into smaller, more manageable pieces, and also lets you reuse common -'awk' code from various 'awk' scripts. In other words, you can group -together 'awk' functions used to carry out specific tasks into external -files. These files can be used just like function libraries, using the -'@include' keyword in conjunction with the 'AWKPATH' environment -variable. Note that source files may also be included using the '-i' -option. - - Let's see an example. We'll start with two (trivial) 'awk' scripts, -namely 'test1' and 'test2'. Here is the 'test1' script: - - BEGIN { - print "This is script test1." - } - -and here is 'test2': - - @include "test1" - BEGIN { - print "This is script test2." - } - - Running 'gawk' with 'test2' produces the following result: - - $ gawk -f test2 - -| This is script test1. - -| This is script test2. - - 'gawk' runs the 'test2' script, which includes 'test1' using the -'@include' keyword. So, to include external 'awk' source files, you -just use '@include' followed by the name of the file to be included, -enclosed in double quotes. - - NOTE: Keep in mind that this is a language construct and the file - name cannot be a string variable, but rather just a literal string - constant in double quotes. - - The files to be included may be nested; e.g., given a third script, -namely 'test3': - - @include "test2" - BEGIN { - print "This is script test3." - } - -Running 'gawk' with the 'test3' script produces the following results: - - $ gawk -f test3 - -| This is script test1. - -| This is script test2. - -| This is script test3. - - The file name can, of course, be a pathname. For example: - - @include "../io_funcs" - -and: - - @include "/usr/awklib/network" - -are both valid. The 'AWKPATH' environment variable can be of great -value when using '@include'. The same rules for the use of the -'AWKPATH' variable in command-line file searches (*note AWKPATH -Variable::) apply to '@include' also. - - This is very helpful in constructing 'gawk' function libraries. If -you have a large script with useful, general-purpose 'awk' functions, -you can break it down into library files and put those files in a -special directory. You can then include those "libraries," either by -using the full pathnames of the files, or by setting the 'AWKPATH' -environment variable accordingly and then using '@include' with just the -file part of the full pathname. Of course, you can keep library files -in more than one directory; the more complex the working environment is, -the more directories you may need to organize the files to be included. - - Given the ability to specify multiple '-f' options, the '@include' -mechanism is not strictly necessary. However, the '@include' keyword -can help you in constructing self-contained 'gawk' programs, thus -reducing the need for writing complex and tedious command lines. In -particular, '@include' is very useful for writing CGI scripts to be run -from web pages. - - As mentioned in *note AWKPATH Variable::, the current directory is -always searched first for source files, before searching in 'AWKPATH'; -this also applies to files named with '@include'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Loading Shared Libraries, Next: Obsolete, Prev: Include Files, Up: Invoking Gawk - -2.8 Loading Dynamic Extensions into Your Program -================================================ - -This minor node describes a feature that is specific to 'gawk'. - - The '@load' keyword can be used to read external 'awk' extensions -(stored as system shared libraries). This allows you to link in -compiled code that may offer superior performance and/or give you access -to extended capabilities not supported by the 'awk' language. The -'AWKLIBPATH' variable is used to search for the extension. Using -'@load' is completely equivalent to using the '-l' command-line option. - - If the extension is not initially found in 'AWKLIBPATH', another -search is conducted after appending the platform's default shared -library suffix to the file name. For example, on GNU/Linux systems, the -suffix '.so' is used: - - $ gawk '@load "ordchr"; BEGIN {print chr(65)}' - -| A - -This is equivalent to the following example: - - $ gawk -lordchr 'BEGIN {print chr(65)}' - -| A - -For command-line usage, the '-l' option is more convenient, but '@load' -is useful for embedding inside an 'awk' source file that requires access -to an extension. - - *note Dynamic Extensions::, describes how to write extensions (in C -or C++) that can be loaded with either '@load' or the '-l' option. It -also describes the 'ordchr' extension. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Obsolete, Next: Undocumented, Prev: Loading Shared Libraries, Up: Invoking Gawk - -2.9 Obsolete Options and/or Features -==================================== - -This minor node describes features and/or command-line options from -previous releases of 'gawk' that either are not available in the current -version or are still supported but deprecated (meaning that they will -_not_ be in the next release). - - The process-related special files '/dev/pid', '/dev/ppid', -'/dev/pgrpid', and '/dev/user' were deprecated in 'gawk' 3.1, but still -worked. As of version 4.0, they are no longer interpreted specially by -'gawk'. (Use 'PROCINFO' instead; see *note Auto-set::.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Undocumented, Next: Invoking Summary, Prev: Obsolete, Up: Invoking Gawk - -2.10 Undocumented Options and Features -====================================== - - Use the Source, Luke! - -- _Obi-Wan_ - - This minor node intentionally left blank. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Invoking Summary, Prev: Undocumented, Up: Invoking Gawk - -2.11 Summary -============ - - * Use either 'awk 'PROGRAM' FILES' or 'awk -f PROGRAM-FILE FILES' to - run 'awk'. - - * The three standard options for all versions of 'awk' are '-f', - '-F', and '-v'. 'gawk' supplies these and many others, as well as - corresponding GNU-style long options. - - * Nonoption command-line arguments are usually treated as file names, - unless they have the form 'VAR=VALUE', in which case they are taken - as variable assignments to be performed at that point in processing - the input. - - * All nonoption command-line arguments, excluding the program text, - are placed in the 'ARGV' array. Adjusting 'ARGC' and 'ARGV' - affects how 'awk' processes input. - - * You can use a single minus sign ('-') to refer to standard input on - the command line. 'gawk' also lets you use the special file name - '/dev/stdin'. - - * 'gawk' pays attention to a number of environment variables. - 'AWKPATH', 'AWKLIBPATH', and 'POSIXLY_CORRECT' are the most - important ones. - - * 'gawk''s exit status conveys information to the program that - invoked it. Use the 'exit' statement from within an 'awk' program - to set the exit status. - - * 'gawk' allows you to include other 'awk' source files into your - program using the '@include' statement and/or the '-i' and '-f' - command-line options. - - * 'gawk' allows you to load additional functions written in C or C++ - using the '@load' statement and/or the '-l' option. (This advanced - feature is described later, in *note Dynamic Extensions::.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Regexp, Next: Reading Files, Prev: Invoking Gawk, Up: Top - -3 Regular Expressions -********************* - -A "regular expression", or "regexp", is a way of describing a set of -strings. Because regular expressions are such a fundamental part of -'awk' programming, their format and use deserve a separate major node. - - A regular expression enclosed in slashes ('/') is an 'awk' pattern -that matches every input record whose text belongs to that set. The -simplest regular expression is a sequence of letters, numbers, or both. -Such a regexp matches any string that contains that sequence. Thus, the -regexp 'foo' matches any string containing 'foo'. Thus, the pattern -'/foo/' matches any input record containing the three adjacent -characters 'foo' _anywhere_ in the record. Other kinds of regexps let -you specify more complicated classes of strings. - -* Menu: - -* Regexp Usage:: How to Use Regular Expressions. -* Escape Sequences:: How to write nonprinting characters. -* Regexp Operators:: Regular Expression Operators. -* Bracket Expressions:: What can go between '[...]'. -* Leftmost Longest:: How much text matches. -* Computed Regexps:: Using Dynamic Regexps. -* GNU Regexp Operators:: Operators specific to GNU software. -* Case-sensitivity:: How to do case-insensitive matching. -* Strong Regexp Constants:: Strongly typed regexp constants. -* Regexp Summary:: Regular expressions summary. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Regexp Usage, Next: Escape Sequences, Up: Regexp - -3.1 How to Use Regular Expressions -================================== - -A regular expression can be used as a pattern by enclosing it in -slashes. Then the regular expression is tested against the entire text -of each record. (Normally, it only needs to match some part of the text -in order to succeed.) For example, the following prints the second -field of each record where the string 'li' appears anywhere in the -record: - - $ awk '/li/ { print $2 }' mail-list - -| 555-5553 - -| 555-0542 - -| 555-6699 - -| 555-3430 - - Regular expressions can also be used in matching expressions. These -expressions allow you to specify the string to match against; it need -not be the entire current input record. The two operators '~' and '!~' -perform regular expression comparisons. Expressions using these -operators can be used as patterns, or in 'if', 'while', 'for', and 'do' -statements. (*Note Statements::.) For example, the following is true -if the expression EXP (taken as a string) matches REGEXP: - - EXP ~ /REGEXP/ - -This example matches, or selects, all input records with the uppercase -letter 'J' somewhere in the first field: - - $ awk '$1 ~ /J/' inventory-shipped - -| Jan 13 25 15 115 - -| Jun 31 42 75 492 - -| Jul 24 34 67 436 - -| Jan 21 36 64 620 - - So does this: - - awk '{ if ($1 ~ /J/) print }' inventory-shipped - - This next example is true if the expression EXP (taken as a character -string) does _not_ match REGEXP: - - EXP !~ /REGEXP/ - - The following example matches, or selects, all input records whose -first field _does not_ contain the uppercase letter 'J': - - $ awk '$1 !~ /J/' inventory-shipped - -| Feb 15 32 24 226 - -| Mar 15 24 34 228 - -| Apr 31 52 63 420 - -| May 16 34 29 208 - ... - - When a regexp is enclosed in slashes, such as '/foo/', we call it a -"regexp constant", much like '5.27' is a numeric constant and '"foo"' is -a string constant. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Escape Sequences, Next: Regexp Operators, Prev: Regexp Usage, Up: Regexp - -3.2 Escape Sequences -==================== - -Some characters cannot be included literally in string constants -('"foo"') or regexp constants ('/foo/'). Instead, they should be -represented with "escape sequences", which are character sequences -beginning with a backslash ('\'). One use of an escape sequence is to -include a double-quote character in a string constant. Because a plain -double quote ends the string, you must use '\"' to represent an actual -double-quote character as a part of the string. For example: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { print "He said \"hi!\" to her." }' - -| He said "hi!" to her. - - The backslash character itself is another character that cannot be -included normally; you must write '\\' to put one backslash in the -string or regexp. Thus, the string whose contents are the two -characters '"' and '\' must be written '"\"\\"'. - - Other escape sequences represent unprintable characters such as TAB -or newline. There is nothing to stop you from entering most unprintable -characters directly in a string constant or regexp constant, but they -may look ugly. - - The following list presents all the escape sequences used in 'awk' -and what they represent. Unless noted otherwise, all these escape -sequences apply to both string constants and regexp constants: - -'\\' - A literal backslash, '\'. - -'\a' - The "alert" character, 'Ctrl-g', ASCII code 7 (BEL). (This often - makes some sort of audible noise.) - -'\b' - Backspace, 'Ctrl-h', ASCII code 8 (BS). - -'\f' - Formfeed, 'Ctrl-l', ASCII code 12 (FF). - -'\n' - Newline, 'Ctrl-j', ASCII code 10 (LF). - -'\r' - Carriage return, 'Ctrl-m', ASCII code 13 (CR). - -'\t' - Horizontal TAB, 'Ctrl-i', ASCII code 9 (HT). - -'\v' - Vertical TAB, 'Ctrl-k', ASCII code 11 (VT). - -'\NNN' - The octal value NNN, where NNN stands for 1 to 3 digits between '0' - and '7'. For example, the code for the ASCII ESC (escape) - character is '\033'. - -'\xHH...' - The hexadecimal value HH, where HH stands for a sequence of - hexadecimal digits ('0'-'9', and either 'A'-'F' or 'a'-'f'). A - maximum of two digts are allowed after the '\x'. Any further - hexadecimal digits are treated as simple letters or numbers. - (c.e.) (The '\x' escape sequence is not allowed in POSIX awk.) - - CAUTION: In ISO C, the escape sequence continues until the - first nonhexadecimal digit is seen. For many years, 'gawk' - would continue incorporating hexadecimal digits into the value - until a non-hexadecimal digit or the end of the string was - encountered. However, using more than two hexadecimal digits - produced undefined results. As of version 4.2, only two - digits are processed. - -'\/' - A literal slash (necessary for regexp constants only). This - sequence is used when you want to write a regexp constant that - contains a slash (such as '/.*:\/home\/[[:alnum:]]+:.*/'; the - '[[:alnum:]]' notation is discussed in *note Bracket - Expressions::). Because the regexp is delimited by slashes, you - need to escape any slash that is part of the pattern, in order to - tell 'awk' to keep processing the rest of the regexp. - -'\"' - A literal double quote (necessary for string constants only). This - sequence is used when you want to write a string constant that - contains a double quote (such as '"He said \"hi!\" to her."'). - Because the string is delimited by double quotes, you need to - escape any quote that is part of the string, in order to tell 'awk' - to keep processing the rest of the string. - - In 'gawk', a number of additional two-character sequences that begin -with a backslash have special meaning in regexps. *Note GNU Regexp -Operators::. - - In a regexp, a backslash before any character that is not in the -previous list and not listed in *note GNU Regexp Operators:: means that -the next character should be taken literally, even if it would normally -be a regexp operator. For example, '/a\+b/' matches the three -characters 'a+b'. - - For complete portability, do not use a backslash before any character -not shown in the previous list or that is not an operator. - - Backslash Before Regular Characters - - If you place a backslash in a string constant before something that -is not one of the characters previously listed, POSIX 'awk' purposely -leaves what happens as undefined. There are two choices: - -Strip the backslash out - This is what BWK 'awk' and 'gawk' both do. For example, '"a\qc"' - is the same as '"aqc"'. (Because this is such an easy bug both to - introduce and to miss, 'gawk' warns you about it.) Consider 'FS = - "[ \t]+\|[ \t]+"' to use vertical bars surrounded by whitespace as - the field separator. There should be two backslashes in the - string: 'FS = "[ \t]+\\|[ \t]+"'.) - -Leave the backslash alone - Some other 'awk' implementations do this. In such implementations, - typing '"a\qc"' is the same as typing '"a\\qc"'. - - To summarize: - - * The escape sequences in the preceding list are always processed - first, for both string constants and regexp constants. This - happens very early, as soon as 'awk' reads your program. - - * 'gawk' processes both regexp constants and dynamic regexps (*note - Computed Regexps::), for the special operators listed in *note GNU - Regexp Operators::. - - * A backslash before any other character means to treat that - character literally. - - Escape Sequences for Metacharacters - - Suppose you use an octal or hexadecimal escape to represent a regexp -metacharacter. (See *note Regexp Operators::.) Does 'awk' treat the -character as a literal character or as a regexp operator? - - Historically, such characters were taken literally. (d.c.) However, -the POSIX standard indicates that they should be treated as real -metacharacters, which is what 'gawk' does. In compatibility mode (*note -Options::), 'gawk' treats the characters represented by octal and -hexadecimal escape sequences literally when used in regexp constants. -Thus, '/a\52b/' is equivalent to '/a\*b/'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Regexp Operators, Next: Bracket Expressions, Prev: Escape Sequences, Up: Regexp - -3.3 Regular Expression Operators -================================ - -You can combine regular expressions with special characters, called -"regular expression operators" or "metacharacters", to increase the -power and versatility of regular expressions. - - The escape sequences described in *note Escape Sequences:: are valid -inside a regexp. They are introduced by a '\' and are recognized and -converted into corresponding real characters as the very first step in -processing regexps. - - Here is a list of metacharacters. All characters that are not escape -sequences and that are not listed here stand for themselves: - -'\' - This suppresses the special meaning of a character when matching. - For example, '\$' matches the character '$'. - -'^' - This matches the beginning of a string. '^@chapter' matches - '@chapter' at the beginning of a string, for example, and can be - used to identify chapter beginnings in Texinfo source files. The - '^' is known as an "anchor", because it anchors the pattern to - match only at the beginning of the string. - - It is important to realize that '^' does not match the beginning of - a line (the point right after a '\n' newline character) embedded in - a string. The condition is not true in the following example: - - if ("line1\nLINE 2" ~ /^L/) ... - -'$' - This is similar to '^', but it matches only at the end of a string. - For example, 'p$' matches a record that ends with a 'p'. The '$' - is an anchor and does not match the end of a line (the point right - before a '\n' newline character) embedded in a string. The - condition in the following example is not true: - - if ("line1\nLINE 2" ~ /1$/) ... - -'.' (period) - This matches any single character, _including_ the newline - character. For example, '.P' matches any single character followed - by a 'P' in a string. Using concatenation, we can make a regular - expression such as 'U.A', which matches any three-character - sequence that begins with 'U' and ends with 'A'. - - In strict POSIX mode (*note Options::), '.' does not match the NUL - character, which is a character with all bits equal to zero. - Otherwise, NUL is just another character. Other versions of 'awk' - may not be able to match the NUL character. - -'['...']' - This is called a "bracket expression".(1) It matches any _one_ of - the characters that are enclosed in the square brackets. For - example, '[MVX]' matches any one of the characters 'M', 'V', or 'X' - in a string. A full discussion of what can be inside the square - brackets of a bracket expression is given in *note Bracket - Expressions::. - -'[^'...']' - This is a "complemented bracket expression". The first character - after the '[' _must_ be a '^'. It matches any characters _except_ - those in the square brackets. For example, '[^awk]' matches any - character that is not an 'a', 'w', or 'k'. - -'|' - This is the "alternation operator" and it is used to specify - alternatives. The '|' has the lowest precedence of all the regular - expression operators. For example, '^P|[aeiouy]' matches any - string that matches either '^P' or '[aeiouy]'. This means it - matches any string that starts with 'P' or contains (anywhere - within it) a lowercase English vowel. - - The alternation applies to the largest possible regexps on either - side. - -'('...')' - Parentheses are used for grouping in regular expressions, as in - arithmetic. They can be used to concatenate regular expressions - containing the alternation operator, '|'. For example, - '@(samp|code)\{[^}]+\}' matches both '@code{foo}' and '@samp{bar}'. - (These are Texinfo formatting control sequences. The '+' is - explained further on in this list.) - -'*' - This symbol means that the preceding regular expression should be - repeated as many times as necessary to find a match. For example, - 'ph*' applies the '*' symbol to the preceding 'h' and looks for - matches of one 'p' followed by any number of 'h's. This also - matches just 'p' if no 'h's are present. - - There are two subtle points to understand about how '*' works. - First, the '*' applies only to the single preceding regular - expression component (e.g., in 'ph*', it applies just to the 'h'). - To cause '*' to apply to a larger subexpression, use parentheses: - '(ph)*' matches 'ph', 'phph', 'phphph', and so on. - - Second, '*' finds as many repetitions as possible. If the text to - be matched is 'phhhhhhhhhhhhhhooey', 'ph*' matches all of the 'h's. - -'+' - This symbol is similar to '*', except that the preceding expression - must be matched at least once. This means that 'wh+y' would match - 'why' and 'whhy', but not 'wy', whereas 'wh*y' would match all - three. - -'?' - This symbol is similar to '*', except that the preceding expression - can be matched either once or not at all. For example, 'fe?d' - matches 'fed' and 'fd', but nothing else. - -'{'N'}' -'{'N',}' -'{'N','M'}' - One or two numbers inside braces denote an "interval expression". - If there is one number in the braces, the preceding regexp is - repeated N times. If there are two numbers separated by a comma, - the preceding regexp is repeated N to M times. If there is one - number followed by a comma, then the preceding regexp is repeated - at least N times: - - 'wh{3}y' - Matches 'whhhy', but not 'why' or 'whhhhy'. - - 'wh{3,5}y' - Matches 'whhhy', 'whhhhy', or 'whhhhhy' only. - - 'wh{2,}y' - Matches 'whhy', 'whhhy', and so on. - - Interval expressions were not traditionally available in 'awk'. - They were added as part of the POSIX standard to make 'awk' and - 'egrep' consistent with each other. - - Initially, because old programs may use '{' and '}' in regexp - constants, 'gawk' did _not_ match interval expressions in regexps. - - However, beginning with version 4.0, 'gawk' does match interval - expressions by default. This is because compatibility with POSIX - has become more important to most 'gawk' users than compatibility - with old programs. - - For programs that use '{' and '}' in regexp constants, it is good - practice to always escape them with a backslash. Then the regexp - constants are valid and work the way you want them to, using any - version of 'awk'.(2) - - Finally, when '{' and '}' appear in regexp constants in a way that - cannot be interpreted as an interval expression (such as '/q{a}/'), - then they stand for themselves. - - In regular expressions, the '*', '+', and '?' operators, as well as -the braces '{' and '}', have the highest precedence, followed by -concatenation, and finally by '|'. As in arithmetic, parentheses can -change how operators are grouped. - - In POSIX 'awk' and 'gawk', the '*', '+', and '?' operators stand for -themselves when there is nothing in the regexp that precedes them. For -example, '/+/' matches a literal plus sign. However, many other -versions of 'awk' treat such a usage as a syntax error. - - If 'gawk' is in compatibility mode (*note Options::), interval -expressions are not available in regular expressions. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) In other literature, you may see a bracket expression referred to -as either a "character set", a "character class", or a "character list". - - (2) Use two backslashes if you're using a string constant with a -regexp operator or function. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Bracket Expressions, Next: Leftmost Longest, Prev: Regexp Operators, Up: Regexp - -3.4 Using Bracket Expressions -============================= - -As mentioned earlier, a bracket expression matches any character among -those listed between the opening and closing square brackets. - - Within a bracket expression, a "range expression" consists of two -characters separated by a hyphen. It matches any single character that -sorts between the two characters, based upon the system's native -character set. For example, '[0-9]' is equivalent to '[0123456789]'. -(See *note Ranges and Locales:: for an explanation of how the POSIX -standard and 'gawk' have changed over time. This is mainly of -historical interest.) - - With the increasing popularity of the Unicode character standard -(http://www.unicode.org), there is an additional wrinkle to consider. -Octal and hexadecimal escape sequences inside bracket expressions are -taken to represent only single-byte characters (characters whose values -fit within the range 0-256). To match a range of characters where the -endpoints of the range are larger than 256, enter the multibyte -encodings of the characters directly. - - To include one of the characters '\', ']', '-', or '^' in a bracket -expression, put a '\' in front of it. For example: - - [d\]] - -matches either 'd' or ']'. Additionally, if you place ']' right after -the opening '[', the closing bracket is treated as one of the characters -to be matched. - - The treatment of '\' in bracket expressions is compatible with other -'awk' implementations and is also mandated by POSIX. The regular -expressions in 'awk' are a superset of the POSIX specification for -Extended Regular Expressions (EREs). POSIX EREs are based on the -regular expressions accepted by the traditional 'egrep' utility. - - "Character classes" are a feature introduced in the POSIX standard. -A character class is a special notation for describing lists of -characters that have a specific attribute, but the actual characters can -vary from country to country and/or from character set to character set. -For example, the notion of what is an alphabetic character differs -between the United States and France. - - A character class is only valid in a regexp _inside_ the brackets of -a bracket expression. Character classes consist of '[:', a keyword -denoting the class, and ':]'. *note Table 3.1: table-char-classes. -lists the character classes defined by the POSIX standard. - -Class Meaning --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -'[:alnum:]' Alphanumeric characters -'[:alpha:]' Alphabetic characters -'[:blank:]' Space and TAB characters -'[:cntrl:]' Control characters -'[:digit:]' Numeric characters -'[:graph:]' Characters that are both printable and visible (a space is - printable but not visible, whereas an 'a' is both) -'[:lower:]' Lowercase alphabetic characters -'[:print:]' Printable characters (characters that are not control - characters) -'[:punct:]' Punctuation characters (characters that are not letters, - digits, control characters, or space characters) -'[:space:]' Space characters (such as space, TAB, and formfeed, to name - a few) -'[:upper:]' Uppercase alphabetic characters -'[:xdigit:]'Characters that are hexadecimal digits - -Table 3.1: POSIX character classes - - For example, before the POSIX standard, you had to write -'/[A-Za-z0-9]/' to match alphanumeric characters. If your character set -had other alphabetic characters in it, this would not match them. With -the POSIX character classes, you can write '/[[:alnum:]]/' to match the -alphabetic and numeric characters in your character set. - - Some utilities that match regular expressions provide a nonstandard -'[:ascii:]' character class; 'awk' does not. However, you can simulate -such a construct using '[\x00-\x7F]'. This matches all values -numerically between zero and 127, which is the defined range of the -ASCII character set. Use a complemented character list ('[^\x00-\x7F]') -to match any single-byte characters that are not in the ASCII range. - - Two additional special sequences can appear in bracket expressions. -These apply to non-ASCII character sets, which can have single symbols -(called "collating elements") that are represented with more than one -character. They can also have several characters that are equivalent -for "collating", or sorting, purposes. (For example, in French, a plain -"e" and a grave-accented "e`" are equivalent.) These sequences are: - -Collating symbols - Multicharacter collating elements enclosed between '[.' and '.]'. - For example, if 'ch' is a collating element, then '[[.ch.]]' is a - regexp that matches this collating element, whereas '[ch]' is a - regexp that matches either 'c' or 'h'. - -Equivalence classes - Locale-specific names for a list of characters that are equal. The - name is enclosed between '[=' and '=]'. For example, the name 'e' - might be used to represent all of "e," "e^," "e`," and "e'." In - this case, '[[=e=]]' is a regexp that matches any of 'e', 'e^', - 'e'', or 'e`'. - - These features are very valuable in non-English-speaking locales. - - CAUTION: The library functions that 'gawk' uses for regular - expression matching currently recognize only POSIX character - classes; they do not recognize collating symbols or equivalence - classes. - - Inside a bracket expression, an opening bracket ('[') that does not -start a character class, collating element or equivalence class is taken -literally. This is also true of '.' and '*'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Leftmost Longest, Next: Computed Regexps, Prev: Bracket Expressions, Up: Regexp - -3.5 How Much Text Matches? -========================== - -Consider the following: - - echo aaaabcd | awk '{ sub(/a+/, ""); print }' - - This example uses the 'sub()' function to make a change to the input -record. ('sub()' replaces the first instance of any text matched by the -first argument with the string provided as the second argument; *note -String Functions::.) Here, the regexp '/a+/' indicates "one or more 'a' -characters," and the replacement text is ''. - - The input contains four 'a' characters. 'awk' (and POSIX) regular -expressions always match the leftmost, _longest_ sequence of input -characters that can match. Thus, all four 'a' characters are replaced -with '' in this example: - - $ echo aaaabcd | awk '{ sub(/a+/, ""); print }' - -| bcd - - For simple match/no-match tests, this is not so important. But when -doing text matching and substitutions with the 'match()', 'sub()', -'gsub()', and 'gensub()' functions, it is very important. *Note String -Functions::, for more information on these functions. Understanding -this principle is also important for regexp-based record and field -splitting (*note Records::, and also *note Field Separators::). - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Computed Regexps, Next: GNU Regexp Operators, Prev: Leftmost Longest, Up: Regexp - -3.6 Using Dynamic Regexps -========================= - -The righthand side of a '~' or '!~' operator need not be a regexp -constant (i.e., a string of characters between slashes). It may be any -expression. The expression is evaluated and converted to a string if -necessary; the contents of the string are then used as the regexp. A -regexp computed in this way is called a "dynamic regexp" or a "computed -regexp": - - BEGIN { digits_regexp = "[[:digit:]]+" } - $0 ~ digits_regexp { print } - -This sets 'digits_regexp' to a regexp that describes one or more digits, -and tests whether the input record matches this regexp. - - NOTE: When using the '~' and '!~' operators, be aware that there is - a difference between a regexp constant enclosed in slashes and a - string constant enclosed in double quotes. If you are going to use - a string constant, you have to understand that the string is, in - essence, scanned _twice_: the first time when 'awk' reads your - program, and the second time when it goes to match the string on - the lefthand side of the operator with the pattern on the right. - This is true of any string-valued expression (such as - 'digits_regexp', shown in the previous example), not just string - constants. - - What difference does it make if the string is scanned twice? The -answer has to do with escape sequences, and particularly with -backslashes. To get a backslash into a regular expression inside a -string, you have to type two backslashes. - - For example, '/\*/' is a regexp constant for a literal '*'. Only one -backslash is needed. To do the same thing with a string, you have to -type '"\\*"'. The first backslash escapes the second one so that the -string actually contains the two characters '\' and '*'. - - Given that you can use both regexp and string constants to describe -regular expressions, which should you use? The answer is "regexp -constants," for several reasons: - - * String constants are more complicated to write and more difficult - to read. Using regexp constants makes your programs less - error-prone. Not understanding the difference between the two - kinds of constants is a common source of errors. - - * It is more efficient to use regexp constants. 'awk' can note that - you have supplied a regexp and store it internally in a form that - makes pattern matching more efficient. When using a string - constant, 'awk' must first convert the string into this internal - form and then perform the pattern matching. - - * Using regexp constants is better form; it shows clearly that you - intend a regexp match. - - Using '\n' in Bracket Expressions of Dynamic Regexps - - Some older versions of 'awk' do not allow the newline character to be -used inside a bracket expression for a dynamic regexp: - - $ awk '$0 ~ "[ \t\n]"' - error-> awk: newline in character class [ - error-> ]... - error-> source line number 1 - error-> context is - error-> $0 ~ "[ >>> \t\n]" <<< - - But a newline in a regexp constant works with no problem: - - $ awk '$0 ~ /[ \t\n]/' - here is a sample line - -| here is a sample line - Ctrl-d - - 'gawk' does not have this problem, and it isn't likely to occur often -in practice, but it's worth noting for future reference. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: GNU Regexp Operators, Next: Case-sensitivity, Prev: Computed Regexps, Up: Regexp - -3.7 'gawk'-Specific Regexp Operators -==================================== - -GNU software that deals with regular expressions provides a number of -additional regexp operators. These operators are described in this -minor node and are specific to 'gawk'; they are not available in other -'awk' implementations. Most of the additional operators deal with word -matching. For our purposes, a "word" is a sequence of one or more -letters, digits, or underscores ('_'): - -'\s' - Matches any whitespace character. Think of it as shorthand for - '[[:space:]]'. - -'\S' - Matches any character that is not whitespace. Think of it as - shorthand for '[^[:space:]]'. - -'\w' - Matches any word-constituent character--that is, it matches any - letter, digit, or underscore. Think of it as shorthand for - '[[:alnum:]_]'. - -'\W' - Matches any character that is not word-constituent. Think of it as - shorthand for '[^[:alnum:]_]'. - -'\<' - Matches the empty string at the beginning of a word. For example, - '/\' - Matches the empty string at the end of a word. For example, - '/stow\>/' matches 'stow' but not 'stowaway'. - -'\y' - Matches the empty string at either the beginning or the end of a - word (i.e., the word boundar*y*). For example, '\yballs?\y' - matches either 'ball' or 'balls', as a separate word. - -'\B' - Matches the empty string that occurs between two word-constituent - characters. For example, '/\Brat\B/' matches 'crate', but it does - not match 'dirty rat'. '\B' is essentially the opposite of '\y'. - - There are two other operators that work on buffers. In Emacs, a -"buffer" is, naturally, an Emacs buffer. Other GNU programs, including -'gawk', consider the entire string to match as the buffer. The -operators are: - -'\`' - Matches the empty string at the beginning of a buffer (string) - -'\'' - Matches the empty string at the end of a buffer (string) - - Because '^' and '$' always work in terms of the beginning and end of -strings, these operators don't add any new capabilities for 'awk'. They -are provided for compatibility with other GNU software. - - In other GNU software, the word-boundary operator is '\b'. However, -that conflicts with the 'awk' language's definition of '\b' as -backspace, so 'gawk' uses a different letter. An alternative method -would have been to require two backslashes in the GNU operators, but -this was deemed too confusing. The current method of using '\y' for the -GNU '\b' appears to be the lesser of two evils. - - The various command-line options (*note Options::) control how 'gawk' -interprets characters in regexps: - -No options - In the default case, 'gawk' provides all the facilities of POSIX - regexps and the GNU regexp operators described in *note Regexp - Operators::. - -'--posix' - Match only POSIX regexps; the GNU operators are not special (e.g., - '\w' matches a literal 'w'). Interval expressions are allowed. - -'--traditional' - Match traditional Unix 'awk' regexps. The GNU operators are not - special, and interval expressions are not available. Because BWK - 'awk' supports them, the POSIX character classes ('[[:alnum:]]', - etc.) are available. Characters described by octal and - hexadecimal escape sequences are treated literally, even if they - represent regexp metacharacters. - -'--re-interval' - Allow interval expressions in regexps, if '--traditional' has been - provided. Otherwise, interval expressions are available by - default. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Case-sensitivity, Next: Strong Regexp Constants, Prev: GNU Regexp Operators, Up: Regexp - -3.8 Case Sensitivity in Matching -================================ - -Case is normally significant in regular expressions, both when matching -ordinary characters (i.e., not metacharacters) and inside bracket -expressions. Thus, a 'w' in a regular expression matches only a -lowercase 'w' and not an uppercase 'W'. - - The simplest way to do a case-independent match is to use a bracket -expression--for example, '[Ww]'. However, this can be cumbersome if you -need to use it often, and it can make the regular expressions harder to -read. There are two alternatives that you might prefer. - - One way to perform a case-insensitive match at a particular point in -the program is to convert the data to a single case, using the -'tolower()' or 'toupper()' built-in string functions (which we haven't -discussed yet; *note String Functions::). For example: - - tolower($1) ~ /foo/ { ... } - -converts the first field to lowercase before matching against it. This -works in any POSIX-compliant 'awk'. - - Another method, specific to 'gawk', is to set the variable -'IGNORECASE' to a nonzero value (*note Built-in Variables::). When -'IGNORECASE' is not zero, _all_ regexp and string operations ignore -case. - - Changing the value of 'IGNORECASE' dynamically controls the case -sensitivity of the program as it runs. Case is significant by default -because 'IGNORECASE' (like most variables) is initialized to zero: - - x = "aB" - if (x ~ /ab/) ... # this test will fail - - IGNORECASE = 1 - if (x ~ /ab/) ... # now it will succeed - - In general, you cannot use 'IGNORECASE' to make certain rules case -insensitive and other rules case sensitive, as there is no -straightforward way to set 'IGNORECASE' just for the pattern of a -particular rule.(1) To do this, use either bracket expressions or -'tolower()'. However, one thing you can do with 'IGNORECASE' only is -dynamically turn case sensitivity on or off for all the rules at once. - - 'IGNORECASE' can be set on the command line or in a 'BEGIN' rule -(*note Other Arguments::; also *note Using BEGIN/END::). Setting -'IGNORECASE' from the command line is a way to make a program case -insensitive without having to edit it. - - In multibyte locales, the equivalences between upper- and lowercase -characters are tested based on the wide-character values of the locale's -character set. Otherwise, the characters are tested based on the -ISO-8859-1 (ISO Latin-1) character set. This character set is a -superset of the traditional 128 ASCII characters, which also provides a -number of characters suitable for use with European languages.(2) - - The value of 'IGNORECASE' has no effect if 'gawk' is in compatibility -mode (*note Options::). Case is always significant in compatibility -mode. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Experienced C and C++ programmers will note that it is possible, -using something like 'IGNORECASE = 1 && /foObAr/ { ... }' and -'IGNORECASE = 0 || /foobar/ { ... }'. However, this is somewhat obscure -and we don't recommend it. - - (2) If you don't understand this, don't worry about it; it just means -that 'gawk' does the right thing. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Strong Regexp Constants, Next: Regexp Summary, Prev: Case-sensitivity, Up: Regexp - -3.9 Strongly Typed Regexp Constants -=================================== - -This minor node describes a 'gawk'-specific feature. - - Regexp constants ('/.../') hold a strange position in the 'awk' -language. In most contexts, they act like an expression: '$0 ~ /.../'. -In other contexts, they denote only a regexp to be matched. In no case -are they really a "first class citizen" of the language. That is, you -cannot define a scalar variable whose type is "regexp" in the same sense -that you can define a variable to be a number or a string: - - num = 42 Numeric variable - str = "hi" String variable - re = /foo/ Wrong! re is the result of $0 ~ /foo/ - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Regexp Summary, Prev: Strong Regexp Constants, Up: Regexp - -3.10 Summary -============ - - * Regular expressions describe sets of strings to be matched. In - 'awk', regular expression constants are written enclosed between - slashes: '/'...'/'. - - * Regexp constants may be used standalone in patterns and in - conditional expressions, or as part of matching expressions using - the '~' and '!~' operators. - - * Escape sequences let you represent nonprintable characters and also - let you represent regexp metacharacters as literal characters to be - matched. - - * Regexp operators provide grouping, alternation, and repetition. - - * Bracket expressions give you a shorthand for specifying sets of - characters that can match at a particular point in a regexp. - Within bracket expressions, POSIX character classes let you specify - certain groups of characters in a locale-independent fashion. - - * Regular expressions match the leftmost longest text in the string - being matched. This matters for cases where you need to know the - extent of the match, such as for text substitution and when the - record separator is a regexp. - - * Matching expressions may use dynamic regexps (i.e., string values - treated as regular expressions). - - * 'gawk''s 'IGNORECASE' variable lets you control the case - sensitivity of regexp matching. In other 'awk' versions, use - 'tolower()' or 'toupper()'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Reading Files, Next: Printing, Prev: Regexp, Up: Top - -4 Reading Input Files -********************* - -In the typical 'awk' program, 'awk' reads all input either from the -standard input (by default, this is the keyboard, but often it is a pipe -from another command) or from files whose names you specify on the 'awk' -command line. If you specify input files, 'awk' reads them in order, -processing all the data from one before going on to the next. The name -of the current input file can be found in the predefined variable -'FILENAME' (*note Built-in Variables::). - - The input is read in units called "records", and is processed by the -rules of your program one record at a time. By default, each record is -one line. Each record is automatically split into chunks called -"fields". This makes it more convenient for programs to work on the -parts of a record. - - On rare occasions, you may need to use the 'getline' command. The -'getline' command is valuable both because it can do explicit input from -any number of files, and because the files used with it do not have to -be named on the 'awk' command line (*note Getline::). - -* Menu: - -* Records:: Controlling how data is split into records. -* Fields:: An introduction to fields. -* Nonconstant Fields:: Nonconstant Field Numbers. -* Changing Fields:: Changing the Contents of a Field. -* Field Separators:: The field separator and how to change it. -* Constant Size:: Reading constant width data. -* Splitting By Content:: Defining Fields By Content -* Multiple Line:: Reading multiline records. -* Getline:: Reading files under explicit program control - using the 'getline' function. -* Read Timeout:: Reading input with a timeout. -* Retrying Input:: Retrying input after certain errors. -* Command-line directories:: What happens if you put a directory on the - command line. -* Input Summary:: Input summary. -* Input Exercises:: Exercises. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Records, Next: Fields, Up: Reading Files - -4.1 How Input Is Split into Records -=================================== - -'awk' divides the input for your program into records and fields. It -keeps track of the number of records that have been read so far from the -current input file. This value is stored in a predefined variable -called 'FNR', which is reset to zero every time a new file is started. -Another predefined variable, 'NR', records the total number of input -records read so far from all data files. It starts at zero, but is -never automatically reset to zero. - -* Menu: - -* awk split records:: How standard 'awk' splits records. -* gawk split records:: How 'gawk' splits records. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: awk split records, Next: gawk split records, Up: Records - -4.1.1 Record Splitting with Standard 'awk' ------------------------------------------- - -Records are separated by a character called the "record separator". By -default, the record separator is the newline character. This is why -records are, by default, single lines. To use a different character for -the record separator, simply assign that character to the predefined -variable 'RS'. - - Like any other variable, the value of 'RS' can be changed in the -'awk' program with the assignment operator, '=' (*note Assignment -Ops::). The new record-separator character should be enclosed in -quotation marks, which indicate a string constant. Often, the right -time to do this is at the beginning of execution, before any input is -processed, so that the very first record is read with the proper -separator. To do this, use the special 'BEGIN' pattern (*note -BEGIN/END::). For example: - - awk 'BEGIN { RS = "u" } - { print $0 }' mail-list - -changes the value of 'RS' to 'u', before reading any input. The new -value is a string whose first character is the letter "u"; as a result, -records are separated by the letter "u". Then the input file is read, -and the second rule in the 'awk' program (the action with no pattern) -prints each record. Because each 'print' statement adds a newline at -the end of its output, this 'awk' program copies the input with each 'u' -changed to a newline. Here are the results of running the program on -'mail-list': - - $ awk 'BEGIN { RS = "u" } - > { print $0 }' mail-list - -| Amelia 555-5553 amelia.zodiac - -| sq - -| e@gmail.com F - -| Anthony 555-3412 anthony.assert - -| ro@hotmail.com A - -| Becky 555-7685 becky.algebrar - -| m@gmail.com A - -| Bill 555-1675 bill.drowning@hotmail.com A - -| Broderick 555-0542 broderick.aliq - -| otiens@yahoo.com R - -| Camilla 555-2912 camilla.inf - -| sar - -| m@skynet.be R - -| Fabi - -| s 555-1234 fabi - -| s. - -| ndevicesim - -| s@ - -| cb.ed - -| F - -| J - -| lie 555-6699 j - -| lie.perscr - -| tabor@skeeve.com F - -| Martin 555-6480 martin.codicib - -| s@hotmail.com A - -| Sam - -| el 555-3430 sam - -| el.lanceolis@sh - -| .ed - -| A - -| Jean-Pa - -| l 555-2127 jeanpa - -| l.campanor - -| m@ny - -| .ed - -| R - -| - -Note that the entry for the name 'Bill' is not split. In the original -data file (*note Sample Data Files::), the line looks like this: - - Bill 555-1675 bill.drowning@hotmail.com A - -It contains no 'u', so there is no reason to split the record, unlike -the others, which each have one or more occurrences of the 'u'. In -fact, this record is treated as part of the previous record; the newline -separating them in the output is the original newline in the data file, -not the one added by 'awk' when it printed the record! - - Another way to change the record separator is on the command line, -using the variable-assignment feature (*note Other Arguments::): - - awk '{ print $0 }' RS="u" mail-list - -This sets 'RS' to 'u' before processing 'mail-list'. - - Using an alphabetic character such as 'u' for the record separator is -highly likely to produce strange results. Using an unusual character -such as '/' is more likely to produce correct behavior in the majority -of cases, but there are no guarantees. The moral is: Know Your Data. - - When using regular characters as the record separator, there is one -unusual case that occurs when 'gawk' is being fully POSIX-compliant -(*note Options::). Then, the following (extreme) pipeline prints a -surprising '1': - - $ echo | gawk --posix 'BEGIN { RS = "a" } ; { print NF }' - -| 1 - - There is one field, consisting of a newline. The value of the -built-in variable 'NF' is the number of fields in the current record. -(In the normal case, 'gawk' treats the newline as whitespace, printing -'0' as the result. Most other versions of 'awk' also act this way.) - - Reaching the end of an input file terminates the current input -record, even if the last character in the file is not the character in -'RS'. (d.c.) - - The empty string '""' (a string without any characters) has a special -meaning as the value of 'RS'. It means that records are separated by -one or more blank lines and nothing else. *Note Multiple Line:: for -more details. - - If you change the value of 'RS' in the middle of an 'awk' run, the -new value is used to delimit subsequent records, but the record -currently being processed, as well as records already processed, are not -affected. - - After the end of the record has been determined, 'gawk' sets the -variable 'RT' to the text in the input that matched 'RS'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: gawk split records, Prev: awk split records, Up: Records - -4.1.2 Record Splitting with 'gawk' ----------------------------------- - -When using 'gawk', the value of 'RS' is not limited to a one-character -string. It can be any regular expression (*note Regexp::). (c.e.) In -general, each record ends at the next string that matches the regular -expression; the next record starts at the end of the matching string. -This general rule is actually at work in the usual case, where 'RS' -contains just a newline: a record ends at the beginning of the next -matching string (the next newline in the input), and the following -record starts just after the end of this string (at the first character -of the following line). The newline, because it matches 'RS', is not -part of either record. - - When 'RS' is a single character, 'RT' contains the same single -character. However, when 'RS' is a regular expression, 'RT' contains -the actual input text that matched the regular expression. - - If the input file ends without any text matching 'RS', 'gawk' sets -'RT' to the null string. - - The following example illustrates both of these features. It sets -'RS' equal to a regular expression that matches either a newline or a -series of one or more uppercase letters with optional leading and/or -trailing whitespace: - - $ echo record 1 AAAA record 2 BBBB record 3 | - > gawk 'BEGIN { RS = "\n|( *[[:upper:]]+ *)" } - > { print "Record =", $0,"and RT = [" RT "]" }' - -| Record = record 1 and RT = [ AAAA ] - -| Record = record 2 and RT = [ BBBB ] - -| Record = record 3 and RT = [ - -| ] - -The square brackets delineate the contents of 'RT', letting you see the -leading and trailing whitespace. The final value of 'RT' is a newline. -*Note Simple Sed:: for a more useful example of 'RS' as a regexp and -'RT'. - - If you set 'RS' to a regular expression that allows optional trailing -text, such as 'RS = "abc(XYZ)?"', it is possible, due to implementation -constraints, that 'gawk' may match the leading part of the regular -expression, but not the trailing part, particularly if the input text -that could match the trailing part is fairly long. 'gawk' attempts to -avoid this problem, but currently, there's no guarantee that this will -never happen. - - NOTE: Remember that in 'awk', the '^' and '$' anchor metacharacters - match the beginning and end of a _string_, and not the beginning - and end of a _line_. As a result, something like 'RS = - "^[[:upper:]]"' can only match at the beginning of a file. This is - because 'gawk' views the input file as one long string that happens - to contain newline characters. It is thus best to avoid anchor - metacharacters in the value of 'RS'. - - The use of 'RS' as a regular expression and the 'RT' variable are -'gawk' extensions; they are not available in compatibility mode (*note -Options::). In compatibility mode, only the first character of the -value of 'RS' determines the end of the record. - - 'RS = "\0"' Is Not Portable - - There are times when you might want to treat an entire data file as a -single record. The only way to make this happen is to give 'RS' a value -that you know doesn't occur in the input file. This is hard to do in a -general way, such that a program always works for arbitrary input files. - - You might think that for text files, the NUL character, which -consists of a character with all bits equal to zero, is a good value to -use for 'RS' in this case: - - BEGIN { RS = "\0" } # whole file becomes one record? - - 'gawk' in fact accepts this, and uses the NUL character for the -record separator. This works for certain special files, such as -'/proc/environ' on GNU/Linux systems, where the NUL character is in fact -the record separator. However, this usage is _not_ portable to most -other 'awk' implementations. - - Almost all other 'awk' implementations(1) store strings internally as -C-style strings. C strings use the NUL character as the string -terminator. In effect, this means that 'RS = "\0"' is the same as 'RS = -""'. (d.c.) - - It happens that recent versions of 'mawk' can use the NUL character -as a record separator. However, this is a special case: 'mawk' does not -allow embedded NUL characters in strings. (This may change in a future -version of 'mawk'.) - - *Note Readfile Function:: for an interesting way to read whole files. -If you are using 'gawk', see *note Extension Sample Readfile:: for -another option. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) At least that we know about. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Fields, Next: Nonconstant Fields, Prev: Records, Up: Reading Files - -4.2 Examining Fields -==================== - -When 'awk' reads an input record, the record is automatically "parsed" -or separated by the 'awk' utility into chunks called "fields". By -default, fields are separated by "whitespace", like words in a line. -Whitespace in 'awk' means any string of one or more spaces, TABs, or -newlines; other characters that are considered whitespace by other -languages (such as formfeed, vertical tab, etc.) are _not_ considered -whitespace by 'awk'. - - The purpose of fields is to make it more convenient for you to refer -to these pieces of the record. You don't have to use them--you can -operate on the whole record if you want--but fields are what make simple -'awk' programs so powerful. - - You use a dollar sign ('$') to refer to a field in an 'awk' program, -followed by the number of the field you want. Thus, '$1' refers to the -first field, '$2' to the second, and so on. (Unlike in the Unix shells, -the field numbers are not limited to single digits. '$127' is the 127th -field in the record.) For example, suppose the following is a line of -input: - - This seems like a pretty nice example. - -Here the first field, or '$1', is 'This', the second field, or '$2', is -'seems', and so on. Note that the last field, '$7', is 'example.'. -Because there is no space between the 'e' and the '.', the period is -considered part of the seventh field. - - 'NF' is a predefined variable whose value is the number of fields in -the current record. 'awk' automatically updates the value of 'NF' each -time it reads a record. No matter how many fields there are, the last -field in a record can be represented by '$NF'. So, '$NF' is the same as -'$7', which is 'example.'. If you try to reference a field beyond the -last one (such as '$8' when the record has only seven fields), you get -the empty string. (If used in a numeric operation, you get zero.) - - The use of '$0', which looks like a reference to the "zeroth" field, -is a special case: it represents the whole input record. Use it when -you are not interested in specific fields. Here are some more examples: - - $ awk '$1 ~ /li/ { print $0 }' mail-list - -| Amelia 555-5553 amelia.zodiacusque@gmail.com F - -| Julie 555-6699 julie.perscrutabor@skeeve.com F - -This example prints each record in the file 'mail-list' whose first -field contains the string 'li'. - - By contrast, the following example looks for 'li' in _the entire -record_ and prints the first and last fields for each matching input -record: - - $ awk '/li/ { print $1, $NF }' mail-list - -| Amelia F - -| Broderick R - -| Julie F - -| Samuel A - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Nonconstant Fields, Next: Changing Fields, Prev: Fields, Up: Reading Files - -4.3 Nonconstant Field Numbers -============================= - -A field number need not be a constant. Any expression in the 'awk' -language can be used after a '$' to refer to a field. The value of the -expression specifies the field number. If the value is a string, rather -than a number, it is converted to a number. Consider this example: - - awk '{ print $NR }' - -Recall that 'NR' is the number of records read so far: one in the first -record, two in the second, and so on. So this example prints the first -field of the first record, the second field of the second record, and so -on. For the twentieth record, field number 20 is printed; most likely, -the record has fewer than 20 fields, so this prints a blank line. Here -is another example of using expressions as field numbers: - - awk '{ print $(2*2) }' mail-list - - 'awk' evaluates the expression '(2*2)' and uses its value as the -number of the field to print. The '*' represents multiplication, so the -expression '2*2' evaluates to four. The parentheses are used so that -the multiplication is done before the '$' operation; they are necessary -whenever there is a binary operator(1) in the field-number expression. -This example, then, prints the type of relationship (the fourth field) -for every line of the file 'mail-list'. (All of the 'awk' operators are -listed, in order of decreasing precedence, in *note Precedence::.) - - If the field number you compute is zero, you get the entire record. -Thus, '$(2-2)' has the same value as '$0'. Negative field numbers are -not allowed; trying to reference one usually terminates the program. -(The POSIX standard does not define what happens when you reference a -negative field number. 'gawk' notices this and terminates your program. -Other 'awk' implementations may behave differently.) - - As mentioned in *note Fields::, 'awk' stores the current record's -number of fields in the built-in variable 'NF' (also *note Built-in -Variables::). Thus, the expression '$NF' is not a special feature--it -is the direct consequence of evaluating 'NF' and using its value as a -field number. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) A "binary operator", such as '*' for multiplication, is one that -takes two operands. The distinction is required because 'awk' also has -unary (one-operand) and ternary (three-operand) operators. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Changing Fields, Next: Field Separators, Prev: Nonconstant Fields, Up: Reading Files - -4.4 Changing the Contents of a Field -==================================== - -The contents of a field, as seen by 'awk', can be changed within an -'awk' program; this changes what 'awk' perceives as the current input -record. (The actual input is untouched; 'awk' _never_ modifies the -input file.) Consider the following example and its output: - - $ awk '{ nboxes = $3 ; $3 = $3 - 10 - > print nboxes, $3 }' inventory-shipped - -| 25 15 - -| 32 22 - -| 24 14 - ... - -The program first saves the original value of field three in the -variable 'nboxes'. The '-' sign represents subtraction, so this program -reassigns field three, '$3', as the original value of field three minus -ten: '$3 - 10'. (*Note Arithmetic Ops::.) Then it prints the original -and new values for field three. (Someone in the warehouse made a -consistent mistake while inventorying the red boxes.) - - For this to work, the text in '$3' must make sense as a number; the -string of characters must be converted to a number for the computer to -do arithmetic on it. The number resulting from the subtraction is -converted back to a string of characters that then becomes field three. -*Note Conversion::. - - When the value of a field is changed (as perceived by 'awk'), the -text of the input record is recalculated to contain the new field where -the old one was. In other words, '$0' changes to reflect the altered -field. Thus, this program prints a copy of the input file, with 10 -subtracted from the second field of each line: - - $ awk '{ $2 = $2 - 10; print $0 }' inventory-shipped - -| Jan 3 25 15 115 - -| Feb 5 32 24 226 - -| Mar 5 24 34 228 - ... - - It is also possible to assign contents to fields that are out of -range. For example: - - $ awk '{ $6 = ($5 + $4 + $3 + $2) - > print $6 }' inventory-shipped - -| 168 - -| 297 - -| 301 - ... - -We've just created '$6', whose value is the sum of fields '$2', '$3', -'$4', and '$5'. The '+' sign represents addition. For the file -'inventory-shipped', '$6' represents the total number of parcels shipped -for a particular month. - - Creating a new field changes 'awk''s internal copy of the current -input record, which is the value of '$0'. Thus, if you do 'print $0' -after adding a field, the record printed includes the new field, with -the appropriate number of field separators between it and the previously -existing fields. - - This recomputation affects and is affected by 'NF' (the number of -fields; *note Fields::). For example, the value of 'NF' is set to the -number of the highest field you create. The exact format of '$0' is -also affected by a feature that has not been discussed yet: the "output -field separator", 'OFS', used to separate the fields (*note Output -Separators::). - - Note, however, that merely _referencing_ an out-of-range field does -_not_ change the value of either '$0' or 'NF'. Referencing an -out-of-range field only produces an empty string. For example: - - if ($(NF+1) != "") - print "can't happen" - else - print "everything is normal" - -should print 'everything is normal', because 'NF+1' is certain to be out -of range. (*Note If Statement:: for more information about 'awk''s -'if-else' statements. *Note Typing and Comparison:: for more -information about the '!=' operator.) - - It is important to note that making an assignment to an existing -field changes the value of '$0' but does not change the value of 'NF', -even when you assign the empty string to a field. For example: - - $ echo a b c d | awk '{ OFS = ":"; $2 = "" - > print $0; print NF }' - -| a::c:d - -| 4 - -The field is still there; it just has an empty value, delimited by the -two colons between 'a' and 'c'. This example shows what happens if you -create a new field: - - $ echo a b c d | awk '{ OFS = ":"; $2 = ""; $6 = "new" - > print $0; print NF }' - -| a::c:d::new - -| 6 - -The intervening field, '$5', is created with an empty value (indicated -by the second pair of adjacent colons), and 'NF' is updated with the -value six. - - Decrementing 'NF' throws away the values of the fields after the new -value of 'NF' and recomputes '$0'. (d.c.) Here is an example: - - $ echo a b c d e f | awk '{ print "NF =", NF; - > NF = 3; print $0 }' - -| NF = 6 - -| a b c - - CAUTION: Some versions of 'awk' don't rebuild '$0' when 'NF' is - decremented. - - Finally, there are times when it is convenient to force 'awk' to -rebuild the entire record, using the current values of the fields and -'OFS'. To do this, use the seemingly innocuous assignment: - - $1 = $1 # force record to be reconstituted - print $0 # or whatever else with $0 - -This forces 'awk' to rebuild the record. It does help to add a comment, -as we've shown here. - - There is a flip side to the relationship between '$0' and the fields. -Any assignment to '$0' causes the record to be reparsed into fields -using the _current_ value of 'FS'. This also applies to any built-in -function that updates '$0', such as 'sub()' and 'gsub()' (*note String -Functions::). - - Understanding '$0' - - It is important to remember that '$0' is the _full_ record, exactly -as it was read from the input. This includes any leading or trailing -whitespace, and the exact whitespace (or other characters) that -separates the fields. - - It is a common error to try to change the field separators in a -record simply by setting 'FS' and 'OFS', and then expecting a plain -'print' or 'print $0' to print the modified record. - - But this does not work, because nothing was done to change the record -itself. Instead, you must force the record to be rebuilt, typically -with a statement such as '$1 = $1', as described earlier. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Field Separators, Next: Constant Size, Prev: Changing Fields, Up: Reading Files - -4.5 Specifying How Fields Are Separated -======================================= - -* Menu: - -* Default Field Splitting:: How fields are normally separated. -* Regexp Field Splitting:: Using regexps as the field separator. -* Single Character Fields:: Making each character a separate field. -* Command Line Field Separator:: Setting 'FS' from the command line. -* Full Line Fields:: Making the full line be a single field. -* Field Splitting Summary:: Some final points and a summary table. - -The "field separator", which is either a single character or a regular -expression, controls the way 'awk' splits an input record into fields. -'awk' scans the input record for character sequences that match the -separator; the fields themselves are the text between the matches. - - In the examples that follow, we use the bullet symbol (*) to -represent spaces in the output. If the field separator is 'oo', then -the following line: - - moo goo gai pan - -is split into three fields: 'm', '*g', and '*gai*pan'. Note the leading -spaces in the values of the second and third fields. - - The field separator is represented by the predefined variable 'FS'. -Shell programmers take note: 'awk' does _not_ use the name 'IFS' that is -used by the POSIX-compliant shells (such as the Unix Bourne shell, 'sh', -or Bash). - - The value of 'FS' can be changed in the 'awk' program with the -assignment operator, '=' (*note Assignment Ops::). Often, the right -time to do this is at the beginning of execution before any input has -been processed, so that the very first record is read with the proper -separator. To do this, use the special 'BEGIN' pattern (*note -BEGIN/END::). For example, here we set the value of 'FS' to the string -'","': - - awk 'BEGIN { FS = "," } ; { print $2 }' - -Given the input line: - - John Q. Smith, 29 Oak St., Walamazoo, MI 42139 - -this 'awk' program extracts and prints the string '*29*Oak*St.'. - - Sometimes the input data contains separator characters that don't -separate fields the way you thought they would. For instance, the -person's name in the example we just used might have a title or suffix -attached, such as: - - John Q. Smith, LXIX, 29 Oak St., Walamazoo, MI 42139 - -The same program would extract '*LXIX' instead of '*29*Oak*St.'. If you -were expecting the program to print the address, you would be surprised. -The moral is to choose your data layout and separator characters -carefully to prevent such problems. (If the data is not in a form that -is easy to process, perhaps you can massage it first with a separate -'awk' program.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Default Field Splitting, Next: Regexp Field Splitting, Up: Field Separators - -4.5.1 Whitespace Normally Separates Fields ------------------------------------------- - -Fields are normally separated by whitespace sequences (spaces, TABs, and -newlines), not by single spaces. Two spaces in a row do not delimit an -empty field. The default value of the field separator 'FS' is a string -containing a single space, '" "'. If 'awk' interpreted this value in -the usual way, each space character would separate fields, so two spaces -in a row would make an empty field between them. The reason this does -not happen is that a single space as the value of 'FS' is a special -case--it is taken to specify the default manner of delimiting fields. - - If 'FS' is any other single character, such as '","', then each -occurrence of that character separates two fields. Two consecutive -occurrences delimit an empty field. If the character occurs at the -beginning or the end of the line, that too delimits an empty field. The -space character is the only single character that does not follow these -rules. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Regexp Field Splitting, Next: Single Character Fields, Prev: Default Field Splitting, Up: Field Separators - -4.5.2 Using Regular Expressions to Separate Fields --------------------------------------------------- - -The previous node discussed the use of single characters or simple -strings as the value of 'FS'. More generally, the value of 'FS' may be -a string containing any regular expression. In this case, each match in -the record for the regular expression separates fields. For example, -the assignment: - - FS = ", \t" - -makes every area of an input line that consists of a comma followed by a -space and a TAB into a field separator. ('\t' is an "escape sequence" -that stands for a TAB; *note Escape Sequences::, for the complete list -of similar escape sequences.) - - For a less trivial example of a regular expression, try using single -spaces to separate fields the way single commas are used. 'FS' can be -set to '"[ ]"' (left bracket, space, right bracket). This regular -expression matches a single space and nothing else (*note Regexp::). - - There is an important difference between the two cases of 'FS = " "' -(a single space) and 'FS = "[ \t\n]+"' (a regular expression matching -one or more spaces, TABs, or newlines). For both values of 'FS', fields -are separated by "runs" (multiple adjacent occurrences) of spaces, TABs, -and/or newlines. However, when the value of 'FS' is '" "', 'awk' first -strips leading and trailing whitespace from the record and then decides -where the fields are. For example, the following pipeline prints 'b': - - $ echo ' a b c d ' | awk '{ print $2 }' - -| b - -However, this pipeline prints 'a' (note the extra spaces around each -letter): - - $ echo ' a b c d ' | awk 'BEGIN { FS = "[ \t\n]+" } - > { print $2 }' - -| a - -In this case, the first field is null, or empty. - - The stripping of leading and trailing whitespace also comes into play -whenever '$0' is recomputed. For instance, study this pipeline: - - $ echo ' a b c d' | awk '{ print; $2 = $2; print }' - -| a b c d - -| a b c d - -The first 'print' statement prints the record as it was read, with -leading whitespace intact. The assignment to '$2' rebuilds '$0' by -concatenating '$1' through '$NF' together, separated by the value of -'OFS' (which is a space by default). Because the leading whitespace was -ignored when finding '$1', it is not part of the new '$0'. Finally, the -last 'print' statement prints the new '$0'. - - There is an additional subtlety to be aware of when using regular -expressions for field splitting. It is not well specified in the POSIX -standard, or anywhere else, what '^' means when splitting fields. Does -the '^' match only at the beginning of the entire record? Or is each -field separator a new string? It turns out that different 'awk' -versions answer this question differently, and you should not rely on -any specific behavior in your programs. (d.c.) - - As a point of information, BWK 'awk' allows '^' to match only at the -beginning of the record. 'gawk' also works this way. For example: - - $ echo 'xxAA xxBxx C' | - > gawk -F '(^x+)|( +)' '{ for (i = 1; i <= NF; i++) - > printf "-->%s<--\n", $i }' - -| --><-- - -| -->AA<-- - -| -->xxBxx<-- - -| -->C<-- - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Single Character Fields, Next: Command Line Field Separator, Prev: Regexp Field Splitting, Up: Field Separators - -4.5.3 Making Each Character a Separate Field --------------------------------------------- - -There are times when you may want to examine each character of a record -separately. This can be done in 'gawk' by simply assigning the null -string ('""') to 'FS'. (c.e.) In this case, each individual character -in the record becomes a separate field. For example: - - $ echo a b | gawk 'BEGIN { FS = "" } - > { - > for (i = 1; i <= NF; i = i + 1) - > print "Field", i, "is", $i - > }' - -| Field 1 is a - -| Field 2 is - -| Field 3 is b - - Traditionally, the behavior of 'FS' equal to '""' was not defined. -In this case, most versions of Unix 'awk' simply treat the entire record -as only having one field. (d.c.) In compatibility mode (*note -Options::), if 'FS' is the null string, then 'gawk' also behaves this -way. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Command Line Field Separator, Next: Full Line Fields, Prev: Single Character Fields, Up: Field Separators - -4.5.4 Setting 'FS' from the Command Line ----------------------------------------- - -'FS' can be set on the command line. Use the '-F' option to do so. For -example: - - awk -F, 'PROGRAM' INPUT-FILES - -sets 'FS' to the ',' character. Notice that the option uses an -uppercase 'F' instead of a lowercase 'f'. The latter option ('-f') -specifies a file containing an 'awk' program. - - The value used for the argument to '-F' is processed in exactly the -same way as assignments to the predefined variable 'FS'. Any special -characters in the field separator must be escaped appropriately. For -example, to use a '\' as the field separator on the command line, you -would have to type: - - # same as FS = "\\" - awk -F\\\\ '...' files ... - -Because '\' is used for quoting in the shell, 'awk' sees '-F\\'. Then -'awk' processes the '\\' for escape characters (*note Escape -Sequences::), finally yielding a single '\' to use for the field -separator. - - As a special case, in compatibility mode (*note Options::), if the -argument to '-F' is 't', then 'FS' is set to the TAB character. If you -type '-F\t' at the shell, without any quotes, the '\' gets deleted, so -'awk' figures that you really want your fields to be separated with TABs -and not 't's. Use '-v FS="t"' or '-F"[t]"' on the command line if you -really do want to separate your fields with 't's. Use '-F '\t'' when -not in compatibility mode to specify that TABs separate fields. - - As an example, let's use an 'awk' program file called 'edu.awk' that -contains the pattern '/edu/' and the action 'print $1': - - /edu/ { print $1 } - - Let's also set 'FS' to be the '-' character and run the program on -the file 'mail-list'. The following command prints a list of the names -of the people that work at or attend a university, and the first three -digits of their phone numbers: - - $ awk -F- -f edu.awk mail-list - -| Fabius 555 - -| Samuel 555 - -| Jean - -Note the third line of output. The third line in the original file -looked like this: - - Jean-Paul 555-2127 jeanpaul.campanorum@nyu.edu R - - The '-' as part of the person's name was used as the field separator, -instead of the '-' in the phone number that was originally intended. -This demonstrates why you have to be careful in choosing your field and -record separators. - - Perhaps the most common use of a single character as the field -separator occurs when processing the Unix system password file. On many -Unix systems, each user has a separate entry in the system password -file, with one line per user. The information in these lines is -separated by colons. The first field is the user's login name and the -second is the user's encrypted or shadow password. (A shadow password -is indicated by the presence of a single 'x' in the second field.) A -password file entry might look like this: - - arnold:x:2076:10:Arnold Robbins:/home/arnold:/bin/bash - - The following program searches the system password file and prints -the entries for users whose full name is not indicated: - - awk -F: '$5 == ""' /etc/passwd - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Full Line Fields, Next: Field Splitting Summary, Prev: Command Line Field Separator, Up: Field Separators - -4.5.5 Making the Full Line Be a Single Field --------------------------------------------- - -Occasionally, it's useful to treat the whole input line as a single -field. This can be done easily and portably simply by setting 'FS' to -'"\n"' (a newline):(1) - - awk -F'\n' 'PROGRAM' FILES ... - -When you do this, '$1' is the same as '$0'. - - Changing 'FS' Does Not Affect the Fields - - According to the POSIX standard, 'awk' is supposed to behave as if -each record is split into fields at the time it is read. In particular, -this means that if you change the value of 'FS' after a record is read, -the values of the fields (i.e., how they were split) should reflect the -old value of 'FS', not the new one. - - However, many older implementations of 'awk' do not work this way. -Instead, they defer splitting the fields until a field is actually -referenced. The fields are split using the _current_ value of 'FS'! -(d.c.) This behavior can be difficult to diagnose. The following -example illustrates the difference between the two methods: - - sed 1q /etc/passwd | awk '{ FS = ":" ; print $1 }' - -which usually prints: - - root - -on an incorrect implementation of 'awk', while 'gawk' prints the full -first line of the file, something like: - - root:x:0:0:Root:/: - - (The 'sed'(2) command prints just the first line of '/etc/passwd'.) - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Thanks to Andrew Schorr for this tip. - - (2) The 'sed' utility is a "stream editor." Its behavior is also -defined by the POSIX standard. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Field Splitting Summary, Prev: Full Line Fields, Up: Field Separators - -4.5.6 Field-Splitting Summary ------------------------------ - -It is important to remember that when you assign a string constant as -the value of 'FS', it undergoes normal 'awk' string processing. For -example, with Unix 'awk' and 'gawk', the assignment 'FS = "\.."' assigns -the character string '".."' to 'FS' (the backslash is stripped). This -creates a regexp meaning "fields are separated by occurrences of any two -characters." If instead you want fields to be separated by a literal -period followed by any single character, use 'FS = "\\.."'. - - The following list summarizes how fields are split, based on the -value of 'FS' ('==' means "is equal to"): - -'FS == " "' - Fields are separated by runs of whitespace. Leading and trailing - whitespace are ignored. This is the default. - -'FS == ANY OTHER SINGLE CHARACTER' - Fields are separated by each occurrence of the character. Multiple - successive occurrences delimit empty fields, as do leading and - trailing occurrences. The character can even be a regexp - metacharacter; it does not need to be escaped. - -'FS == REGEXP' - Fields are separated by occurrences of characters that match - REGEXP. Leading and trailing matches of REGEXP delimit empty - fields. - -'FS == ""' - Each individual character in the record becomes a separate field. - (This is a common extension; it is not specified by the POSIX - standard.) - - 'FS' and 'IGNORECASE' - - The 'IGNORECASE' variable (*note User-modified::) affects field -splitting _only_ when the value of 'FS' is a regexp. It has no effect -when 'FS' is a single character, even if that character is a letter. -Thus, in the following code: - - FS = "c" - IGNORECASE = 1 - $0 = "aCa" - print $1 - -The output is 'aCa'. If you really want to split fields on an -alphabetic character while ignoring case, use a regexp that will do it -for you (e.g., 'FS = "[c]"'). In this case, 'IGNORECASE' will take -effect. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Constant Size, Next: Splitting By Content, Prev: Field Separators, Up: Reading Files - -4.6 Reading Fixed-Width Data -============================ - -This minor node discusses an advanced feature of 'gawk'. If you are a -novice 'awk' user, you might want to skip it on the first reading. - - 'gawk' provides a facility for dealing with fixed-width fields with -no distinctive field separator. For example, data of this nature arises -in the input for old Fortran programs where numbers are run together, or -in the output of programs that did not anticipate the use of their -output as input for other programs. - - An example of the latter is a table where all the columns are lined -up by the use of a variable number of spaces and _empty fields are just -spaces_. Clearly, 'awk''s normal field splitting based on 'FS' does not -work well in this case. Although a portable 'awk' program can use a -series of 'substr()' calls on '$0' (*note String Functions::), this is -awkward and inefficient for a large number of fields. - - The splitting of an input record into fixed-width fields is specified -by assigning a string containing space-separated numbers to the built-in -variable 'FIELDWIDTHS'. Each number specifies the width of the field, -_including_ columns between fields. If you want to ignore the columns -between fields, you can specify the width as a separate field that is -subsequently ignored. It is a fatal error to supply a field width that -has a negative value. The following data is the output of the Unix 'w' -utility. It is useful to illustrate the use of 'FIELDWIDTHS': - - 10:06pm up 21 days, 14:04, 23 users - User tty login idle JCPU PCPU what - hzuo ttyV0 8:58pm 9 5 vi p24.tex - hzang ttyV3 6:37pm 50 -csh - eklye ttyV5 9:53pm 7 1 em thes.tex - dportein ttyV6 8:17pm 1:47 -csh - gierd ttyD3 10:00pm 1 elm - dave ttyD4 9:47pm 4 4 w - brent ttyp0 26Jun91 4:46 26:46 4:41 bash - dave ttyq4 26Jun9115days 46 46 wnewmail - - The following program takes this input, converts the idle time to -number of seconds, and prints out the first two fields and the -calculated idle time: - - BEGIN { FIELDWIDTHS = "9 6 10 6 7 7 35" } - NR > 2 { - idle = $4 - sub(/^ +/, "", idle) # strip leading spaces - if (idle == "") - idle = 0 - if (idle ~ /:/) { - split(idle, t, ":") - idle = t[1] * 60 + t[2] - } - if (idle ~ /days/) - idle *= 24 * 60 * 60 - - print $1, $2, idle - } - - NOTE: The preceding program uses a number of 'awk' features that - haven't been introduced yet. - - Running the program on the data produces the following results: - - hzuo ttyV0 0 - hzang ttyV3 50 - eklye ttyV5 0 - dportein ttyV6 107 - gierd ttyD3 1 - dave ttyD4 0 - brent ttyp0 286 - dave ttyq4 1296000 - - Another (possibly more practical) example of fixed-width input data -is the input from a deck of balloting cards. In some parts of the -United States, voters mark their choices by punching holes in computer -cards. These cards are then processed to count the votes for any -particular candidate or on any particular issue. Because a voter may -choose not to vote on some issue, any column on the card may be empty. -An 'awk' program for processing such data could use the 'FIELDWIDTHS' -feature to simplify reading the data. (Of course, getting 'gawk' to run -on a system with card readers is another story!) - - Assigning a value to 'FS' causes 'gawk' to use 'FS' for field -splitting again. Use 'FS = FS' to make this happen, without having to -know the current value of 'FS'. In order to tell which kind of field -splitting is in effect, use 'PROCINFO["FS"]' (*note Auto-set::). The -value is '"FS"' if regular field splitting is being used, or -'"FIELDWIDTHS"' if fixed-width field splitting is being used: - - if (PROCINFO["FS"] == "FS") - REGULAR FIELD SPLITTING ... - else if (PROCINFO["FS"] == "FIELDWIDTHS") - FIXED-WIDTH FIELD SPLITTING ... - else - CONTENT-BASED FIELD SPLITTING ... (see next minor node) - - This information is useful when writing a function that needs to -temporarily change 'FS' or 'FIELDWIDTHS', read some records, and then -restore the original settings (*note Passwd Functions:: for an example -of such a function). - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Splitting By Content, Next: Multiple Line, Prev: Constant Size, Up: Reading Files - -4.7 Defining Fields by Content -============================== - -This minor node discusses an advanced feature of 'gawk'. If you are a -novice 'awk' user, you might want to skip it on the first reading. - - Normally, when using 'FS', 'gawk' defines the fields as the parts of -the record that occur in between each field separator. In other words, -'FS' defines what a field _is not_, instead of what a field _is_. -However, there are times when you really want to define the fields by -what they are, and not by what they are not. - - The most notorious such case is so-called "comma-separated values" -(CSV) data. Many spreadsheet programs, for example, can export their -data into text files, where each record is terminated with a newline, -and fields are separated by commas. If commas only separated the data, -there wouldn't be an issue. The problem comes when one of the fields -contains an _embedded_ comma. In such cases, most programs embed the -field in double quotes.(1) So, we might have data like this: - - Robbins,Arnold,"1234 A Pretty Street, NE",MyTown,MyState,12345-6789,USA - - The 'FPAT' variable offers a solution for cases like this. The value -of 'FPAT' should be a string that provides a regular expression. This -regular expression describes the contents of each field. - - In the case of CSV data as presented here, each field is either -"anything that is not a comma," or "a double quote, anything that is not -a double quote, and a closing double quote." If written as a regular -expression constant (*note Regexp::), we would have -'/([^,]+)|("[^"]+")/'. Writing this as a string requires us to escape -the double quotes, leading to: - - FPAT = "([^,]+)|(\"[^\"]+\")" - - Putting this to use, here is a simple program to parse the data: - - BEGIN { - FPAT = "([^,]+)|(\"[^\"]+\")" - } - - { - print "NF = ", NF - for (i = 1; i <= NF; i++) { - printf("$%d = <%s>\n", i, $i) - } - } - - When run, we get the following: - - $ gawk -f simple-csv.awk addresses.csv - NF = 7 - $1 = - $2 = - $3 = <"1234 A Pretty Street, NE"> - $4 = - $5 = - $6 = <12345-6789> - $7 = - - Note the embedded comma in the value of '$3'. - - A straightforward improvement when processing CSV data of this sort -would be to remove the quotes when they occur, with something like this: - - if (substr($i, 1, 1) == "\"") { - len = length($i) - $i = substr($i, 2, len - 2) # Get text within the two quotes - } - - As with 'FS', the 'IGNORECASE' variable (*note User-modified::) -affects field splitting with 'FPAT'. - - Assigning a value to 'FPAT' overrides field splitting with 'FS' and -with 'FIELDWIDTHS'. Similar to 'FIELDWIDTHS', the value of -'PROCINFO["FS"]' will be '"FPAT"' if content-based field splitting is -being used. - - NOTE: Some programs export CSV data that contains embedded newlines - between the double quotes. 'gawk' provides no way to deal with - this. Even though a formal specification for CSV data exists, - there isn't much more to be done; the 'FPAT' mechanism provides an - elegant solution for the majority of cases, and the 'gawk' - developers are satisfied with that. - - As written, the regexp used for 'FPAT' requires that each field -contain at least one character. A straightforward modification -(changing the first '+' to '*') allows fields to be empty: - - FPAT = "([^,]*)|(\"[^\"]+\")" - - Finally, the 'patsplit()' function makes the same functionality -available for splitting regular strings (*note String Functions::). - - To recap, 'gawk' provides three independent methods to split input -records into fields. The mechanism used is based on which of the three -variables--'FS', 'FIELDWIDTHS', or 'FPAT'--was last assigned to. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The CSV format lacked a formal standard definition for many -years. RFC 4180 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4180.txt) standardizes the -most common practices. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Multiple Line, Next: Getline, Prev: Splitting By Content, Up: Reading Files - -4.8 Multiple-Line Records -========================= - -In some databases, a single line cannot conveniently hold all the -information in one entry. In such cases, you can use multiline records. -The first step in doing this is to choose your data format. - - One technique is to use an unusual character or string to separate -records. For example, you could use the formfeed character (written -'\f' in 'awk', as in C) to separate them, making each record a page of -the file. To do this, just set the variable 'RS' to '"\f"' (a string -containing the formfeed character). Any other character could equally -well be used, as long as it won't be part of the data in a record. - - Another technique is to have blank lines separate records. By a -special dispensation, an empty string as the value of 'RS' indicates -that records are separated by one or more blank lines. When 'RS' is set -to the empty string, each record always ends at the first blank line -encountered. The next record doesn't start until the first nonblank -line that follows. No matter how many blank lines appear in a row, they -all act as one record separator. (Blank lines must be completely empty; -lines that contain only whitespace do not count.) - - You can achieve the same effect as 'RS = ""' by assigning the string -'"\n\n+"' to 'RS'. This regexp matches the newline at the end of the -record and one or more blank lines after the record. In addition, a -regular expression always matches the longest possible sequence when -there is a choice (*note Leftmost Longest::). So, the next record -doesn't start until the first nonblank line that follows--no matter how -many blank lines appear in a row, they are considered one record -separator. - - However, there is an important difference between 'RS = ""' and 'RS = -"\n\n+"'. In the first case, leading newlines in the input data file -are ignored, and if a file ends without extra blank lines after the last -record, the final newline is removed from the record. In the second -case, this special processing is not done. (d.c.) - - Now that the input is separated into records, the second step is to -separate the fields in the records. One way to do this is to divide -each of the lines into fields in the normal manner. This happens by -default as the result of a special feature. When 'RS' is set to the -empty string _and_ 'FS' is set to a single character, the newline -character _always_ acts as a field separator. This is in addition to -whatever field separations result from 'FS'.(1) - - The original motivation for this special exception was probably to -provide useful behavior in the default case (i.e., 'FS' is equal to -'" "'). This feature can be a problem if you really don't want the -newline character to separate fields, because there is no way to prevent -it. However, you can work around this by using the 'split()' function -to break up the record manually (*note String Functions::). If you have -a single-character field separator, you can work around the special -feature in a different way, by making 'FS' into a regexp for that single -character. For example, if the field separator is a percent character, -instead of 'FS = "%"', use 'FS = "[%]"'. - - Another way to separate fields is to put each field on a separate -line: to do this, just set the variable 'FS' to the string '"\n"'. -(This single-character separator matches a single newline.) A practical -example of a data file organized this way might be a mailing list, where -blank lines separate the entries. Consider a mailing list in a file -named 'addresses', which looks like this: - - Jane Doe - 123 Main Street - Anywhere, SE 12345-6789 - - John Smith - 456 Tree-lined Avenue - Smallville, MW 98765-4321 - ... - -A simple program to process this file is as follows: - - # addrs.awk --- simple mailing list program - - # Records are separated by blank lines. - # Each line is one field. - BEGIN { RS = "" ; FS = "\n" } - - { - print "Name is:", $1 - print "Address is:", $2 - print "City and State are:", $3 - print "" - } - - Running the program produces the following output: - - $ awk -f addrs.awk addresses - -| Name is: Jane Doe - -| Address is: 123 Main Street - -| City and State are: Anywhere, SE 12345-6789 - -| - -| Name is: John Smith - -| Address is: 456 Tree-lined Avenue - -| City and State are: Smallville, MW 98765-4321 - -| - ... - - *Note Labels Program:: for a more realistic program dealing with -address lists. The following list summarizes how records are split, -based on the value of 'RS'. ('==' means "is equal to.") - -'RS == "\n"' - Records are separated by the newline character ('\n'). In effect, - every line in the data file is a separate record, including blank - lines. This is the default. - -'RS == ANY SINGLE CHARACTER' - Records are separated by each occurrence of the character. - Multiple successive occurrences delimit empty records. - -'RS == ""' - Records are separated by runs of blank lines. When 'FS' is a - single character, then the newline character always serves as a - field separator, in addition to whatever value 'FS' may have. - Leading and trailing newlines in a file are ignored. - -'RS == REGEXP' - Records are separated by occurrences of characters that match - REGEXP. Leading and trailing matches of REGEXP delimit empty - records. (This is a 'gawk' extension; it is not specified by the - POSIX standard.) - - If not in compatibility mode (*note Options::), 'gawk' sets 'RT' to -the input text that matched the value specified by 'RS'. But if the -input file ended without any text that matches 'RS', then 'gawk' sets -'RT' to the null string. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) When 'FS' is the null string ('""') or a regexp, this special -feature of 'RS' does not apply. It does apply to the default field -separator of a single space: 'FS = " "'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getline, Next: Read Timeout, Prev: Multiple Line, Up: Reading Files - -4.9 Explicit Input with 'getline' -================================= - -So far we have been getting our input data from 'awk''s main input -stream--either the standard input (usually your keyboard, sometimes the -output from another program) or the files specified on the command line. -The 'awk' language has a special built-in command called 'getline' that -can be used to read input under your explicit control. - - The 'getline' command is used in several different ways and should -_not_ be used by beginners. The examples that follow the explanation of -the 'getline' command include material that has not been covered yet. -Therefore, come back and study the 'getline' command _after_ you have -reviewed the rest of this Info file and have a good knowledge of how -'awk' works. - - The 'getline' command returns 1 if it finds a record and 0 if it -encounters the end of the file. If there is some error in getting a -record, such as a file that cannot be opened, then 'getline' returns -1. -In this case, 'gawk' sets the variable 'ERRNO' to a string describing -the error that occurred. - - If 'ERRNO' indicates that the I/O operation may be retried, and -'PROCINFO["INPUT", "RETRY"]' is set, then 'getline' returns -2 instead -of -1, and further calls to 'getline' may be attempted. *Note Retrying -Input:: for further information about this feature. - - In the following examples, COMMAND stands for a string value that -represents a shell command. - - NOTE: When '--sandbox' is specified (*note Options::), reading - lines from files, pipes, and coprocesses is disabled. - -* Menu: - -* Plain Getline:: Using 'getline' with no arguments. -* Getline/Variable:: Using 'getline' into a variable. -* Getline/File:: Using 'getline' from a file. -* Getline/Variable/File:: Using 'getline' into a variable from a - file. -* Getline/Pipe:: Using 'getline' from a pipe. -* Getline/Variable/Pipe:: Using 'getline' into a variable from a - pipe. -* Getline/Coprocess:: Using 'getline' from a coprocess. -* Getline/Variable/Coprocess:: Using 'getline' into a variable from a - coprocess. -* Getline Notes:: Important things to know about 'getline'. -* Getline Summary:: Summary of 'getline' Variants. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Plain Getline, Next: Getline/Variable, Up: Getline - -4.9.1 Using 'getline' with No Arguments ---------------------------------------- - -The 'getline' command can be used without arguments to read input from -the current input file. All it does in this case is read the next input -record and split it up into fields. This is useful if you've finished -processing the current record, but want to do some special processing on -the next record _right now_. For example: - - # Remove text between /* and */, inclusive - { - if ((i = index($0, "/*")) != 0) { - out = substr($0, 1, i - 1) # leading part of the string - rest = substr($0, i + 2) # ... */ ... - j = index(rest, "*/") # is */ in trailing part? - if (j > 0) { - rest = substr(rest, j + 2) # remove comment - } else { - while (j == 0) { - # get more text - if (getline <= 0) { - print("unexpected EOF or error:", ERRNO) > "/dev/stderr" - exit - } - # build up the line using string concatenation - rest = rest $0 - j = index(rest, "*/") # is */ in trailing part? - if (j != 0) { - rest = substr(rest, j + 2) - break - } - } - } - # build up the output line using string concatenation - $0 = out rest - } - print $0 - } - - This 'awk' program deletes C-style comments ('/* ... */') from the -input. It uses a number of features we haven't covered yet, including -string concatenation (*note Concatenation::) and the 'index()' and -'substr()' built-in functions (*note String Functions::). By replacing -the 'print $0' with other statements, you could perform more complicated -processing on the decommented input, such as searching for matches of a -regular expression. (This program has a subtle problem--it does not -work if one comment ends and another begins on the same line.) - - This form of the 'getline' command sets 'NF', 'NR', 'FNR', 'RT', and -the value of '$0'. - - NOTE: The new value of '$0' is used to test the patterns of any - subsequent rules. The original value of '$0' that triggered the - rule that executed 'getline' is lost. By contrast, the 'next' - statement reads a new record but immediately begins processing it - normally, starting with the first rule in the program. *Note Next - Statement::. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getline/Variable, Next: Getline/File, Prev: Plain Getline, Up: Getline - -4.9.2 Using 'getline' into a Variable -------------------------------------- - -You can use 'getline VAR' to read the next record from 'awk''s input -into the variable VAR. No other processing is done. For example, -suppose the next line is a comment or a special string, and you want to -read it without triggering any rules. This form of 'getline' allows you -to read that line and store it in a variable so that the main -read-a-line-and-check-each-rule loop of 'awk' never sees it. The -following example swaps every two lines of input: - - { - if ((getline tmp) > 0) { - print tmp - print $0 - } else - print $0 - } - -It takes the following list: - - wan - tew - free - phore - -and produces these results: - - tew - wan - phore - free - - The 'getline' command used in this way sets only the variables 'NR', -'FNR', and 'RT' (and, of course, VAR). The record is not split into -fields, so the values of the fields (including '$0') and the value of -'NF' do not change. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getline/File, Next: Getline/Variable/File, Prev: Getline/Variable, Up: Getline - -4.9.3 Using 'getline' from a File ---------------------------------- - -Use 'getline < FILE' to read the next record from FILE. Here, FILE is a -string-valued expression that specifies the file name. '< FILE' is -called a "redirection" because it directs input to come from a different -place. For example, the following program reads its input record from -the file 'secondary.input' when it encounters a first field with a value -equal to 10 in the current input file: - - { - if ($1 == 10) { - getline < "secondary.input" - print - } else - print - } - - Because the main input stream is not used, the values of 'NR' and -'FNR' are not changed. However, the record it reads is split into -fields in the normal manner, so the values of '$0' and the other fields -are changed, resulting in a new value of 'NF'. 'RT' is also set. - - According to POSIX, 'getline < EXPRESSION' is ambiguous if EXPRESSION -contains unparenthesized operators other than '$'; for example, 'getline -< dir "/" file' is ambiguous because the concatenation operator (not -discussed yet; *note Concatenation::) is not parenthesized. You should -write it as 'getline < (dir "/" file)' if you want your program to be -portable to all 'awk' implementations. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getline/Variable/File, Next: Getline/Pipe, Prev: Getline/File, Up: Getline - -4.9.4 Using 'getline' into a Variable from a File -------------------------------------------------- - -Use 'getline VAR < FILE' to read input from the file FILE, and put it in -the variable VAR. As earlier, FILE is a string-valued expression that -specifies the file from which to read. - - In this version of 'getline', none of the predefined variables are -changed and the record is not split into fields. The only variable -changed is VAR.(1) For example, the following program copies all the -input files to the output, except for records that say -'@include FILENAME'. Such a record is replaced by the contents of the -file FILENAME: - - { - if (NF == 2 && $1 == "@include") { - while ((getline line < $2) > 0) - print line - close($2) - } else - print - } - - Note here how the name of the extra input file is not built into the -program; it is taken directly from the data, specifically from the -second field on the '@include' line. - - The 'close()' function is called to ensure that if two identical -'@include' lines appear in the input, the entire specified file is -included twice. *Note Close Files And Pipes::. - - One deficiency of this program is that it does not process nested -'@include' statements (i.e., '@include' statements in included files) -the way a true macro preprocessor would. *Note Igawk Program:: for a -program that does handle nested '@include' statements. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This is not quite true. 'RT' could be changed if 'RS' is a -regular expression. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getline/Pipe, Next: Getline/Variable/Pipe, Prev: Getline/Variable/File, Up: Getline - -4.9.5 Using 'getline' from a Pipe ---------------------------------- - - Omniscience has much to recommend it. Failing that, attention to - details would be useful. - -- _Brian Kernighan_ - - The output of a command can also be piped into 'getline', using -'COMMAND | getline'. In this case, the string COMMAND is run as a shell -command and its output is piped into 'awk' to be used as input. This -form of 'getline' reads one record at a time from the pipe. For -example, the following program copies its input to its output, except -for lines that begin with '@execute', which are replaced by the output -produced by running the rest of the line as a shell command: - - { - if ($1 == "@execute") { - tmp = substr($0, 10) # Remove "@execute" - while ((tmp | getline) > 0) - print - close(tmp) - } else - print - } - -The 'close()' function is called to ensure that if two identical -'@execute' lines appear in the input, the command is run for each one. -*Note Close Files And Pipes::. Given the input: - - foo - bar - baz - @execute who - bletch - -the program might produce: - - foo - bar - baz - arnold ttyv0 Jul 13 14:22 - miriam ttyp0 Jul 13 14:23 (murphy:0) - bill ttyp1 Jul 13 14:23 (murphy:0) - bletch - -Notice that this program ran the command 'who' and printed the result. -(If you try this program yourself, you will of course get different -results, depending upon who is logged in on your system.) - - This variation of 'getline' splits the record into fields, sets the -value of 'NF', and recomputes the value of '$0'. The values of 'NR' and -'FNR' are not changed. 'RT' is set. - - According to POSIX, 'EXPRESSION | getline' is ambiguous if EXPRESSION -contains unparenthesized operators other than '$'--for example, '"echo " -"date" | getline' is ambiguous because the concatenation operator is not -parenthesized. You should write it as '("echo " "date") | getline' if -you want your program to be portable to all 'awk' implementations. - - NOTE: Unfortunately, 'gawk' has not been consistent in its - treatment of a construct like '"echo " "date" | getline'. Most - versions, including the current version, treat it at as '("echo " - "date") | getline'. (This is also how BWK 'awk' behaves.) Some - versions instead treat it as '"echo " ("date" | getline)'. (This - is how 'mawk' behaves.) In short, _always_ use explicit - parentheses, and then you won't have to worry. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getline/Variable/Pipe, Next: Getline/Coprocess, Prev: Getline/Pipe, Up: Getline - -4.9.6 Using 'getline' into a Variable from a Pipe -------------------------------------------------- - -When you use 'COMMAND | getline VAR', the output of COMMAND is sent -through a pipe to 'getline' and into the variable VAR. For example, the -following program reads the current date and time into the variable -'current_time', using the 'date' utility, and then prints it: - - BEGIN { - "date" | getline current_time - close("date") - print "Report printed on " current_time - } - - In this version of 'getline', none of the predefined variables are -changed and the record is not split into fields. However, 'RT' is set. - - According to POSIX, 'EXPRESSION | getline VAR' is ambiguous if -EXPRESSION contains unparenthesized operators other than '$'; for -example, '"echo " "date" | getline VAR' is ambiguous because the -concatenation operator is not parenthesized. You should write it as -'("echo " "date") | getline VAR' if you want your program to be portable -to other 'awk' implementations. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getline/Coprocess, Next: Getline/Variable/Coprocess, Prev: Getline/Variable/Pipe, Up: Getline - -4.9.7 Using 'getline' from a Coprocess --------------------------------------- - -Reading input into 'getline' from a pipe is a one-way operation. The -command that is started with 'COMMAND | getline' only sends data _to_ -your 'awk' program. - - On occasion, you might want to send data to another program for -processing and then read the results back. 'gawk' allows you to start a -"coprocess", with which two-way communications are possible. This is -done with the '|&' operator. Typically, you write data to the coprocess -first and then read the results back, as shown in the following: - - print "SOME QUERY" |& "db_server" - "db_server" |& getline - -which sends a query to 'db_server' and then reads the results. - - The values of 'NR' and 'FNR' are not changed, because the main input -stream is not used. However, the record is split into fields in the -normal manner, thus changing the values of '$0', of the other fields, -and of 'NF' and 'RT'. - - Coprocesses are an advanced feature. They are discussed here only -because this is the minor node on 'getline'. *Note Two-way I/O::, where -coprocesses are discussed in more detail. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getline/Variable/Coprocess, Next: Getline Notes, Prev: Getline/Coprocess, Up: Getline - -4.9.8 Using 'getline' into a Variable from a Coprocess ------------------------------------------------------- - -When you use 'COMMAND |& getline VAR', the output from the coprocess -COMMAND is sent through a two-way pipe to 'getline' and into the -variable VAR. - - In this version of 'getline', none of the predefined variables are -changed and the record is not split into fields. The only variable -changed is VAR. However, 'RT' is set. - - Coprocesses are an advanced feature. They are discussed here only -because this is the minor node on 'getline'. *Note Two-way I/O::, where -coprocesses are discussed in more detail. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getline Notes, Next: Getline Summary, Prev: Getline/Variable/Coprocess, Up: Getline - -4.9.9 Points to Remember About 'getline' ----------------------------------------- - -Here are some miscellaneous points about 'getline' that you should bear -in mind: - - * When 'getline' changes the value of '$0' and 'NF', 'awk' does _not_ - automatically jump to the start of the program and start testing - the new record against every pattern. However, the new record is - tested against any subsequent rules. - - * Some very old 'awk' implementations limit the number of pipelines - that an 'awk' program may have open to just one. In 'gawk', there - is no such limit. You can open as many pipelines (and coprocesses) - as the underlying operating system permits. - - * An interesting side effect occurs if you use 'getline' without a - redirection inside a 'BEGIN' rule. Because an unredirected - 'getline' reads from the command-line data files, the first - 'getline' command causes 'awk' to set the value of 'FILENAME'. - Normally, 'FILENAME' does not have a value inside 'BEGIN' rules, - because you have not yet started to process the command-line data - files. (d.c.) (See *note BEGIN/END::; also *note Auto-set::.) - - * Using 'FILENAME' with 'getline' ('getline < FILENAME') is likely to - be a source of confusion. 'awk' opens a separate input stream from - the current input file. However, by not using a variable, '$0' and - 'NF' are still updated. If you're doing this, it's probably by - accident, and you should reconsider what it is you're trying to - accomplish. - - * *note Getline Summary::, presents a table summarizing the 'getline' - variants and which variables they can affect. It is worth noting - that those variants that do not use redirection can cause - 'FILENAME' to be updated if they cause 'awk' to start reading a new - input file. - - * If the variable being assigned is an expression with side effects, - different versions of 'awk' behave differently upon encountering - end-of-file. Some versions don't evaluate the expression; many - versions (including 'gawk') do. Here is an example, courtesy of - Duncan Moore: - - BEGIN { - system("echo 1 > f") - while ((getline a[++c] < "f") > 0) { } - print c - } - - Here, the side effect is the '++c'. Is 'c' incremented if - end-of-file is encountered before the element in 'a' is assigned? - - 'gawk' treats 'getline' like a function call, and evaluates the - expression 'a[++c]' before attempting to read from 'f'. However, - some versions of 'awk' only evaluate the expression once they know - that there is a string value to be assigned. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getline Summary, Prev: Getline Notes, Up: Getline - -4.9.10 Summary of 'getline' Variants ------------------------------------- - -*note Table 4.1: table-getline-variants. summarizes the eight variants -of 'getline', listing which predefined variables are set by each one, -and whether the variant is standard or a 'gawk' extension. Note: for -each variant, 'gawk' sets the 'RT' predefined variable. - -Variant Effect 'awk' / 'gawk' -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -'getline' Sets '$0', 'NF', 'FNR', 'awk' - 'NR', and 'RT' -'getline' VAR Sets VAR, 'FNR', 'NR', 'awk' - and 'RT' -'getline <' FILE Sets '$0', 'NF', and 'RT' 'awk' -'getline VAR < FILE' Sets VAR and 'RT' 'awk' -COMMAND '| getline' Sets '$0', 'NF', and 'RT' 'awk' -COMMAND '| getline' Sets VAR and 'RT' 'awk' -VAR -COMMAND '|& getline' Sets '$0', 'NF', and 'RT' 'gawk' -COMMAND '|& getline' Sets VAR and 'RT' 'gawk' -VAR - -Table 4.1: 'getline' variants and what they set - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Read Timeout, Next: Retrying Input, Prev: Getline, Up: Reading Files - -4.10 Reading Input with a Timeout -================================= - -This minor node describes a feature that is specific to 'gawk'. - - You may specify a timeout in milliseconds for reading input from the -keyboard, a pipe, or two-way communication, including TCP/IP sockets. -This can be done on a per-input, per-command, or per-connection basis, -by setting a special element in the 'PROCINFO' array (*note Auto-set::): - - PROCINFO["input_name", "READ_TIMEOUT"] = TIMEOUT IN MILLISECONDS - - When set, this causes 'gawk' to time out and return failure if no -data is available to read within the specified timeout period. For -example, a TCP client can decide to give up on receiving any response -from the server after a certain amount of time: - - Service = "/inet/tcp/0/localhost/daytime" - PROCINFO[Service, "READ_TIMEOUT"] = 100 - if ((Service |& getline) > 0) - print $0 - else if (ERRNO != "") - print ERRNO - - Here is how to read interactively from the user(1) without waiting -for more than five seconds: - - PROCINFO["/dev/stdin", "READ_TIMEOUT"] = 5000 - while ((getline < "/dev/stdin") > 0) - print $0 - - 'gawk' terminates the read operation if input does not arrive after -waiting for the timeout period, returns failure, and sets 'ERRNO' to an -appropriate string value. A negative or zero value for the timeout is -the same as specifying no timeout at all. - - A timeout can also be set for reading from the keyboard in the -implicit loop that reads input records and matches them against -patterns, like so: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { PROCINFO["-", "READ_TIMEOUT"] = 5000 } - > { print "You entered: " $0 }' - gawk - -| You entered: gawk - - In this case, failure to respond within five seconds results in the -following error message: - - error-> gawk: cmd. line:2: (FILENAME=- FNR=1) fatal: error reading input file `-': Connection timed out - - The timeout can be set or changed at any time, and will take effect -on the next attempt to read from the input device. In the following -example, we start with a timeout value of one second, and progressively -reduce it by one-tenth of a second until we wait indefinitely for the -input to arrive: - - PROCINFO[Service, "READ_TIMEOUT"] = 1000 - while ((Service |& getline) > 0) { - print $0 - PROCINFO[Service, "READ_TIMEOUT"] -= 100 - } - - NOTE: You should not assume that the read operation will block - exactly after the tenth record has been printed. It is possible - that 'gawk' will read and buffer more than one record's worth of - data the first time. Because of this, changing the value of - timeout like in the preceding example is not very useful. - - If the 'PROCINFO' element is not present and the 'GAWK_READ_TIMEOUT' -environment variable exists, 'gawk' uses its value to initialize the -timeout value. The exclusive use of the environment variable to specify -timeout has the disadvantage of not being able to control it on a -per-command or per-connection basis. - - 'gawk' considers a timeout event to be an error even though the -attempt to read from the underlying device may succeed in a later -attempt. This is a limitation, and it also means that you cannot use -this to multiplex input from two or more sources. *Note Retrying -Input:: for a way to enable later I/O attempts to succeed. - - Assigning a timeout value prevents read operations from blocking -indefinitely. But bear in mind that there are other ways 'gawk' can -stall waiting for an input device to be ready. A network client can -sometimes take a long time to establish a connection before it can start -reading any data, or the attempt to open a FIFO special file for reading -can block indefinitely until some other process opens it for writing. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This assumes that standard input is the keyboard. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Retrying Input, Next: Command-line directories, Prev: Read Timeout, Up: Reading Files - -4.11 Retrying Reads After Certain Input Errors -============================================== - -This minor node describes a feature that is specific to 'gawk'. - - When 'gawk' encounters an error while reading input, by default -'getline' returns -1, and subsequent attempts to read from that file -result in an end-of-file indication. However, you may optionally -instruct 'gawk' to allow I/O to be retried when certain errors are -encountered by setting a special element in the 'PROCINFO' array (*note -Auto-set::): - - PROCINFO["INPUT_NAME", "RETRY"] = 1 - - When this element exists, 'gawk' checks the value of the system (C -language) 'errno' variable when an I/O error occurs. If 'errno' -indicates a subsequent I/O attempt may succeed, 'getline' instead -returns -2 and further calls to 'getline' may succeed. This applies to -the 'errno' values 'EAGAIN', 'EWOULDBLOCK', 'EINTR', or 'ETIMEDOUT'. - - This feature is useful in conjunction with 'PROCINFO["INPUT_NAME", -"READ_TIMEOUT"]' or situations where a file descriptor has been -configured to behave in a non-blocking fashion. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Command-line directories, Next: Input Summary, Prev: Retrying Input, Up: Reading Files - -4.12 Directories on the Command Line -==================================== - -According to the POSIX standard, files named on the 'awk' command line -must be text files; it is a fatal error if they are not. Most versions -of 'awk' treat a directory on the command line as a fatal error. - - By default, 'gawk' produces a warning for a directory on the command -line, but otherwise ignores it. This makes it easier to use shell -wildcards with your 'awk' program: - - $ gawk -f whizprog.awk * Directories could kill this program - - If either of the '--posix' or '--traditional' options is given, then -'gawk' reverts to treating a directory on the command line as a fatal -error. - - *Note Extension Sample Readdir:: for a way to treat directories as -usable data from an 'awk' program. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Input Summary, Next: Input Exercises, Prev: Command-line directories, Up: Reading Files - -4.13 Summary -============ - - * Input is split into records based on the value of 'RS'. The - possibilities are as follows: - - Value of 'RS' Records are split on 'awk' / 'gawk' - ... - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Any single That character 'awk' - character - The empty string Runs of two or more 'awk' - ('""') newlines - A regexp Text that matches the 'gawk' - regexp - - * 'FNR' indicates how many records have been read from the current - input file; 'NR' indicates how many records have been read in - total. - - * 'gawk' sets 'RT' to the text matched by 'RS'. - - * After splitting the input into records, 'awk' further splits the - records into individual fields, named '$1', '$2', and so on. '$0' - is the whole record, and 'NF' indicates how many fields there are. - The default way to split fields is between whitespace characters. - - * Fields may be referenced using a variable, as in '$NF'. Fields may - also be assigned values, which causes the value of '$0' to be - recomputed when it is later referenced. Assigning to a field with - a number greater than 'NF' creates the field and rebuilds the - record, using 'OFS' to separate the fields. Incrementing 'NF' does - the same thing. Decrementing 'NF' throws away fields and rebuilds - the record. - - * Field splitting is more complicated than record splitting: - - Field separator value Fields are split ... 'awk' / - 'gawk' - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 'FS == " "' On runs of whitespace 'awk' - 'FS == ANY SINGLE On that character 'awk' - CHARACTER' - 'FS == REGEXP' On text matching the regexp 'awk' - 'FS == ""' Such that each individual 'gawk' - character is a separate - field - 'FIELDWIDTHS == LIST OF Based on character position 'gawk' - COLUMNS' - 'FPAT == REGEXP' On the text surrounding 'gawk' - text matching the regexp - - * Using 'FS = "\n"' causes the entire record to be a single field - (assuming that newlines separate records). - - * 'FS' may be set from the command line using the '-F' option. This - can also be done using command-line variable assignment. - - * Use 'PROCINFO["FS"]' to see how fields are being split. - - * Use 'getline' in its various forms to read additional records from - the default input stream, from a file, or from a pipe or coprocess. - - * Use 'PROCINFO[FILE, "READ_TIMEOUT"]' to cause reads to time out for - FILE. - - * Directories on the command line are fatal for standard 'awk'; - 'gawk' ignores them if not in POSIX mode. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Input Exercises, Prev: Input Summary, Up: Reading Files - -4.14 Exercises -============== - - 1. Using the 'FIELDWIDTHS' variable (*note Constant Size::), write a - program to read election data, where each record represents one - voter's votes. Come up with a way to define which columns are - associated with each ballot item, and print the total votes, - including abstentions, for each item. - - 2. *note Plain Getline::, presented a program to remove C-style - comments ('/* ... */') from the input. That program does not work - if one comment ends on one line and another one starts later on the - same line. That can be fixed by making one simple change. What is - it? - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Printing, Next: Expressions, Prev: Reading Files, Up: Top - -5 Printing Output -***************** - -One of the most common programming actions is to "print", or output, -some or all of the input. Use the 'print' statement for simple output, -and the 'printf' statement for fancier formatting. The 'print' -statement is not limited when computing _which_ values to print. -However, with two exceptions, you cannot specify _how_ to print -them--how many columns, whether to use exponential notation or not, and -so on. (For the exceptions, *note Output Separators:: and *note -OFMT::.) For printing with specifications, you need the 'printf' -statement (*note Printf::). - - Besides basic and formatted printing, this major node also covers I/O -redirections to files and pipes, introduces the special file names that -'gawk' processes internally, and discusses the 'close()' built-in -function. - -* Menu: - -* Print:: The 'print' statement. -* Print Examples:: Simple examples of 'print' statements. -* Output Separators:: The output separators and how to change them. -* OFMT:: Controlling Numeric Output With 'print'. -* Printf:: The 'printf' statement. -* Redirection:: How to redirect output to multiple files and - pipes. -* Special FD:: Special files for I/O. -* Special Files:: File name interpretation in 'gawk'. - 'gawk' allows access to inherited file - descriptors. -* Close Files And Pipes:: Closing Input and Output Files and Pipes. -* Nonfatal:: Enabling Nonfatal Output. -* Output Summary:: Output summary. -* Output Exercises:: Exercises. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Print, Next: Print Examples, Up: Printing - -5.1 The 'print' Statement -========================= - -Use the 'print' statement to produce output with simple, standardized -formatting. You specify only the strings or numbers to print, in a list -separated by commas. They are output, separated by single spaces, -followed by a newline. The statement looks like this: - - print ITEM1, ITEM2, ... - -The entire list of items may be optionally enclosed in parentheses. The -parentheses are necessary if any of the item expressions uses the '>' -relational operator; otherwise it could be confused with an output -redirection (*note Redirection::). - - The items to print can be constant strings or numbers, fields of the -current record (such as '$1'), variables, or any 'awk' expression. -Numeric values are converted to strings and then printed. - - The simple statement 'print' with no items is equivalent to 'print -$0': it prints the entire current record. To print a blank line, use -'print ""'. To print a fixed piece of text, use a string constant, such -as '"Don't Panic"', as one item. If you forget to use the double-quote -characters, your text is taken as an 'awk' expression, and you will -probably get an error. Keep in mind that a space is printed between any -two items. - - Note that the 'print' statement is a statement and not an -expression--you can't use it in the pattern part of a pattern-action -statement, for example. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Print Examples, Next: Output Separators, Prev: Print, Up: Printing - -5.2 'print' Statement Examples -============================== - -Each 'print' statement makes at least one line of output. However, it -isn't limited to only one line. If an item value is a string containing -a newline, the newline is output along with the rest of the string. A -single 'print' statement can make any number of lines this way. - - The following is an example of printing a string that contains -embedded newlines (the '\n' is an escape sequence, used to represent the -newline character; *note Escape Sequences::): - - $ awk 'BEGIN { print "line one\nline two\nline three" }' - -| line one - -| line two - -| line three - - The next example, which is run on the 'inventory-shipped' file, -prints the first two fields of each input record, with a space between -them: - - $ awk '{ print $1, $2 }' inventory-shipped - -| Jan 13 - -| Feb 15 - -| Mar 15 - ... - - A common mistake in using the 'print' statement is to omit the comma -between two items. This often has the effect of making the items run -together in the output, with no space. The reason for this is that -juxtaposing two string expressions in 'awk' means to concatenate them. -Here is the same program, without the comma: - - $ awk '{ print $1 $2 }' inventory-shipped - -| Jan13 - -| Feb15 - -| Mar15 - ... - - To someone unfamiliar with the 'inventory-shipped' file, neither -example's output makes much sense. A heading line at the beginning -would make it clearer. Let's add some headings to our table of months -('$1') and green crates shipped ('$2'). We do this using a 'BEGIN' rule -(*note BEGIN/END::) so that the headings are only printed once: - - awk 'BEGIN { print "Month Crates" - print "----- ------" } - { print $1, $2 }' inventory-shipped - -When run, the program prints the following: - - Month Crates - ----- ------ - Jan 13 - Feb 15 - Mar 15 - ... - -The only problem, however, is that the headings and the table data don't -line up! We can fix this by printing some spaces between the two -fields: - - awk 'BEGIN { print "Month Crates" - print "----- ------" } - { print $1, " ", $2 }' inventory-shipped - - Lining up columns this way can get pretty complicated when there are -many columns to fix. Counting spaces for two or three columns is -simple, but any more than this can take up a lot of time. This is why -the 'printf' statement was created (*note Printf::); one of its -specialties is lining up columns of data. - - NOTE: You can continue either a 'print' or 'printf' statement - simply by putting a newline after any comma (*note - Statements/Lines::). - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Output Separators, Next: OFMT, Prev: Print Examples, Up: Printing - -5.3 Output Separators -===================== - -As mentioned previously, a 'print' statement contains a list of items -separated by commas. In the output, the items are normally separated by -single spaces. However, this doesn't need to be the case; a single -space is simply the default. Any string of characters may be used as -the "output field separator" by setting the predefined variable 'OFS'. -The initial value of this variable is the string '" "' (i.e., a single -space). - - The output from an entire 'print' statement is called an "output -record". Each 'print' statement outputs one output record, and then -outputs a string called the "output record separator" (or 'ORS'). The -initial value of 'ORS' is the string '"\n"' (i.e., a newline character). -Thus, each 'print' statement normally makes a separate line. - - In order to change how output fields and records are separated, -assign new values to the variables 'OFS' and 'ORS'. The usual place to -do this is in the 'BEGIN' rule (*note BEGIN/END::), so that it happens -before any input is processed. It can also be done with assignments on -the command line, before the names of the input files, or using the '-v' -command-line option (*note Options::). The following example prints the -first and second fields of each input record, separated by a semicolon, -with a blank line added after each newline: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { OFS = ";"; ORS = "\n\n" } - > { print $1, $2 }' mail-list - -| Amelia;555-5553 - -| - -| Anthony;555-3412 - -| - -| Becky;555-7685 - -| - -| Bill;555-1675 - -| - -| Broderick;555-0542 - -| - -| Camilla;555-2912 - -| - -| Fabius;555-1234 - -| - -| Julie;555-6699 - -| - -| Martin;555-6480 - -| - -| Samuel;555-3430 - -| - -| Jean-Paul;555-2127 - -| - - If the value of 'ORS' does not contain a newline, the program's -output runs together on a single line. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: OFMT, Next: Printf, Prev: Output Separators, Up: Printing - -5.4 Controlling Numeric Output with 'print' -=========================================== - -When printing numeric values with the 'print' statement, 'awk' -internally converts each number to a string of characters and prints -that string. 'awk' uses the 'sprintf()' function to do this conversion -(*note String Functions::). For now, it suffices to say that the -'sprintf()' function accepts a "format specification" that tells it how -to format numbers (or strings), and that there are a number of different -ways in which numbers can be formatted. The different format -specifications are discussed more fully in *note Control Letters::. - - The predefined variable 'OFMT' contains the format specification that -'print' uses with 'sprintf()' when it wants to convert a number to a -string for printing. The default value of 'OFMT' is '"%.6g"'. The way -'print' prints numbers can be changed by supplying a different format -specification for the value of 'OFMT', as shown in the following -example: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { - > OFMT = "%.0f" # print numbers as integers (rounds) - > print 17.23, 17.54 }' - -| 17 18 - -According to the POSIX standard, 'awk''s behavior is undefined if 'OFMT' -contains anything but a floating-point conversion specification. (d.c.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Printf, Next: Redirection, Prev: OFMT, Up: Printing - -5.5 Using 'printf' Statements for Fancier Printing -================================================== - -For more precise control over the output format than what is provided by -'print', use 'printf'. With 'printf' you can specify the width to use -for each item, as well as various formatting choices for numbers (such -as what output base to use, whether to print an exponent, whether to -print a sign, and how many digits to print after the decimal point). - -* Menu: - -* Basic Printf:: Syntax of the 'printf' statement. -* Control Letters:: Format-control letters. -* Format Modifiers:: Format-specification modifiers. -* Printf Examples:: Several examples. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Basic Printf, Next: Control Letters, Up: Printf - -5.5.1 Introduction to the 'printf' Statement --------------------------------------------- - -A simple 'printf' statement looks like this: - - printf FORMAT, ITEM1, ITEM2, ... - -As for 'print', the entire list of arguments may optionally be enclosed -in parentheses. Here too, the parentheses are necessary if any of the -item expressions uses the '>' relational operator; otherwise, it can be -confused with an output redirection (*note Redirection::). - - The difference between 'printf' and 'print' is the FORMAT argument. -This is an expression whose value is taken as a string; it specifies how -to output each of the other arguments. It is called the "format -string". - - The format string is very similar to that in the ISO C library -function 'printf()'. Most of FORMAT is text to output verbatim. -Scattered among this text are "format specifiers"--one per item. Each -format specifier says to output the next item in the argument list at -that place in the format. - - The 'printf' statement does not automatically append a newline to its -output. It outputs only what the format string specifies. So if a -newline is needed, you must include one in the format string. The -output separator variables 'OFS' and 'ORS' have no effect on 'printf' -statements. For example: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { - > ORS = "\nOUCH!\n"; OFS = "+" - > msg = "Don\47t Panic!" - > printf "%s\n", msg - > }' - -| Don't Panic! - -Here, neither the '+' nor the 'OUCH!' appears in the output message. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Control Letters, Next: Format Modifiers, Prev: Basic Printf, Up: Printf - -5.5.2 Format-Control Letters ----------------------------- - -A format specifier starts with the character '%' and ends with a -"format-control letter"--it tells the 'printf' statement how to output -one item. The format-control letter specifies what _kind_ of value to -print. The rest of the format specifier is made up of optional -"modifiers" that control _how_ to print the value, such as the field -width. Here is a list of the format-control letters: - -'%c' - Print a number as a character; thus, 'printf "%c", 65' outputs the - letter 'A'. The output for a string value is the first character - of the string. - - NOTE: The POSIX standard says the first character of a string - is printed. In locales with multibyte characters, 'gawk' - attempts to convert the leading bytes of the string into a - valid wide character and then to print the multibyte encoding - of that character. Similarly, when printing a numeric value, - 'gawk' allows the value to be within the numeric range of - values that can be held in a wide character. If the - conversion to multibyte encoding fails, 'gawk' uses the low - eight bits of the value as the character to print. - - Other 'awk' versions generally restrict themselves to printing - the first byte of a string or to numeric values within the - range of a single byte (0-255). - -'%d', '%i' - Print a decimal integer. The two control letters are equivalent. - (The '%i' specification is for compatibility with ISO C.) - -'%e', '%E' - Print a number in scientific (exponential) notation. For example: - - printf "%4.3e\n", 1950 - - prints '1.950e+03', with a total of four significant figures, three - of which follow the decimal point. (The '4.3' represents two - modifiers, discussed in the next node.) '%E' uses 'E' instead of - 'e' in the output. - -'%f' - Print a number in floating-point notation. For example: - - printf "%4.3f", 1950 - - prints '1950.000', with a total of four significant figures, three - of which follow the decimal point. (The '4.3' represents two - modifiers, discussed in the next node.) - - On systems supporting IEEE 754 floating-point format, values - representing negative infinity are formatted as '-inf' or - '-infinity', and positive infinity as 'inf' or 'infinity'. The - special "not a number" value formats as '-nan' or 'nan' (*note Math - Definitions::). - -'%F' - Like '%f', but the infinity and "not a number" values are spelled - using uppercase letters. - - The '%F' format is a POSIX extension to ISO C; not all systems - support it. On those that don't, 'gawk' uses '%f' instead. - -'%g', '%G' - Print a number in either scientific notation or in floating-point - notation, whichever uses fewer characters; if the result is printed - in scientific notation, '%G' uses 'E' instead of 'e'. - -'%o' - Print an unsigned octal integer (*note Nondecimal-numbers::). - -'%s' - Print a string. - -'%u' - Print an unsigned decimal integer. (This format is of marginal - use, because all numbers in 'awk' are floating point; it is - provided primarily for compatibility with C.) - -'%x', '%X' - Print an unsigned hexadecimal integer; '%X' uses the letters 'A' - through 'F' instead of 'a' through 'f' (*note - Nondecimal-numbers::). - -'%%' - Print a single '%'. This does not consume an argument and it - ignores any modifiers. - - NOTE: When using the integer format-control letters for values that - are outside the range of the widest C integer type, 'gawk' switches - to the '%g' format specifier. If '--lint' is provided on the - command line (*note Options::), 'gawk' warns about this. Other - versions of 'awk' may print invalid values or do something else - entirely. (d.c.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Format Modifiers, Next: Printf Examples, Prev: Control Letters, Up: Printf - -5.5.3 Modifiers for 'printf' Formats ------------------------------------- - -A format specification can also include "modifiers" that can control how -much of the item's value is printed, as well as how much space it gets. -The modifiers come between the '%' and the format-control letter. We -use the bullet symbol "*" in the following examples to represent spaces -in the output. Here are the possible modifiers, in the order in which -they may appear: - -'N$' - An integer constant followed by a '$' is a "positional specifier". - Normally, format specifications are applied to arguments in the - order given in the format string. With a positional specifier, the - format specification is applied to a specific argument, instead of - what would be the next argument in the list. Positional specifiers - begin counting with one. Thus: - - printf "%s %s\n", "don't", "panic" - printf "%2$s %1$s\n", "panic", "don't" - - prints the famous friendly message twice. - - At first glance, this feature doesn't seem to be of much use. It - is in fact a 'gawk' extension, intended for use in translating - messages at runtime. *Note Printf Ordering::, which describes how - and why to use positional specifiers. For now, we ignore them. - -'-' (Minus) - The minus sign, used before the width modifier (see later on in - this list), says to left-justify the argument within its specified - width. Normally, the argument is printed right-justified in the - specified width. Thus: - - printf "%-4s", "foo" - - prints 'foo*'. - -SPACE - For numeric conversions, prefix positive values with a space and - negative values with a minus sign. - -'+' - The plus sign, used before the width modifier (see later on in this - list), says to always supply a sign for numeric conversions, even - if the data to format is positive. The '+' overrides the space - modifier. - -'#' - Use an "alternative form" for certain control letters. For '%o', - supply a leading zero. For '%x' and '%X', supply a leading '0x' or - '0X' for a nonzero result. For '%e', '%E', '%f', and '%F', the - result always contains a decimal point. For '%g' and '%G', - trailing zeros are not removed from the result. - -'0' - A leading '0' (zero) acts as a flag indicating that output should - be padded with zeros instead of spaces. This applies only to the - numeric output formats. This flag only has an effect when the - field width is wider than the value to print. - -''' - A single quote or apostrophe character is a POSIX extension to ISO - C. It indicates that the integer part of a floating-point value, or - the entire part of an integer decimal value, should have a - thousands-separator character in it. This only works in locales - that support such characters. For example: - - $ cat thousands.awk Show source program - -| BEGIN { printf "%'d\n", 1234567 } - $ LC_ALL=C gawk -f thousands.awk - -| 1234567 Results in "C" locale - $ LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8 gawk -f thousands.awk - -| 1,234,567 Results in US English UTF locale - - For more information about locales and internationalization issues, - see *note Locales::. - - NOTE: The ''' flag is a nice feature, but its use complicates - things: it becomes difficult to use it in command-line - programs. For information on appropriate quoting tricks, see - *note Quoting::. - -WIDTH - This is a number specifying the desired minimum width of a field. - Inserting any number between the '%' sign and the format-control - character forces the field to expand to this width. The default - way to do this is to pad with spaces on the left. For example: - - printf "%4s", "foo" - - prints '*foo'. - - The value of WIDTH is a minimum width, not a maximum. If the item - value requires more than WIDTH characters, it can be as wide as - necessary. Thus, the following: - - printf "%4s", "foobar" - - prints 'foobar'. - - Preceding the WIDTH with a minus sign causes the output to be - padded with spaces on the right, instead of on the left. - -'.PREC' - A period followed by an integer constant specifies the precision to - use when printing. The meaning of the precision varies by control - letter: - - '%d', '%i', '%o', '%u', '%x', '%X' - Minimum number of digits to print. - - '%e', '%E', '%f', '%F' - Number of digits to the right of the decimal point. - - '%g', '%G' - Maximum number of significant digits. - - '%s' - Maximum number of characters from the string that should - print. - - Thus, the following: - - printf "%.4s", "foobar" - - prints 'foob'. - - The C library 'printf''s dynamic WIDTH and PREC capability (e.g., -'"%*.*s"') is supported. Instead of supplying explicit WIDTH and/or -PREC values in the format string, they are passed in the argument list. -For example: - - w = 5 - p = 3 - s = "abcdefg" - printf "%*.*s\n", w, p, s - -is exactly equivalent to: - - s = "abcdefg" - printf "%5.3s\n", s - -Both programs output '**abc'. Earlier versions of 'awk' did not support -this capability. If you must use such a version, you may simulate this -feature by using concatenation to build up the format string, like so: - - w = 5 - p = 3 - s = "abcdefg" - printf "%" w "." p "s\n", s - -This is not particularly easy to read, but it does work. - - C programmers may be used to supplying additional modifiers ('h', -'j', 'l', 'L', 't', and 'z') in 'printf' format strings. These are not -valid in 'awk'. Most 'awk' implementations silently ignore them. If -'--lint' is provided on the command line (*note Options::), 'gawk' warns -about their use. If '--posix' is supplied, their use is a fatal error. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Printf Examples, Prev: Format Modifiers, Up: Printf - -5.5.4 Examples Using 'printf' ------------------------------ - -The following simple example shows how to use 'printf' to make an -aligned table: - - awk '{ printf "%-10s %s\n", $1, $2 }' mail-list - -This command prints the names of the people ('$1') in the file -'mail-list' as a string of 10 characters that are left-justified. It -also prints the phone numbers ('$2') next on the line. This produces an -aligned two-column table of names and phone numbers, as shown here: - - $ awk '{ printf "%-10s %s\n", $1, $2 }' mail-list - -| Amelia 555-5553 - -| Anthony 555-3412 - -| Becky 555-7685 - -| Bill 555-1675 - -| Broderick 555-0542 - -| Camilla 555-2912 - -| Fabius 555-1234 - -| Julie 555-6699 - -| Martin 555-6480 - -| Samuel 555-3430 - -| Jean-Paul 555-2127 - - In this case, the phone numbers had to be printed as strings because -the numbers are separated by dashes. Printing the phone numbers as -numbers would have produced just the first three digits: '555'. This -would have been pretty confusing. - - It wasn't necessary to specify a width for the phone numbers because -they are last on their lines. They don't need to have spaces after -them. - - The table could be made to look even nicer by adding headings to the -tops of the columns. This is done using a 'BEGIN' rule (*note -BEGIN/END::) so that the headers are only printed once, at the beginning -of the 'awk' program: - - awk 'BEGIN { print "Name Number" - print "---- ------" } - { printf "%-10s %s\n", $1, $2 }' mail-list - - The preceding example mixes 'print' and 'printf' statements in the -same program. Using just 'printf' statements can produce the same -results: - - awk 'BEGIN { printf "%-10s %s\n", "Name", "Number" - printf "%-10s %s\n", "----", "------" } - { printf "%-10s %s\n", $1, $2 }' mail-list - -Printing each column heading with the same format specification used for -the column elements ensures that the headings are aligned just like the -columns. - - The fact that the same format specification is used three times can -be emphasized by storing it in a variable, like this: - - awk 'BEGIN { format = "%-10s %s\n" - printf format, "Name", "Number" - printf format, "----", "------" } - { printf format, $1, $2 }' mail-list - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Redirection, Next: Special FD, Prev: Printf, Up: Printing - -5.6 Redirecting Output of 'print' and 'printf' -============================================== - -So far, the output from 'print' and 'printf' has gone to the standard -output, usually the screen. Both 'print' and 'printf' can also send -their output to other places. This is called "redirection". - - NOTE: When '--sandbox' is specified (*note Options::), redirecting - output to files, pipes, and coprocesses is disabled. - - A redirection appears after the 'print' or 'printf' statement. -Redirections in 'awk' are written just like redirections in shell -commands, except that they are written inside the 'awk' program. - - There are four forms of output redirection: output to a file, output -appended to a file, output through a pipe to another command, and output -to a coprocess. We show them all for the 'print' statement, but they -work identically for 'printf': - -'print ITEMS > OUTPUT-FILE' - This redirection prints the items into the output file named - OUTPUT-FILE. The file name OUTPUT-FILE can be any expression. Its - value is changed to a string and then used as a file name (*note - Expressions::). - - When this type of redirection is used, the OUTPUT-FILE is erased - before the first output is written to it. Subsequent writes to the - same OUTPUT-FILE do not erase OUTPUT-FILE, but append to it. (This - is different from how you use redirections in shell scripts.) If - OUTPUT-FILE does not exist, it is created. For example, here is - how an 'awk' program can write a list of peoples' names to one file - named 'name-list', and a list of phone numbers to another file - named 'phone-list': - - $ awk '{ print $2 > "phone-list" - > print $1 > "name-list" }' mail-list - $ cat phone-list - -| 555-5553 - -| 555-3412 - ... - $ cat name-list - -| Amelia - -| Anthony - ... - - Each output file contains one name or number per line. - -'print ITEMS >> OUTPUT-FILE' - This redirection prints the items into the preexisting output file - named OUTPUT-FILE. The difference between this and the single-'>' - redirection is that the old contents (if any) of OUTPUT-FILE are - not erased. Instead, the 'awk' output is appended to the file. If - OUTPUT-FILE does not exist, then it is created. - -'print ITEMS | COMMAND' - It is possible to send output to another program through a pipe - instead of into a file. This redirection opens a pipe to COMMAND, - and writes the values of ITEMS through this pipe to another process - created to execute COMMAND. - - The redirection argument COMMAND is actually an 'awk' expression. - Its value is converted to a string whose contents give the shell - command to be run. For example, the following produces two files, - one unsorted list of peoples' names, and one list sorted in reverse - alphabetical order: - - awk '{ print $1 > "names.unsorted" - command = "sort -r > names.sorted" - print $1 | command }' mail-list - - The unsorted list is written with an ordinary redirection, while - the sorted list is written by piping through the 'sort' utility. - - The next example uses redirection to mail a message to the mailing - list 'bug-system'. This might be useful when trouble is - encountered in an 'awk' script run periodically for system - maintenance: - - report = "mail bug-system" - print("Awk script failed:", $0) | report - print("at record number", FNR, "of", FILENAME) | report - close(report) - - The 'close()' function is called here because it's a good idea to - close the pipe as soon as all the intended output has been sent to - it. *Note Close Files And Pipes:: for more information. - - This example also illustrates the use of a variable to represent a - FILE or COMMAND--it is not necessary to always use a string - constant. Using a variable is generally a good idea, because (if - you mean to refer to that same file or command) 'awk' requires that - the string value be written identically every time. - -'print ITEMS |& COMMAND' - This redirection prints the items to the input of COMMAND. The - difference between this and the single-'|' redirection is that the - output from COMMAND can be read with 'getline'. Thus, COMMAND is a - "coprocess", which works together with but is subsidiary to the - 'awk' program. - - This feature is a 'gawk' extension, and is not available in POSIX - 'awk'. *Note Getline/Coprocess::, for a brief discussion. *Note - Two-way I/O::, for a more complete discussion. - - Redirecting output using '>', '>>', '|', or '|&' asks the system to -open a file, pipe, or coprocess only if the particular FILE or COMMAND -you specify has not already been written to by your program or if it has -been closed since it was last written to. - - It is a common error to use '>' redirection for the first 'print' to -a file, and then to use '>>' for subsequent output: - - # clear the file - print "Don't panic" > "guide.txt" - ... - # append - print "Avoid improbability generators" >> "guide.txt" - -This is indeed how redirections must be used from the shell. But in -'awk', it isn't necessary. In this kind of case, a program should use -'>' for all the 'print' statements, because the output file is only -opened once. (It happens that if you mix '>' and '>>' output is -produced in the expected order. However, mixing the operators for the -same file is definitely poor style, and is confusing to readers of your -program.) - - Many older 'awk' implementations limit the number of pipelines that -an 'awk' program may have open to just one! In 'gawk', there is no such -limit. 'gawk' allows a program to open as many pipelines as the -underlying operating system permits. - - Piping into 'sh' - - A particularly powerful way to use redirection is to build command -lines and pipe them into the shell, 'sh'. For example, suppose you have -a list of files brought over from a system where all the file names are -stored in uppercase, and you wish to rename them to have names in all -lowercase. The following program is both simple and efficient: - - { printf("mv %s %s\n", $0, tolower($0)) | "sh" } - - END { close("sh") } - - The 'tolower()' function returns its argument string with all -uppercase characters converted to lowercase (*note String Functions::). -The program builds up a list of command lines, using the 'mv' utility to -rename the files. It then sends the list to the shell for execution. - - *Note Shell Quoting:: for a function that can help in generating -command lines to be fed to the shell. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Special FD, Next: Special Files, Prev: Redirection, Up: Printing - -5.7 Special Files for Standard Preopened Data Streams -===================================================== - -Running programs conventionally have three input and output streams -already available to them for reading and writing. These are known as -the "standard input", "standard output", and "standard error output". -These open streams (and any other open files or pipes) are often -referred to by the technical term "file descriptors". - - These streams are, by default, connected to your keyboard and screen, -but they are often redirected with the shell, via the '<', '<<', '>', -'>>', '>&', and '|' operators. Standard error is typically used for -writing error messages; the reason there are two separate streams, -standard output and standard error, is so that they can be redirected -separately. - - In traditional implementations of 'awk', the only way to write an -error message to standard error in an 'awk' program is as follows: - - print "Serious error detected!" | "cat 1>&2" - -This works by opening a pipeline to a shell command that can access the -standard error stream that it inherits from the 'awk' process. This is -far from elegant, and it also requires a separate process. So people -writing 'awk' programs often don't do this. Instead, they send the -error messages to the screen, like this: - - print "Serious error detected!" > "/dev/tty" - -('/dev/tty' is a special file supplied by the operating system that is -connected to your keyboard and screen. It represents the "terminal,"(1) -which on modern systems is a keyboard and screen, not a serial console.) -This generally has the same effect, but not always: although the -standard error stream is usually the screen, it can be redirected; when -that happens, writing to the screen is not correct. In fact, if 'awk' -is run from a background job, it may not have a terminal at all. Then -opening '/dev/tty' fails. - - 'gawk', BWK 'awk', and 'mawk' provide special file names for -accessing the three standard streams. If the file name matches one of -these special names when 'gawk' (or one of the others) redirects input -or output, then it directly uses the descriptor that the file name -stands for. These special file names work for all operating systems -that 'gawk' has been ported to, not just those that are POSIX-compliant: - -'/dev/stdin' - The standard input (file descriptor 0). - -'/dev/stdout' - The standard output (file descriptor 1). - -'/dev/stderr' - The standard error output (file descriptor 2). - - With these facilities, the proper way to write an error message then -becomes: - - print "Serious error detected!" > "/dev/stderr" - - Note the use of quotes around the file name. Like with any other -redirection, the value must be a string. It is a common error to omit -the quotes, which leads to confusing results. - - 'gawk' does not treat these file names as special when in -POSIX-compatibility mode. However, because BWK 'awk' supports them, -'gawk' does support them even when invoked with the '--traditional' -option (*note Options::). - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The "tty" in '/dev/tty' stands for "Teletype," a serial terminal. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Special Files, Next: Close Files And Pipes, Prev: Special FD, Up: Printing - -5.8 Special File names in 'gawk' -================================ - -Besides access to standard input, standard output, and standard error, -'gawk' provides access to any open file descriptor. Additionally, there -are special file names reserved for TCP/IP networking. - -* Menu: - -* Other Inherited Files:: Accessing other open files with - 'gawk'. -* Special Network:: Special files for network communications. -* Special Caveats:: Things to watch out for. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Other Inherited Files, Next: Special Network, Up: Special Files - -5.8.1 Accessing Other Open Files with 'gawk' --------------------------------------------- - -Besides the '/dev/stdin', '/dev/stdout', and '/dev/stderr' special file -names mentioned earlier, 'gawk' provides syntax for accessing any other -inherited open file: - -'/dev/fd/N' - The file associated with file descriptor N. Such a file must be - opened by the program initiating the 'awk' execution (typically the - shell). Unless special pains are taken in the shell from which - 'gawk' is invoked, only descriptors 0, 1, and 2 are available. - - The file names '/dev/stdin', '/dev/stdout', and '/dev/stderr' are -essentially aliases for '/dev/fd/0', '/dev/fd/1', and '/dev/fd/2', -respectively. However, those names are more self-explanatory. - - Note that using 'close()' on a file name of the form '"/dev/fd/N"', -for file descriptor numbers above two, does actually close the given -file descriptor. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Special Network, Next: Special Caveats, Prev: Other Inherited Files, Up: Special Files - -5.8.2 Special Files for Network Communications ----------------------------------------------- - -'gawk' programs can open a two-way TCP/IP connection, acting as either a -client or a server. This is done using a special file name of the form: - - /NET-TYPE/PROTOCOL/LOCAL-PORT/REMOTE-HOST/REMOTE-PORT - - The NET-TYPE is one of 'inet', 'inet4', or 'inet6'. The PROTOCOL is -one of 'tcp' or 'udp', and the other fields represent the other -essential pieces of information for making a networking connection. -These file names are used with the '|&' operator for communicating with -a coprocess (*note Two-way I/O::). This is an advanced feature, -mentioned here only for completeness. Full discussion is delayed until -*note TCP/IP Networking::. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Special Caveats, Prev: Special Network, Up: Special Files - -5.8.3 Special File name Caveats -------------------------------- - -Here are some things to bear in mind when using the special file names -that 'gawk' provides: - - * Recognition of the file names for the three standard preopened - files is disabled only in POSIX mode. - - * Recognition of the other special file names is disabled if 'gawk' - is in compatibility mode (either '--traditional' or '--posix'; - *note Options::). - - * 'gawk' _always_ interprets these special file names. For example, - using '/dev/fd/4' for output actually writes on file descriptor 4, - and not on a new file descriptor that is 'dup()'ed from file - descriptor 4. Most of the time this does not matter; however, it - is important to _not_ close any of the files related to file - descriptors 0, 1, and 2. Doing so results in unpredictable - behavior. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Close Files And Pipes, Next: Nonfatal, Prev: Special Files, Up: Printing - -5.9 Closing Input and Output Redirections -========================================= - -If the same file name or the same shell command is used with 'getline' -more than once during the execution of an 'awk' program (*note -Getline::), the file is opened (or the command is executed) the first -time only. At that time, the first record of input is read from that -file or command. The next time the same file or command is used with -'getline', another record is read from it, and so on. - - Similarly, when a file or pipe is opened for output, 'awk' remembers -the file name or command associated with it, and subsequent writes to -the same file or command are appended to the previous writes. The file -or pipe stays open until 'awk' exits. - - This implies that special steps are necessary in order to read the -same file again from the beginning, or to rerun a shell command (rather -than reading more output from the same command). The 'close()' function -makes these things possible: - - close(FILENAME) - -or: - - close(COMMAND) - - The argument FILENAME or COMMAND can be any expression. Its value -must _exactly_ match the string that was used to open the file or start -the command (spaces and other "irrelevant" characters included). For -example, if you open a pipe with this: - - "sort -r names" | getline foo - -then you must close it with this: - - close("sort -r names") - - Once this function call is executed, the next 'getline' from that -file or command, or the next 'print' or 'printf' to that file or -command, reopens the file or reruns the command. Because the expression -that you use to close a file or pipeline must exactly match the -expression used to open the file or run the command, it is good practice -to use a variable to store the file name or command. The previous -example becomes the following: - - sortcom = "sort -r names" - sortcom | getline foo - ... - close(sortcom) - -This helps avoid hard-to-find typographical errors in your 'awk' -programs. Here are some of the reasons for closing an output file: - - * To write a file and read it back later on in the same 'awk' - program. Close the file after writing it, then begin reading it - with 'getline'. - - * To write numerous files, successively, in the same 'awk' program. - If the files aren't closed, eventually 'awk' may exceed a system - limit on the number of open files in one process. It is best to - close each one when the program has finished writing it. - - * To make a command finish. When output is redirected through a - pipe, the command reading the pipe normally continues to try to - read input as long as the pipe is open. Often this means the - command cannot really do its work until the pipe is closed. For - example, if output is redirected to the 'mail' program, the message - is not actually sent until the pipe is closed. - - * To run the same program a second time, with the same arguments. - This is not the same thing as giving more input to the first run! - - For example, suppose a program pipes output to the 'mail' program. - If it outputs several lines redirected to this pipe without closing - it, they make a single message of several lines. By contrast, if - the program closes the pipe after each line of output, then each - line makes a separate message. - - If you use more files than the system allows you to have open, 'gawk' -attempts to multiplex the available open files among your data files. -'gawk''s ability to do this depends upon the facilities of your -operating system, so it may not always work. It is therefore both good -practice and good portability advice to always use 'close()' on your -files when you are done with them. In fact, if you are using a lot of -pipes, it is essential that you close commands when done. For example, -consider something like this: - - { - ... - command = ("grep " $1 " /some/file | my_prog -q " $3) - while ((command | getline) > 0) { - PROCESS OUTPUT OF command - } - # need close(command) here - } - - This example creates a new pipeline based on data in _each_ record. -Without the call to 'close()' indicated in the comment, 'awk' creates -child processes to run the commands, until it eventually runs out of -file descriptors for more pipelines. - - Even though each command has finished (as indicated by the -end-of-file return status from 'getline'), the child process is not -terminated;(1) more importantly, the file descriptor for the pipe is not -closed and released until 'close()' is called or 'awk' exits. - - 'close()' silently does nothing if given an argument that does not -represent a file, pipe, or coprocess that was opened with a redirection. -In such a case, it returns a negative value, indicating an error. In -addition, 'gawk' sets 'ERRNO' to a string indicating the error. - - Note also that 'close(FILENAME)' has no "magic" effects on the -implicit loop that reads through the files named on the command line. -It is, more likely, a close of a file that was never opened with a -redirection, so 'awk' silently does nothing, except return a negative -value. - - When using the '|&' operator to communicate with a coprocess, it is -occasionally useful to be able to close one end of the two-way pipe -without closing the other. This is done by supplying a second argument -to 'close()'. As in any other call to 'close()', the first argument is -the name of the command or special file used to start the coprocess. -The second argument should be a string, with either of the values '"to"' -or '"from"'. Case does not matter. As this is an advanced feature, -discussion is delayed until *note Two-way I/O::, which describes it in -more detail and gives an example. - - Using 'close()''s Return Value - - In many older versions of Unix 'awk', the 'close()' function is -actually a statement. (d.c.) It is a syntax error to try and use the -return value from 'close()': - - command = "..." - command | getline info - retval = close(command) # syntax error in many Unix awks - - 'gawk' treats 'close()' as a function. The return value is -1 if the -argument names something that was never opened with a redirection, or if -there is a system problem closing the file or process. In these cases, -'gawk' sets the predefined variable 'ERRNO' to a string describing the -problem. - - In 'gawk', starting with version 4.2, when closing a pipe or -coprocess (input or output), the return value is the exit status of the -command, as described in *note Table 5.1: -table-close-pipe-return-values.(2) Otherwise, it is the return value -from the system's 'close()' or 'fclose()' C functions when closing input -or output files, respectively. This value is zero if the close -succeeds, or -1 if it fails. - -Situation Return value from 'close()' --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Normal exit of command Command's exit status -Death by signal of command 256 + number of murderous signal -Death by signal of command 512 + number of murderous signal -with core dump -Some kind of error -1 - -Table 5.1: Return values from 'close()' of a pipe - - The POSIX standard is very vague; it says that 'close()' returns zero -on success and a nonzero value otherwise. In general, different -implementations vary in what they report when closing pipes; thus, the -return value cannot be used portably. (d.c.) In POSIX mode (*note -Options::), 'gawk' just returns zero when closing a pipe. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The technical terminology is rather morbid. The finished child -is called a "zombie," and cleaning up after it is referred to as -"reaping." - - (2) Prior to version 4.2, the return value from closing a pipe or -co-process was the full 16-bit exit value as defined by the 'wait()' -system call. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Nonfatal, Next: Output Summary, Prev: Close Files And Pipes, Up: Printing - -5.10 Enabling Nonfatal Output -============================= - -This minor node describes a 'gawk'-specific feature. - - In standard 'awk', output with 'print' or 'printf' to a nonexistent -file, or some other I/O error (such as filling up the disk) is a fatal -error. - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { print "hi" > "/no/such/file" }' - error-> gawk: cmd. line:1: fatal: can't redirect to `/no/such/file' (No such file or directory) - - 'gawk' makes it possible to detect that an error has occurred, -allowing you to possibly recover from the error, or at least print an -error message of your choosing before exiting. You can do this in one -of two ways: - - * For all output files, by assigning any value to - 'PROCINFO["NONFATAL"]'. - - * On a per-file basis, by assigning any value to 'PROCINFO[FILENAME, - "NONFATAL"]'. Here, FILENAME is the name of the file to which you - wish output to be nonfatal. - - Once you have enabled nonfatal output, you must check 'ERRNO' after -every relevant 'print' or 'printf' statement to see if something went -wrong. It is also a good idea to initialize 'ERRNO' to zero before -attempting the output. For example: - - $ gawk ' - > BEGIN { - > PROCINFO["NONFATAL"] = 1 - > ERRNO = 0 - > print "hi" > "/no/such/file" - > if (ERRNO) { - > print("Output failed:", ERRNO) > "/dev/stderr" - > exit 1 - > } - > }' - error-> Output failed: No such file or directory - - Here, 'gawk' did not produce a fatal error; instead it let the 'awk' -program code detect the problem and handle it. - - This mechanism works also for standard output and standard error. -For standard output, you may use 'PROCINFO["-", "NONFATAL"]' or -'PROCINFO["/dev/stdout", "NONFATAL"]'. For standard error, use -'PROCINFO["/dev/stderr", "NONFATAL"]'. - - When attempting to open a TCP/IP socket (*note TCP/IP Networking::), -'gawk' tries multiple times. The 'GAWK_SOCK_RETRIES' environment -variable (*note Other Environment Variables::) allows you to override -'gawk''s builtin default number of attempts. However, once nonfatal I/O -is enabled for a given socket, 'gawk' only retries once, relying on -'awk'-level code to notice that there was a problem. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Output Summary, Next: Output Exercises, Prev: Nonfatal, Up: Printing - -5.11 Summary -============ - - * The 'print' statement prints comma-separated expressions. Each - expression is separated by the value of 'OFS' and terminated by the - value of 'ORS'. 'OFMT' provides the conversion format for numeric - values for the 'print' statement. - - * The 'printf' statement provides finer-grained control over output, - with format-control letters for different data types and various - flags that modify the behavior of the format-control letters. - - * Output from both 'print' and 'printf' may be redirected to files, - pipes, and coprocesses. - - * 'gawk' provides special file names for access to standard input, - output, and error, and for network communications. - - * Use 'close()' to close open file, pipe, and coprocess redirections. - For coprocesses, it is possible to close only one direction of the - communications. - - * Normally errors with 'print' or 'printf' are fatal. 'gawk' lets - you make output errors be nonfatal either for all files or on a - per-file basis. You must then check for errors after every - relevant output statement. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Output Exercises, Prev: Output Summary, Up: Printing - -5.12 Exercises -============== - - 1. Rewrite the program: - - awk 'BEGIN { print "Month Crates" - print "----- ------" } - { print $1, " ", $2 }' inventory-shipped - - from *note Output Separators::, by using a new value of 'OFS'. - - 2. Use the 'printf' statement to line up the headings and table data - for the 'inventory-shipped' example that was covered in *note - Print::. - - 3. What happens if you forget the double quotes when redirecting - output, as follows: - - BEGIN { print "Serious error detected!" > /dev/stderr } - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Expressions, Next: Patterns and Actions, Prev: Printing, Up: Top - -6 Expressions -************* - -Expressions are the basic building blocks of 'awk' patterns and actions. -An expression evaluates to a value that you can print, test, or pass to -a function. Additionally, an expression can assign a new value to a -variable or a field by using an assignment operator. - - An expression can serve as a pattern or action statement on its own. -Most other kinds of statements contain one or more expressions that -specify the data on which to operate. As in other languages, -expressions in 'awk' can include variables, array references, constants, -and function calls, as well as combinations of these with various -operators. - -* Menu: - -* Values:: Constants, Variables, and Regular Expressions. -* All Operators:: 'gawk''s operators. -* Truth Values and Conditions:: Testing for true and false. -* Function Calls:: A function call is an expression. -* Precedence:: How various operators nest. -* Locales:: How the locale affects things. -* Expressions Summary:: Expressions summary. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Values, Next: All Operators, Up: Expressions - -6.1 Constants, Variables, and Conversions -========================================= - -Expressions are built up from values and the operations performed upon -them. This minor node describes the elementary objects that provide the -values used in expressions. - -* Menu: - -* Constants:: String, numeric and regexp constants. -* Using Constant Regexps:: When and how to use a regexp constant. -* Variables:: Variables give names to values for later use. -* Conversion:: The conversion of strings to numbers and vice - versa. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Constants, Next: Using Constant Regexps, Up: Values - -6.1.1 Constant Expressions --------------------------- - -The simplest type of expression is the "constant", which always has the -same value. There are three types of constants: numeric, string, and -regular expression. - - Each is used in the appropriate context when you need a data value -that isn't going to change. Numeric constants can have different forms, -but are internally stored in an identical manner. - -* Menu: - -* Scalar Constants:: Numeric and string constants. -* Nondecimal-numbers:: What are octal and hex numbers. -* Regexp Constants:: Regular Expression constants. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Scalar Constants, Next: Nondecimal-numbers, Up: Constants - -6.1.1.1 Numeric and String Constants -.................................... - -A "numeric constant" stands for a number. This number can be an -integer, a decimal fraction, or a number in scientific (exponential) -notation.(1) Here are some examples of numeric constants that all have -the same value: - - 105 - 1.05e+2 - 1050e-1 - - A "string constant" consists of a sequence of characters enclosed in -double quotation marks. For example: - - "parrot" - -represents the string whose contents are 'parrot'. Strings in 'gawk' -can be of any length, and they can contain any of the possible eight-bit -ASCII characters, including ASCII NUL (character code zero). Other -'awk' implementations may have difficulty with some character codes. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The internal representation of all numbers, including integers, -uses double-precision floating-point numbers. On most modern systems, -these are in IEEE 754 standard format. *Note Arbitrary Precision -Arithmetic::, for much more information. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Nondecimal-numbers, Next: Regexp Constants, Prev: Scalar Constants, Up: Constants - -6.1.1.2 Octal and Hexadecimal Numbers -..................................... - -In 'awk', all numbers are in decimal (i.e., base 10). Many other -programming languages allow you to specify numbers in other bases, often -octal (base 8) and hexadecimal (base 16). In octal, the numbers go 0, -1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, and so on. Just as '11' in decimal is -1 times 10 plus 1, so '11' in octal is 1 times 8 plus 1. This equals 9 -in decimal. In hexadecimal, there are 16 digits. Because the everyday -decimal number system only has ten digits ('0'-'9'), the letters 'a' -through 'f' are used to represent the rest. (Case in the letters is -usually irrelevant; hexadecimal 'a' and 'A' have the same value.) Thus, -'11' in hexadecimal is 1 times 16 plus 1, which equals 17 in decimal. - - Just by looking at plain '11', you can't tell what base it's in. So, -in C, C++, and other languages derived from C, there is a special -notation to signify the base. Octal numbers start with a leading '0', -and hexadecimal numbers start with a leading '0x' or '0X': - -'11' - Decimal value 11 - -'011' - Octal 11, decimal value 9 - -'0x11' - Hexadecimal 11, decimal value 17 - - This example shows the difference: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { printf "%d, %d, %d\n", 011, 11, 0x11 }' - -| 9, 11, 17 - - Being able to use octal and hexadecimal constants in your programs is -most useful when working with data that cannot be represented -conveniently as characters or as regular numbers, such as binary data of -various sorts. - - 'gawk' allows the use of octal and hexadecimal constants in your -program text. However, such numbers in the input data are not treated -differently; doing so by default would break old programs. (If you -really need to do this, use the '--non-decimal-data' command-line -option; *note Nondecimal Data::.) If you have octal or hexadecimal -data, you can use the 'strtonum()' function (*note String Functions::) -to convert the data into a number. Most of the time, you will want to -use octal or hexadecimal constants when working with the built-in -bit-manipulation functions; see *note Bitwise Functions:: for more -information. - - Unlike in some early C implementations, '8' and '9' are not valid in -octal constants. For example, 'gawk' treats '018' as decimal 18: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { print "021 is", 021 ; print 018 }' - -| 021 is 17 - -| 18 - - Octal and hexadecimal source code constants are a 'gawk' extension. -If 'gawk' is in compatibility mode (*note Options::), they are not -available. - - A Constant's Base Does Not Affect Its Value - - Once a numeric constant has been converted internally into a number, -'gawk' no longer remembers what the original form of the constant was; -the internal value is always used. This has particular consequences for -conversion of numbers to strings: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { printf "0x11 is <%s>\n", 0x11 }' - -| 0x11 is <17> - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Regexp Constants, Prev: Nondecimal-numbers, Up: Constants - -6.1.1.3 Regular Expression Constants -.................................... - -A "regexp constant" is a regular expression description enclosed in -slashes, such as '/^beginning and end$/'. Most regexps used in 'awk' -programs are constant, but the '~' and '!~' matching operators can also -match computed or dynamic regexps (which are typically just ordinary -strings or variables that contain a regexp, but could be more complex -expressions). - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Using Constant Regexps, Next: Variables, Prev: Constants, Up: Values - -6.1.2 Using Regular Expression Constants ----------------------------------------- - -When used on the righthand side of the '~' or '!~' operators, a regexp -constant merely stands for the regexp that is to be matched. However, -regexp constants (such as '/foo/') may be used like simple expressions. -When a regexp constant appears by itself, it has the same meaning as if -it appeared in a pattern (i.e., '($0 ~ /foo/)'). (d.c.) *Note -Expression Patterns::. This means that the following two code segments: - - if ($0 ~ /barfly/ || $0 ~ /camelot/) - print "found" - -and: - - if (/barfly/ || /camelot/) - print "found" - -are exactly equivalent. One rather bizarre consequence of this rule is -that the following Boolean expression is valid, but does not do what its -author probably intended: - - # Note that /foo/ is on the left of the ~ - if (/foo/ ~ $1) print "found foo" - -This code is "obviously" testing '$1' for a match against the regexp -'/foo/'. But in fact, the expression '/foo/ ~ $1' really means '($0 ~ -/foo/) ~ $1'. In other words, first match the input record against the -regexp '/foo/'. The result is either zero or one, depending upon the -success or failure of the match. That result is then matched against -the first field in the record. Because it is unlikely that you would -ever really want to make this kind of test, 'gawk' issues a warning when -it sees this construct in a program. Another consequence of this rule -is that the assignment statement: - - matches = /foo/ - -assigns either zero or one to the variable 'matches', depending upon the -contents of the current input record. - - Constant regular expressions are also used as the first argument for -the 'gensub()', 'sub()', and 'gsub()' functions, as the second argument -of the 'match()' function, and as the third argument of the 'split()' -and 'patsplit()' functions (*note String Functions::). Modern -implementations of 'awk', including 'gawk', allow the third argument of -'split()' to be a regexp constant, but some older implementations do -not. (d.c.) Because some built-in functions accept regexp constants as -arguments, confusion can arise when attempting to use regexp constants -as arguments to user-defined functions (*note User-defined::). For -example: - - function mysub(pat, repl, str, global) - { - if (global) - gsub(pat, repl, str) - else - sub(pat, repl, str) - return str - } - - { - ... - text = "hi! hi yourself!" - mysub(/hi/, "howdy", text, 1) - ... - } - - In this example, the programmer wants to pass a regexp constant to -the user-defined function 'mysub()', which in turn passes it on to -either 'sub()' or 'gsub()'. However, what really happens is that the -'pat' parameter is assigned a value of either one or zero, depending -upon whether or not '$0' matches '/hi/'. 'gawk' issues a warning when -it sees a regexp constant used as a parameter to a user-defined -function, because passing a truth value in this way is probably not what -was intended. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Variables, Next: Conversion, Prev: Using Constant Regexps, Up: Values - -6.1.3 Variables ---------------- - -"Variables" are ways of storing values at one point in your program for -use later in another part of your program. They can be manipulated -entirely within the program text, and they can also be assigned values -on the 'awk' command line. - -* Menu: - -* Using Variables:: Using variables in your programs. -* Assignment Options:: Setting variables on the command line and a - summary of command-line syntax. This is an - advanced method of input. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Using Variables, Next: Assignment Options, Up: Variables - -6.1.3.1 Using Variables in a Program -.................................... - -Variables let you give names to values and refer to them later. -Variables have already been used in many of the examples. The name of a -variable must be a sequence of letters, digits, or underscores, and it -may not begin with a digit. Here, a "letter" is any one of the 52 -upper- and lowercase English letters. Other characters that may be -defined as letters in non-English locales are not valid in variable -names. Case is significant in variable names; 'a' and 'A' are distinct -variables. - - A variable name is a valid expression by itself; it represents the -variable's current value. Variables are given new values with -"assignment operators", "increment operators", and "decrement operators" -(*note Assignment Ops::). In addition, the 'sub()' and 'gsub()' -functions can change a variable's value, and the 'match()', 'split()', -and 'patsplit()' functions can change the contents of their array -parameters (*note String Functions::). - - A few variables have special built-in meanings, such as 'FS' (the -field separator) and 'NF' (the number of fields in the current input -record). *Note Built-in Variables:: for a list of the predefined -variables. These predefined variables can be used and assigned just -like all other variables, but their values are also used or changed -automatically by 'awk'. All predefined variables' names are entirely -uppercase. - - Variables in 'awk' can be assigned either numeric or string values. -The kind of value a variable holds can change over the life of a -program. By default, variables are initialized to the empty string, -which is zero if converted to a number. There is no need to explicitly -initialize a variable in 'awk', which is what you would do in C and in -most other traditional languages. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Assignment Options, Prev: Using Variables, Up: Variables - -6.1.3.2 Assigning Variables on the Command Line -............................................... - -Any 'awk' variable can be set by including a "variable assignment" among -the arguments on the command line when 'awk' is invoked (*note Other -Arguments::). Such an assignment has the following form: - - VARIABLE=TEXT - -With it, a variable is set either at the beginning of the 'awk' run or -in between input files. When the assignment is preceded with the '-v' -option, as in the following: - - -v VARIABLE=TEXT - -the variable is set at the very beginning, even before the 'BEGIN' rules -execute. The '-v' option and its assignment must precede all the file -name arguments, as well as the program text. (*Note Options:: for more -information about the '-v' option.) Otherwise, the variable assignment -is performed at a time determined by its position among the input file -arguments--after the processing of the preceding input file argument. -For example: - - awk '{ print $n }' n=4 inventory-shipped n=2 mail-list - -prints the value of field number 'n' for all input records. Before the -first file is read, the command line sets the variable 'n' equal to -four. This causes the fourth field to be printed in lines from -'inventory-shipped'. After the first file has finished, but before the -second file is started, 'n' is set to two, so that the second field is -printed in lines from 'mail-list': - - $ awk '{ print $n }' n=4 inventory-shipped n=2 mail-list - -| 15 - -| 24 - ... - -| 555-5553 - -| 555-3412 - ... - - Command-line arguments are made available for explicit examination by -the 'awk' program in the 'ARGV' array (*note ARGC and ARGV::). 'awk' -processes the values of command-line assignments for escape sequences -(*note Escape Sequences::). (d.c.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Conversion, Prev: Variables, Up: Values - -6.1.4 Conversion of Strings and Numbers ---------------------------------------- - -Number-to-string and string-to-number conversion are generally -straightforward. There can be subtleties to be aware of; this minor -node discusses this important facet of 'awk'. - -* Menu: - -* Strings And Numbers:: How 'awk' Converts Between Strings And - Numbers. -* Locale influences conversions:: How the locale may affect conversions. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Strings And Numbers, Next: Locale influences conversions, Up: Conversion - -6.1.4.1 How 'awk' Converts Between Strings and Numbers -...................................................... - -Strings are converted to numbers and numbers are converted to strings, -if the context of the 'awk' program demands it. For example, if the -value of either 'foo' or 'bar' in the expression 'foo + bar' happens to -be a string, it is converted to a number before the addition is -performed. If numeric values appear in string concatenation, they are -converted to strings. Consider the following: - - two = 2; three = 3 - print (two three) + 4 - -This prints the (numeric) value 27. The numeric values of the variables -'two' and 'three' are converted to strings and concatenated together. -The resulting string is converted back to the number 23, to which 4 is -then added. - - If, for some reason, you need to force a number to be converted to a -string, concatenate that number with the empty string, '""'. To force a -string to be converted to a number, add zero to that string. A string -is converted to a number by interpreting any numeric prefix of the -string as numerals: '"2.5"' converts to 2.5, '"1e3"' converts to 1,000, -and '"25fix"' has a numeric value of 25. Strings that can't be -interpreted as valid numbers convert to zero. - - The exact manner in which numbers are converted into strings is -controlled by the 'awk' predefined variable 'CONVFMT' (*note Built-in -Variables::). Numbers are converted using the 'sprintf()' function with -'CONVFMT' as the format specifier (*note String Functions::). - - 'CONVFMT''s default value is '"%.6g"', which creates a value with at -most six significant digits. For some applications, you might want to -change it to specify more precision. On most modern machines, 17 digits -is usually enough to capture a floating-point number's value exactly.(1) - - Strange results can occur if you set 'CONVFMT' to a string that -doesn't tell 'sprintf()' how to format floating-point numbers in a -useful way. For example, if you forget the '%' in the format, 'awk' -converts all numbers to the same constant string. - - As a special case, if a number is an integer, then the result of -converting it to a string is _always_ an integer, no matter what the -value of 'CONVFMT' may be. Given the following code fragment: - - CONVFMT = "%2.2f" - a = 12 - b = a "" - -'b' has the value '"12"', not '"12.00"'. (d.c.) - - Pre-POSIX 'awk' Used 'OFMT' for String Conversion - - Prior to the POSIX standard, 'awk' used the value of 'OFMT' for -converting numbers to strings. 'OFMT' specifies the output format to -use when printing numbers with 'print'. 'CONVFMT' was introduced in -order to separate the semantics of conversion from the semantics of -printing. Both 'CONVFMT' and 'OFMT' have the same default value: -'"%.6g"'. In the vast majority of cases, old 'awk' programs do not -change their behavior. *Note Print:: for more information on the -'print' statement. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Pathological cases can require up to 752 digits (!), but we doubt -that you need to worry about this. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Locale influences conversions, Prev: Strings And Numbers, Up: Conversion - -6.1.4.2 Locales Can Influence Conversion -........................................ - -Where you are can matter when it comes to converting between numbers and -strings. The local character set and language--the "locale"--can affect -numeric formats. In particular, for 'awk' programs, it affects the -decimal point character and the thousands-separator character. The -'"C"' locale, and most English-language locales, use the period -character ('.') as the decimal point and don't have a thousands -separator. However, many (if not most) European and non-English locales -use the comma (',') as the decimal point character. European locales -often use either a space or a period as the thousands separator, if they -have one. - - The POSIX standard says that 'awk' always uses the period as the -decimal point when reading the 'awk' program source code, and for -command-line variable assignments (*note Other Arguments::). However, -when interpreting input data, for 'print' and 'printf' output, and for -number-to-string conversion, the local decimal point character is used. -(d.c.) In all cases, numbers in source code and in input data cannot -have a thousands separator. Here are some examples indicating the -difference in behavior, on a GNU/Linux system: - - $ export POSIXLY_CORRECT=1 Force POSIX behavior - $ gawk 'BEGIN { printf "%g\n", 3.1415927 }' - -| 3.14159 - $ LC_ALL=en_DK.utf-8 gawk 'BEGIN { printf "%g\n", 3.1415927 }' - -| 3,14159 - $ echo 4,321 | gawk '{ print $1 + 1 }' - -| 5 - $ echo 4,321 | LC_ALL=en_DK.utf-8 gawk '{ print $1 + 1 }' - -| 5,321 - -The 'en_DK.utf-8' locale is for English in Denmark, where the comma acts -as the decimal point separator. In the normal '"C"' locale, 'gawk' -treats '4,321' as 4, while in the Danish locale, it's treated as the -full number including the fractional part, 4.321. - - Some earlier versions of 'gawk' fully complied with this aspect of -the standard. However, many users in non-English locales complained -about this behavior, because their data used a period as the decimal -point, so the default behavior was restored to use a period as the -decimal point character. You can use the '--use-lc-numeric' option -(*note Options::) to force 'gawk' to use the locale's decimal point -character. ('gawk' also uses the locale's decimal point character when -in POSIX mode, either via '--posix' or the 'POSIXLY_CORRECT' environment -variable, as shown previously.) - - *note Table 6.1: table-locale-affects. describes the cases in which -the locale's decimal point character is used and when a period is used. -Some of these features have not been described yet. - -Feature Default '--posix' or - '--use-lc-numeric' ------------------------------------------------------------- -'%'g' Use locale Use locale -'%g' Use period Use locale -Input Use period Use locale -'strtonum()'Use period Use locale - -Table 6.1: Locale decimal point versus a period - - Finally, modern-day formal standards and the IEEE standard -floating-point representation can have an unusual but important effect -on the way 'gawk' converts some special string values to numbers. The -details are presented in *note POSIX Floating Point Problems::. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: All Operators, Next: Truth Values and Conditions, Prev: Values, Up: Expressions - -6.2 Operators: Doing Something with Values -========================================== - -This minor node introduces the "operators" that make use of the values -provided by constants and variables. - -* Menu: - -* Arithmetic Ops:: Arithmetic operations ('+', '-', - etc.) -* Concatenation:: Concatenating strings. -* Assignment Ops:: Changing the value of a variable or a field. -* Increment Ops:: Incrementing the numeric value of a variable. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Arithmetic Ops, Next: Concatenation, Up: All Operators - -6.2.1 Arithmetic Operators --------------------------- - -The 'awk' language uses the common arithmetic operators when evaluating -expressions. All of these arithmetic operators follow normal precedence -rules and work as you would expect them to. - - The following example uses a file named 'grades', which contains a -list of student names as well as three test scores per student (it's a -small class): - - Pat 100 97 58 - Sandy 84 72 93 - Chris 72 92 89 - -This program takes the file 'grades' and prints the average of the -scores: - - $ awk '{ sum = $2 + $3 + $4 ; avg = sum / 3 - > print $1, avg }' grades - -| Pat 85 - -| Sandy 83 - -| Chris 84.3333 - - The following list provides the arithmetic operators in 'awk', in -order from the highest precedence to the lowest: - -'X ^ Y' -'X ** Y' - Exponentiation; X raised to the Y power. '2 ^ 3' has the value - eight; the character sequence '**' is equivalent to '^'. (c.e.) - -'- X' - Negation. - -'+ X' - Unary plus; the expression is converted to a number. - -'X * Y' - Multiplication. - -'X / Y' - Division; because all numbers in 'awk' are floating-point numbers, - the result is _not_ rounded to an integer--'3 / 4' has the value - 0.75. (It is a common mistake, especially for C programmers, to - forget that _all_ numbers in 'awk' are floating point, and that - division of integer-looking constants produces a real number, not - an integer.) - -'X % Y' - Remainder; further discussion is provided in the text, just after - this list. - -'X + Y' - Addition. - -'X - Y' - Subtraction. - - Unary plus and minus have the same precedence, the multiplication -operators all have the same precedence, and addition and subtraction -have the same precedence. - - When computing the remainder of 'X % Y', the quotient is rounded -toward zero to an integer and multiplied by Y. This result is -subtracted from X; this operation is sometimes known as "trunc-mod." -The following relation always holds: - - b * int(a / b) + (a % b) == a - - One possibly undesirable effect of this definition of remainder is -that 'X % Y' is negative if X is negative. Thus: - - -17 % 8 = -1 - - In other 'awk' implementations, the signedness of the remainder may -be machine-dependent. - - NOTE: The POSIX standard only specifies the use of '^' for - exponentiation. For maximum portability, do not use the '**' - operator. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Concatenation, Next: Assignment Ops, Prev: Arithmetic Ops, Up: All Operators - -6.2.2 String Concatenation --------------------------- - - It seemed like a good idea at the time. - -- _Brian Kernighan_ - - There is only one string operation: concatenation. It does not have -a specific operator to represent it. Instead, concatenation is -performed by writing expressions next to one another, with no operator. -For example: - - $ awk '{ print "Field number one: " $1 }' mail-list - -| Field number one: Amelia - -| Field number one: Anthony - ... - - Without the space in the string constant after the ':', the line runs -together. For example: - - $ awk '{ print "Field number one:" $1 }' mail-list - -| Field number one:Amelia - -| Field number one:Anthony - ... - - Because string concatenation does not have an explicit operator, it -is often necessary to ensure that it happens at the right time by using -parentheses to enclose the items to concatenate. For example, you might -expect that the following code fragment concatenates 'file' and 'name': - - file = "file" - name = "name" - print "something meaningful" > file name - -This produces a syntax error with some versions of Unix 'awk'.(1) It is -necessary to use the following: - - print "something meaningful" > (file name) - - Parentheses should be used around concatenation in all but the most -common contexts, such as on the righthand side of '='. Be careful about -the kinds of expressions used in string concatenation. In particular, -the order of evaluation of expressions used for concatenation is -undefined in the 'awk' language. Consider this example: - - BEGIN { - a = "don't" - print (a " " (a = "panic")) - } - -It is not defined whether the second assignment to 'a' happens before or -after the value of 'a' is retrieved for producing the concatenated -value. The result could be either 'don't panic', or 'panic panic'. - - The precedence of concatenation, when mixed with other operators, is -often counter-intuitive. Consider this example: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { print -12 " " -24 }' - -| -12-24 - - This "obviously" is concatenating -12, a space, and -24. But where -did the space disappear to? The answer lies in the combination of -operator precedences and 'awk''s automatic conversion rules. To get the -desired result, write the program this way: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { print -12 " " (-24) }' - -| -12 -24 - - This forces 'awk' to treat the '-' on the '-24' as unary. Otherwise, -it's parsed as follows: - - -12 ('" "' - 24) - => -12 (0 - 24) - => -12 (-24) - => -12-24 - - As mentioned earlier, when mixing concatenation with other operators, -_parenthesize_. Otherwise, you're never quite sure what you'll get. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) It happens that BWK 'awk', 'gawk', and 'mawk' all "get it right," -but you should not rely on this. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Assignment Ops, Next: Increment Ops, Prev: Concatenation, Up: All Operators - -6.2.3 Assignment Expressions ----------------------------- - -An "assignment" is an expression that stores a (usually different) value -into a variable. For example, let's assign the value one to the -variable 'z': - - z = 1 - - After this expression is executed, the variable 'z' has the value -one. Whatever old value 'z' had before the assignment is forgotten. - - Assignments can also store string values. For example, the following -stores the value '"this food is good"' in the variable 'message': - - thing = "food" - predicate = "good" - message = "this " thing " is " predicate - -This also illustrates string concatenation. The '=' sign is called an -"assignment operator". It is the simplest assignment operator because -the value of the righthand operand is stored unchanged. Most operators -(addition, concatenation, and so on) have no effect except to compute a -value. If the value isn't used, there's no reason to use the operator. -An assignment operator is different; it does produce a value, but even -if you ignore it, the assignment still makes itself felt through the -alteration of the variable. We call this a "side effect". - - The lefthand operand of an assignment need not be a variable (*note -Variables::); it can also be a field (*note Changing Fields::) or an -array element (*note Arrays::). These are all called "lvalues", which -means they can appear on the lefthand side of an assignment operator. -The righthand operand may be any expression; it produces the new value -that the assignment stores in the specified variable, field, or array -element. (Such values are called "rvalues".) - - It is important to note that variables do _not_ have permanent types. -A variable's type is simply the type of whatever value was last assigned -to it. In the following program fragment, the variable 'foo' has a -numeric value at first, and a string value later on: - - foo = 1 - print foo - foo = "bar" - print foo - -When the second assignment gives 'foo' a string value, the fact that it -previously had a numeric value is forgotten. - - String values that do not begin with a digit have a numeric value of -zero. After executing the following code, the value of 'foo' is five: - - foo = "a string" - foo = foo + 5 - - NOTE: Using a variable as a number and then later as a string can - be confusing and is poor programming style. The previous two - examples illustrate how 'awk' works, _not_ how you should write - your programs! - - An assignment is an expression, so it has a value--the same value -that is assigned. Thus, 'z = 1' is an expression with the value one. -One consequence of this is that you can write multiple assignments -together, such as: - - x = y = z = 5 - -This example stores the value five in all three variables ('x', 'y', and -'z'). It does so because the value of 'z = 5', which is five, is stored -into 'y' and then the value of 'y = z = 5', which is five, is stored -into 'x'. - - Assignments may be used anywhere an expression is called for. For -example, it is valid to write 'x != (y = 1)' to set 'y' to one, and then -test whether 'x' equals one. But this style tends to make programs hard -to read; such nesting of assignments should be avoided, except perhaps -in a one-shot program. - - Aside from '=', there are several other assignment operators that do -arithmetic with the old value of the variable. For example, the -operator '+=' computes a new value by adding the righthand value to the -old value of the variable. Thus, the following assignment adds five to -the value of 'foo': - - foo += 5 - -This is equivalent to the following: - - foo = foo + 5 - -Use whichever makes the meaning of your program clearer. - - There are situations where using '+=' (or any assignment operator) is -_not_ the same as simply repeating the lefthand operand in the righthand -expression. For example: - - # Thanks to Pat Rankin for this example - BEGIN { - foo[rand()] += 5 - for (x in foo) - print x, foo[x] - - bar[rand()] = bar[rand()] + 5 - for (x in bar) - print x, bar[x] - } - -The indices of 'bar' are practically guaranteed to be different, because -'rand()' returns different values each time it is called. (Arrays and -the 'rand()' function haven't been covered yet. *Note Arrays::, and -*note Numeric Functions:: for more information.) This example -illustrates an important fact about assignment operators: the lefthand -expression is only evaluated _once_. - - It is up to the implementation as to which expression is evaluated -first, the lefthand or the righthand. Consider this example: - - i = 1 - a[i += 2] = i + 1 - -The value of 'a[3]' could be either two or four. - - *note Table 6.2: table-assign-ops. lists the arithmetic assignment -operators. In each case, the righthand operand is an expression whose -value is converted to a number. - -Operator Effect --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -LVALUE '+=' Add INCREMENT to the value of LVALUE. -INCREMENT -LVALUE '-=' Subtract DECREMENT from the value of LVALUE. -DECREMENT -LVALUE '*=' Multiply the value of LVALUE by COEFFICIENT. -COEFFICIENT -LVALUE '/=' DIVISOR Divide the value of LVALUE by DIVISOR. -LVALUE '%=' MODULUS Set LVALUE to its remainder by MODULUS. -LVALUE '^=' POWER Raise LVALUE to the power POWER. -LVALUE '**=' POWER Raise LVALUE to the power POWER. (c.e.) - -Table 6.2: Arithmetic assignment operators - - NOTE: Only the '^=' operator is specified by POSIX. For maximum - portability, do not use the '**=' operator. - - Syntactic Ambiguities Between '/=' and Regular Expressions - - There is a syntactic ambiguity between the '/=' assignment operator -and regexp constants whose first character is an '='. (d.c.) This is -most notable in some commercial 'awk' versions. For example: - - $ awk /==/ /dev/null - error-> awk: syntax error at source line 1 - error-> context is - error-> >>> /= <<< - error-> awk: bailing out at source line 1 - -A workaround is: - - awk '/[=]=/' /dev/null - - 'gawk' does not have this problem; BWK 'awk' and 'mawk' also do not. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Increment Ops, Prev: Assignment Ops, Up: All Operators - -6.2.4 Increment and Decrement Operators ---------------------------------------- - -"Increment" and "decrement operators" increase or decrease the value of -a variable by one. An assignment operator can do the same thing, so the -increment operators add no power to the 'awk' language; however, they -are convenient abbreviations for very common operations. - - The operator used for adding one is written '++'. It can be used to -increment a variable either before or after taking its value. To -"pre-increment" a variable 'v', write '++v'. This adds one to the value -of 'v'--that new value is also the value of the expression. (The -assignment expression 'v += 1' is completely equivalent.) Writing the -'++' after the variable specifies "post-increment". This increments the -variable value just the same; the difference is that the value of the -increment expression itself is the variable's _old_ value. Thus, if -'foo' has the value four, then the expression 'foo++' has the value -four, but it changes the value of 'foo' to five. In other words, the -operator returns the old value of the variable, but with the side effect -of incrementing it. - - The post-increment 'foo++' is nearly the same as writing '(foo += 1) -- 1'. It is not perfectly equivalent because all numbers in 'awk' are -floating point--in floating point, 'foo + 1 - 1' does not necessarily -equal 'foo'. But the difference is minute as long as you stick to -numbers that are fairly small (less than 10e12). - - Fields and array elements are incremented just like variables. (Use -'$(i++)' when you want to do a field reference and a variable increment -at the same time. The parentheses are necessary because of the -precedence of the field reference operator '$'.) - - The decrement operator '--' works just like '++', except that it -subtracts one instead of adding it. As with '++', it can be used before -the lvalue to pre-decrement or after it to post-decrement. Following is -a summary of increment and decrement expressions: - -'++LVALUE' - Increment LVALUE, returning the new value as the value of the - expression. - -'LVALUE++' - Increment LVALUE, returning the _old_ value of LVALUE as the value - of the expression. - -'--LVALUE' - Decrement LVALUE, returning the new value as the value of the - expression. (This expression is like '++LVALUE', but instead of - adding, it subtracts.) - -'LVALUE--' - Decrement LVALUE, returning the _old_ value of LVALUE as the value - of the expression. (This expression is like 'LVALUE++', but - instead of adding, it subtracts.) - - Operator Evaluation Order - - Doctor, it hurts when I do this! - Then don't do that! - -- _Groucho Marx_ - -What happens for something like the following? - - b = 6 - print b += b++ - -Or something even stranger? - - b = 6 - b += ++b + b++ - print b - - In other words, when do the various side effects prescribed by the -postfix operators ('b++') take effect? When side effects happen is -"implementation-defined". In other words, it is up to the particular -version of 'awk'. The result for the first example may be 12 or 13, and -for the second, it may be 22 or 23. - - In short, doing things like this is not recommended and definitely -not anything that you can rely upon for portability. You should avoid -such things in your own programs. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Truth Values and Conditions, Next: Function Calls, Prev: All Operators, Up: Expressions - -6.3 Truth Values and Conditions -=============================== - -In certain contexts, expression values also serve as "truth values"; -i.e., they determine what should happen next as the program runs. This -minor node describes how 'awk' defines "true" and "false" and how values -are compared. - -* Menu: - -* Truth Values:: What is "true" and what is "false". -* Typing and Comparison:: How variables acquire types and how this - affects comparison of numbers and strings with - '<', etc. -* Boolean Ops:: Combining comparison expressions using boolean - operators '||' ("or"), '&&' - ("and") and '!' ("not"). -* Conditional Exp:: Conditional expressions select between two - subexpressions under control of a third - subexpression. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Truth Values, Next: Typing and Comparison, Up: Truth Values and Conditions - -6.3.1 True and False in 'awk' ------------------------------ - -Many programming languages have a special representation for the -concepts of "true" and "false." Such languages usually use the special -constants 'true' and 'false', or perhaps their uppercase equivalents. -However, 'awk' is different. It borrows a very simple concept of true -and false from C. In 'awk', any nonzero numeric value _or_ any nonempty -string value is true. Any other value (zero or the null string, '""') -is false. The following program prints 'A strange truth value' three -times: - - BEGIN { - if (3.1415927) - print "A strange truth value" - if ("Four Score And Seven Years Ago") - print "A strange truth value" - if (j = 57) - print "A strange truth value" - } - - There is a surprising consequence of the "nonzero or non-null" rule: -the string constant '"0"' is actually true, because it is non-null. -(d.c.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Typing and Comparison, Next: Boolean Ops, Prev: Truth Values, Up: Truth Values and Conditions - -6.3.2 Variable Typing and Comparison Expressions ------------------------------------------------- - - The Guide is definitive. Reality is frequently inaccurate. - -- _Douglas Adams, 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'_ - - Unlike in other programming languages, in 'awk' variables do not have -a fixed type. Instead, they can be either a number or a string, -depending upon the value that is assigned to them. We look now at how -variables are typed, and how 'awk' compares variables. - -* Menu: - -* Variable Typing:: String type versus numeric type. -* Comparison Operators:: The comparison operators. -* POSIX String Comparison:: String comparison with POSIX rules. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Variable Typing, Next: Comparison Operators, Up: Typing and Comparison - -6.3.2.1 String Type versus Numeric Type -....................................... - -The POSIX standard introduced the concept of a "numeric string", which -is simply a string that looks like a number--for example, '" +2"'. This -concept is used for determining the type of a variable. The type of the -variable is important because the types of two variables determine how -they are compared. Variable typing follows these rules: - - * A numeric constant or the result of a numeric operation has the - "numeric" attribute. - - * A string constant or the result of a string operation has the - "string" attribute. - - * Fields, 'getline' input, 'FILENAME', 'ARGV' elements, 'ENVIRON' - elements, and the elements of an array created by 'match()', - 'split()', and 'patsplit()' that are numeric strings have the - "strnum" attribute. Otherwise, they have the "string" attribute. - Uninitialized variables also have the "strnum" attribute. - - * Attributes propagate across assignments but are not changed by any - use. - - The last rule is particularly important. In the following program, -'a' has numeric type, even though it is later used in a string -operation: - - BEGIN { - a = 12.345 - b = a " is a cute number" - print b - } - - When two operands are compared, either string comparison or numeric -comparison may be used. This depends upon the attributes of the -operands, according to the following symmetric matrix: - - +------------------------------- - | STRING NUMERIC STRNUM - -----+------------------------------- - | - STRING | string string string - | - NUMERIC | string numeric numeric - | - STRNUM | string numeric numeric - -----+------------------------------- - - The basic idea is that user input that looks numeric--and _only_ user -input--should be treated as numeric, even though it is actually made of -characters and is therefore also a string. Thus, for example, the -string constant '" +3.14"', when it appears in program source code, is a -string--even though it looks numeric--and is _never_ treated as a number -for comparison purposes. - - In short, when one operand is a "pure" string, such as a string -constant, then a string comparison is performed. Otherwise, a numeric -comparison is performed. - - This point bears additional emphasis: All user input is made of -characters, and so is first and foremost of string type; input strings -that look numeric are additionally given the strnum attribute. Thus, -the six-character input string ' +3.14' receives the strnum attribute. -In contrast, the eight characters '" +3.14"' appearing in program text -comprise a string constant. The following examples print '1' when the -comparison between the two different constants is true, and '0' -otherwise: - - $ echo ' +3.14' | awk '{ print($0 == " +3.14") }' True - -| 1 - $ echo ' +3.14' | awk '{ print($0 == "+3.14") }' False - -| 0 - $ echo ' +3.14' | awk '{ print($0 == "3.14") }' False - -| 0 - $ echo ' +3.14' | awk '{ print($0 == 3.14) }' True - -| 1 - $ echo ' +3.14' | awk '{ print($1 == " +3.14") }' False - -| 0 - $ echo ' +3.14' | awk '{ print($1 == "+3.14") }' True - -| 1 - $ echo ' +3.14' | awk '{ print($1 == "3.14") }' False - -| 0 - $ echo ' +3.14' | awk '{ print($1 == 3.14) }' True - -| 1 - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Comparison Operators, Next: POSIX String Comparison, Prev: Variable Typing, Up: Typing and Comparison - -6.3.2.2 Comparison Operators -............................ - -"Comparison expressions" compare strings or numbers for relationships -such as equality. They are written using "relational operators", which -are a superset of those in C. *note Table 6.3: table-relational-ops. -describes them. - -Expression Result --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -X '<' Y True if X is less than Y -X '<=' Y True if X is less than or equal to Y -X '>' Y True if X is greater than Y -X '>=' Y True if X is greater than or equal to Y -X '==' Y True if X is equal to Y -X '!=' Y True if X is not equal to Y -X '~' Y True if the string X matches the regexp denoted by Y -X '!~' Y True if the string X does not match the regexp - denoted by Y -SUBSCRIPT 'in' True if the array ARRAY has an element with the -ARRAY subscript SUBSCRIPT - -Table 6.3: Relational operators - - Comparison expressions have the value one if true and zero if false. -When comparing operands of mixed types, numeric operands are converted -to strings using the value of 'CONVFMT' (*note Conversion::). - - Strings are compared by comparing the first character of each, then -the second character of each, and so on. Thus, '"10"' is less than -'"9"'. If there are two strings where one is a prefix of the other, the -shorter string is less than the longer one. Thus, '"abc"' is less than -'"abcd"'. - - It is very easy to accidentally mistype the '==' operator and leave -off one of the '=' characters. The result is still valid 'awk' code, -but the program does not do what is intended: - - if (a = b) # oops! should be a == b - ... - else - ... - -Unless 'b' happens to be zero or the null string, the 'if' part of the -test always succeeds. Because the operators are so similar, this kind -of error is very difficult to spot when scanning the source code. - - The following list of expressions illustrates the kinds of -comparisons 'awk' performs, as well as what the result of each -comparison is: - -'1.5 <= 2.0' - Numeric comparison (true) - -'"abc" >= "xyz"' - String comparison (false) - -'1.5 != " +2"' - String comparison (true) - -'"1e2" < "3"' - String comparison (true) - -'a = 2; b = "2"' -'a == b' - String comparison (true) - -'a = 2; b = " +2"' -'a == b' - String comparison (false) - - In this example: - - $ echo 1e2 3 | awk '{ print ($1 < $2) ? "true" : "false" }' - -| false - -the result is 'false' because both '$1' and '$2' are user input. They -are numeric strings--therefore both have the strnum attribute, dictating -a numeric comparison. The purpose of the comparison rules and the use -of numeric strings is to attempt to produce the behavior that is "least -surprising," while still "doing the right thing." - - String comparisons and regular expression comparisons are very -different. For example: - - x == "foo" - -has the value one, or is true if the variable 'x' is precisely 'foo'. -By contrast: - - x ~ /foo/ - -has the value one if 'x' contains 'foo', such as '"Oh, what a fool am -I!"'. - - The righthand operand of the '~' and '!~' operators may be either a -regexp constant ('/'...'/') or an ordinary expression. In the latter -case, the value of the expression as a string is used as a dynamic -regexp (*note Regexp Usage::; also *note Computed Regexps::). - - A constant regular expression in slashes by itself is also an -expression. '/REGEXP/' is an abbreviation for the following comparison -expression: - - $0 ~ /REGEXP/ - - One special place where '/foo/' is _not_ an abbreviation for '$0 ~ -/foo/' is when it is the righthand operand of '~' or '!~'. *Note Using -Constant Regexps::, where this is discussed in more detail. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: POSIX String Comparison, Prev: Comparison Operators, Up: Typing and Comparison - -6.3.2.3 String Comparison Based on Locale Collating Order -......................................................... - -The POSIX standard used to say that all string comparisons are performed -based on the locale's "collating order". This is the order in which -characters sort, as defined by the locale (for more discussion, *note -Locales::). This order is usually very different from the results -obtained when doing straight byte-by-byte comparison.(1) - - Because this behavior differs considerably from existing practice, -'gawk' only implemented it when in POSIX mode (*note Options::). Here -is an example to illustrate the difference, in an 'en_US.UTF-8' locale: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { printf("ABC < abc = %s\n", - > ("ABC" < "abc" ? "TRUE" : "FALSE")) }' - -| ABC < abc = TRUE - $ gawk --posix 'BEGIN { printf("ABC < abc = %s\n", - > ("ABC" < "abc" ? "TRUE" : "FALSE")) }' - -| ABC < abc = FALSE - - Fortunately, as of August 2016, comparison based on locale collating -order is no longer required for the '==' and '!=' operators.(2) -However, comparison based on locales is still required for '<', '<=', -'>', and '>='. POSIX thus recommends as follows: - - Since the '==' operator checks whether strings are identical, not - whether they collate equally, applications needing to check whether - strings collate equally can use: - - a <= b && a >= b - - As of version 4.2, 'gawk' continues to use locale collating order for -'<', '<=', '>', and '>=' only in POSIX mode. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Technically, string comparison is supposed to behave the same way -as if the strings were compared with the C 'strcoll()' function. - - (2) See the Austin Group website -(http://austingroupbugs.net/view.php?id=1070). - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Boolean Ops, Next: Conditional Exp, Prev: Typing and Comparison, Up: Truth Values and Conditions - -6.3.3 Boolean Expressions -------------------------- - -A "Boolean expression" is a combination of comparison expressions or -matching expressions, using the Boolean operators "or" ('||'), "and" -('&&'), and "not" ('!'), along with parentheses to control nesting. The -truth value of the Boolean expression is computed by combining the truth -values of the component expressions. Boolean expressions are also -referred to as "logical expressions". The terms are equivalent. - - Boolean expressions can be used wherever comparison and matching -expressions can be used. They can be used in 'if', 'while', 'do', and -'for' statements (*note Statements::). They have numeric values (one if -true, zero if false) that come into play if the result of the Boolean -expression is stored in a variable or used in arithmetic. - - In addition, every Boolean expression is also a valid pattern, so you -can use one as a pattern to control the execution of rules. The Boolean -operators are: - -'BOOLEAN1 && BOOLEAN2' - True if both BOOLEAN1 and BOOLEAN2 are true. For example, the - following statement prints the current input record if it contains - both 'edu' and 'li': - - if ($0 ~ /edu/ && $0 ~ /li/) print - - The subexpression BOOLEAN2 is evaluated only if BOOLEAN1 is true. - This can make a difference when BOOLEAN2 contains expressions that - have side effects. In the case of '$0 ~ /foo/ && ($2 == bar++)', - the variable 'bar' is not incremented if there is no substring - 'foo' in the record. - -'BOOLEAN1 || BOOLEAN2' - True if at least one of BOOLEAN1 or BOOLEAN2 is true. For example, - the following statement prints all records in the input that - contain _either_ 'edu' or 'li': - - if ($0 ~ /edu/ || $0 ~ /li/) print - - The subexpression BOOLEAN2 is evaluated only if BOOLEAN1 is false. - This can make a difference when BOOLEAN2 contains expressions that - have side effects. (Thus, this test never really distinguishes - records that contain both 'edu' and 'li'--as soon as 'edu' is - matched, the full test succeeds.) - -'! BOOLEAN' - True if BOOLEAN is false. For example, the following program - prints 'no home!' in the unusual event that the 'HOME' environment - variable is not defined: - - BEGIN { if (! ("HOME" in ENVIRON)) - print "no home!" } - - (The 'in' operator is described in *note Reference to Elements::.) - - The '&&' and '||' operators are called "short-circuit" operators -because of the way they work. Evaluation of the full expression is -"short-circuited" if the result can be determined partway through its -evaluation. - - Statements that end with '&&' or '||' can be continued simply by -putting a newline after them. But you cannot put a newline in front of -either of these operators without using backslash continuation (*note -Statements/Lines::). - - The actual value of an expression using the '!' operator is either -one or zero, depending upon the truth value of the expression it is -applied to. The '!' operator is often useful for changing the sense of -a flag variable from false to true and back again. For example, the -following program is one way to print lines in between special -bracketing lines: - - $1 == "START" { interested = ! interested; next } - interested { print } - $1 == "END" { interested = ! interested; next } - -The variable 'interested', as with all 'awk' variables, starts out -initialized to zero, which is also false. When a line is seen whose -first field is 'START', the value of 'interested' is toggled to true, -using '!'. The next rule prints lines as long as 'interested' is true. -When a line is seen whose first field is 'END', 'interested' is toggled -back to false.(1) - - Most commonly, the '!' operator is used in the conditions of 'if' and -'while' statements, where it often makes more sense to phrase the logic -in the negative: - - if (! SOME CONDITION || SOME OTHER CONDITION) { - ... DO WHATEVER PROCESSING ... - } - - NOTE: The 'next' statement is discussed in *note Next Statement::. - 'next' tells 'awk' to skip the rest of the rules, get the next - record, and start processing the rules over again at the top. The - reason it's there is to avoid printing the bracketing 'START' and - 'END' lines. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This program has a bug; it prints lines starting with 'END'. How -would you fix it? - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Conditional Exp, Prev: Boolean Ops, Up: Truth Values and Conditions - -6.3.4 Conditional Expressions ------------------------------ - -A "conditional expression" is a special kind of expression that has -three operands. It allows you to use one expression's value to select -one of two other expressions. The conditional expression in 'awk' is -the same as in the C language, as shown here: - - SELECTOR ? IF-TRUE-EXP : IF-FALSE-EXP - -There are three subexpressions. The first, SELECTOR, is always computed -first. If it is "true" (not zero or not null), then IF-TRUE-EXP is -computed next, and its value becomes the value of the whole expression. -Otherwise, IF-FALSE-EXP is computed next, and its value becomes the -value of the whole expression. For example, the following expression -produces the absolute value of 'x': - - x >= 0 ? x : -x - - Each time the conditional expression is computed, only one of -IF-TRUE-EXP and IF-FALSE-EXP is used; the other is ignored. This is -important when the expressions have side effects. For example, this -conditional expression examines element 'i' of either array 'a' or array -'b', and increments 'i': - - x == y ? a[i++] : b[i++] - -This is guaranteed to increment 'i' exactly once, because each time only -one of the two increment expressions is executed and the other is not. -*Note Arrays::, for more information about arrays. - - As a minor 'gawk' extension, a statement that uses '?:' can be -continued simply by putting a newline after either character. However, -putting a newline in front of either character does not work without -using backslash continuation (*note Statements/Lines::). If '--posix' -is specified (*note Options::), this extension is disabled. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Function Calls, Next: Precedence, Prev: Truth Values and Conditions, Up: Expressions - -6.4 Function Calls -================== - -A "function" is a name for a particular calculation. This enables you -to ask for it by name at any point in the program. For example, the -function 'sqrt()' computes the square root of a number. - - A fixed set of functions are "built in", which means they are -available in every 'awk' program. The 'sqrt()' function is one of -these. *Note Built-in:: for a list of built-in functions and their -descriptions. In addition, you can define functions for use in your -program. *Note User-defined:: for instructions on how to do this. -Finally, 'gawk' lets you write functions in C or C++ that may be called -from your program (*note Dynamic Extensions::). - - The way to use a function is with a "function call" expression, which -consists of the function name followed immediately by a list of -"arguments" in parentheses. The arguments are expressions that provide -the raw materials for the function's calculations. When there is more -than one argument, they are separated by commas. If there are no -arguments, just write '()' after the function name. The following -examples show function calls with and without arguments: - - sqrt(x^2 + y^2) one argument - atan2(y, x) two arguments - rand() no arguments - - CAUTION: Do not put any space between the function name and the - opening parenthesis! A user-defined function name looks just like - the name of a variable--a space would make the expression look like - concatenation of a variable with an expression inside parentheses. - With built-in functions, space before the parenthesis is harmless, - but it is best not to get into the habit of using space to avoid - mistakes with user-defined functions. - - Each function expects a particular number of arguments. For example, -the 'sqrt()' function must be called with a single argument, the number -of which to take the square root: - - sqrt(ARGUMENT) - - Some of the built-in functions have one or more optional arguments. -If those arguments are not supplied, the functions use a reasonable -default value. *Note Built-in:: for full details. If arguments are -omitted in calls to user-defined functions, then those arguments are -treated as local variables. Such local variables act like the empty -string if referenced where a string value is required, and like zero if -referenced where a numeric value is required (*note User-defined::). - - As an advanced feature, 'gawk' provides indirect function calls, -which is a way to choose the function to call at runtime, instead of -when you write the source code to your program. We defer discussion of -this feature until later; see *note Indirect Calls::. - - Like every other expression, the function call has a value, often -called the "return value", which is computed by the function based on -the arguments you give it. In this example, the return value of -'sqrt(ARGUMENT)' is the square root of ARGUMENT. The following program -reads numbers, one number per line, and prints the square root of each -one: - - $ awk '{ print "The square root of", $1, "is", sqrt($1) }' - 1 - -| The square root of 1 is 1 - 3 - -| The square root of 3 is 1.73205 - 5 - -| The square root of 5 is 2.23607 - Ctrl-d - - A function can also have side effects, such as assigning values to -certain variables or doing I/O. This program shows how the 'match()' -function (*note String Functions::) changes the variables 'RSTART' and -'RLENGTH': - - { - if (match($1, $2)) - print RSTART, RLENGTH - else - print "no match" - } - -Here is a sample run: - - $ awk -f matchit.awk - aaccdd c+ - -| 3 2 - foo bar - -| no match - abcdefg e - -| 5 1 - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Precedence, Next: Locales, Prev: Function Calls, Up: Expressions - -6.5 Operator Precedence (How Operators Nest) -============================================ - -"Operator precedence" determines how operators are grouped when -different operators appear close by in one expression. For example, '*' -has higher precedence than '+'; thus, 'a + b * c' means to multiply 'b' -and 'c', and then add 'a' to the product (i.e., 'a + (b * c)'). - - The normal precedence of the operators can be overruled by using -parentheses. Think of the precedence rules as saying where the -parentheses are assumed to be. In fact, it is wise to always use -parentheses whenever there is an unusual combination of operators, -because other people who read the program may not remember what the -precedence is in this case. Even experienced programmers occasionally -forget the exact rules, which leads to mistakes. Explicit parentheses -help prevent any such mistakes. - - When operators of equal precedence are used together, the leftmost -operator groups first, except for the assignment, conditional, and -exponentiation operators, which group in the opposite order. Thus, 'a - -b + c' groups as '(a - b) + c' and 'a = b = c' groups as 'a = (b = c)'. - - Normally the precedence of prefix unary operators does not matter, -because there is only one way to interpret them: innermost first. Thus, -'$++i' means '$(++i)' and '++$x' means '++($x)'. However, when another -operator follows the operand, then the precedence of the unary operators -can matter. '$x^2' means '($x)^2', but '-x^2' means '-(x^2)', because -'-' has lower precedence than '^', whereas '$' has higher precedence. -Also, operators cannot be combined in a way that violates the precedence -rules; for example, '$$0++--' is not a valid expression because the -first '$' has higher precedence than the '++'; to avoid the problem the -expression can be rewritten as '$($0++)--'. - - This list presents 'awk''s operators, in order of highest to lowest -precedence: - -'('...')' - Grouping. - -'$' - Field reference. - -'++ --' - Increment, decrement. - -'^ **' - Exponentiation. These operators group right to left. - -'+ - !' - Unary plus, minus, logical "not." - -'* / %' - Multiplication, division, remainder. - -'+ -' - Addition, subtraction. - -String concatenation - There is no special symbol for concatenation. The operands are - simply written side by side (*note Concatenation::). - -'< <= == != > >= >> | |&' - Relational and redirection. The relational operators and the - redirections have the same precedence level. Characters such as - '>' serve both as relationals and as redirections; the context - distinguishes between the two meanings. - - Note that the I/O redirection operators in 'print' and 'printf' - statements belong to the statement level, not to expressions. The - redirection does not produce an expression that could be the - operand of another operator. As a result, it does not make sense - to use a redirection operator near another operator of lower - precedence without parentheses. Such combinations (e.g., 'print - foo > a ? b : c') result in syntax errors. The correct way to - write this statement is 'print foo > (a ? b : c)'. - -'~ !~' - Matching, nonmatching. - -'in' - Array membership. - -'&&' - Logical "and." - -'||' - Logical "or." - -'?:' - Conditional. This operator groups right to left. - -'= += -= *= /= %= ^= **=' - Assignment. These operators group right to left. - - NOTE: The '|&', '**', and '**=' operators are not specified by - POSIX. For maximum portability, do not use them. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Locales, Next: Expressions Summary, Prev: Precedence, Up: Expressions - -6.6 Where You Are Makes a Difference -==================================== - -Modern systems support the notion of "locales": a way to tell the system -about the local character set and language. The ISO C standard defines -a default '"C"' locale, which is an environment that is typical of what -many C programmers are used to. - - Once upon a time, the locale setting used to affect regexp matching, -but this is no longer true (*note Ranges and Locales::). - - Locales can affect record splitting. For the normal case of 'RS = -"\n"', the locale is largely irrelevant. For other single-character -record separators, setting 'LC_ALL=C' in the environment will give you -much better performance when reading records. Otherwise, 'gawk' has to -make several function calls, _per input character_, to find the record -terminator. - - Locales can affect how dates and times are formatted (*note Time -Functions::). For example, a common way to abbreviate the date -September 4, 2015, in the United States is "9/4/15." In many countries -in Europe, however, it is abbreviated "4.9.15." Thus, the '%x' -specification in a '"US"' locale might produce '9/4/15', while in a -'"EUROPE"' locale, it might produce '4.9.15'. - - According to POSIX, string comparison is also affected by locales -(similar to regular expressions). The details are presented in *note -POSIX String Comparison::. - - Finally, the locale affects the value of the decimal point character -used when 'gawk' parses input data. This is discussed in detail in -*note Conversion::. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Expressions Summary, Prev: Locales, Up: Expressions - -6.7 Summary -=========== - - * Expressions are the basic elements of computation in programs. - They are built from constants, variables, function calls, and - combinations of the various kinds of values with operators. - - * 'awk' supplies three kinds of constants: numeric, string, and - regexp. 'gawk' lets you specify numeric constants in octal and - hexadecimal (bases 8 and 16) as well as decimal (base 10). In - certain contexts, a standalone regexp constant such as '/foo/' has - the same meaning as '$0 ~ /foo/'. - - * Variables hold values between uses in computations. A number of - built-in variables provide information to your 'awk' program, and a - number of others let you control how 'awk' behaves. - - * Numbers are automatically converted to strings, and strings to - numbers, as needed by 'awk'. Numeric values are converted as if - they were formatted with 'sprintf()' using the format in 'CONVFMT'. - Locales can influence the conversions. - - * 'awk' provides the usual arithmetic operators (addition, - subtraction, multiplication, division, modulus), and unary plus and - minus. It also provides comparison operators, Boolean operators, - an array membership testing operator, and regexp matching - operators. String concatenation is accomplished by placing two - expressions next to each other; there is no explicit operator. The - three-operand '?:' operator provides an "if-else" test within - expressions. - - * Assignment operators provide convenient shorthands for common - arithmetic operations. - - * In 'awk', a value is considered to be true if it is nonzero _or_ - non-null. Otherwise, the value is false. - - * A variable's type is set upon each assignment and may change over - its lifetime. The type determines how it behaves in comparisons - (string or numeric). - - * Function calls return a value that may be used as part of a larger - expression. Expressions used to pass parameter values are fully - evaluated before the function is called. 'awk' provides built-in - and user-defined functions; this is described in *note Functions::. - - * Operator precedence specifies the order in which operations are - performed, unless explicitly overridden by parentheses. 'awk''s - operator precedence is compatible with that of C. - - * Locales can affect the format of data as output by an 'awk' - program, and occasionally the format for data read as input. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Patterns and Actions, Next: Arrays, Prev: Expressions, Up: Top - -7 Patterns, Actions, and Variables -********************************** - -As you have already seen, each 'awk' statement consists of a pattern -with an associated action. This major node describes how you build -patterns and actions, what kinds of things you can do within actions, -and 'awk''s predefined variables. - - The pattern-action rules and the statements available for use within -actions form the core of 'awk' programming. In a sense, everything -covered up to here has been the foundation that programs are built on -top of. Now it's time to start building something useful. - -* Menu: - -* Pattern Overview:: What goes into a pattern. -* Using Shell Variables:: How to use shell variables with 'awk'. -* Action Overview:: What goes into an action. -* Statements:: Describes the various control statements in - detail. -* Built-in Variables:: Summarizes the predefined variables. -* Pattern Action Summary:: Patterns and Actions summary. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Pattern Overview, Next: Using Shell Variables, Up: Patterns and Actions - -7.1 Pattern Elements -==================== - -* Menu: - -* Regexp Patterns:: Using regexps as patterns. -* Expression Patterns:: Any expression can be used as a pattern. -* Ranges:: Pairs of patterns specify record ranges. -* BEGIN/END:: Specifying initialization and cleanup rules. -* BEGINFILE/ENDFILE:: Two special patterns for advanced control. -* Empty:: The empty pattern, which matches every record. - -Patterns in 'awk' control the execution of rules--a rule is executed -when its pattern matches the current input record. The following is a -summary of the types of 'awk' patterns: - -'/REGULAR EXPRESSION/' - A regular expression. It matches when the text of the input record - fits the regular expression. (*Note Regexp::.) - -'EXPRESSION' - A single expression. It matches when its value is nonzero (if a - number) or non-null (if a string). (*Note Expression Patterns::.) - -'BEGPAT, ENDPAT' - A pair of patterns separated by a comma, specifying a "range" of - records. The range includes both the initial record that matches - BEGPAT and the final record that matches ENDPAT. (*Note Ranges::.) - -'BEGIN' -'END' - Special patterns for you to supply startup or cleanup actions for - your 'awk' program. (*Note BEGIN/END::.) - -'BEGINFILE' -'ENDFILE' - Special patterns for you to supply startup or cleanup actions to be - done on a per-file basis. (*Note BEGINFILE/ENDFILE::.) - -'EMPTY' - The empty pattern matches every input record. (*Note Empty::.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Regexp Patterns, Next: Expression Patterns, Up: Pattern Overview - -7.1.1 Regular Expressions as Patterns -------------------------------------- - -Regular expressions are one of the first kinds of patterns presented in -this book. This kind of pattern is simply a regexp constant in the -pattern part of a rule. Its meaning is '$0 ~ /PATTERN/'. The pattern -matches when the input record matches the regexp. For example: - - /foo|bar|baz/ { buzzwords++ } - END { print buzzwords, "buzzwords seen" } - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Expression Patterns, Next: Ranges, Prev: Regexp Patterns, Up: Pattern Overview - -7.1.2 Expressions as Patterns ------------------------------ - -Any 'awk' expression is valid as an 'awk' pattern. The pattern matches -if the expression's value is nonzero (if a number) or non-null (if a -string). The expression is reevaluated each time the rule is tested -against a new input record. If the expression uses fields such as '$1', -the value depends directly on the new input record's text; otherwise, it -depends on only what has happened so far in the execution of the 'awk' -program. - - Comparison expressions, using the comparison operators described in -*note Typing and Comparison::, are a very common kind of pattern. -Regexp matching and nonmatching are also very common expressions. The -left operand of the '~' and '!~' operators is a string. The right -operand is either a constant regular expression enclosed in slashes -('/REGEXP/'), or any expression whose string value is used as a dynamic -regular expression (*note Computed Regexps::). The following example -prints the second field of each input record whose first field is -precisely 'li': - - $ awk '$1 == "li" { print $2 }' mail-list - -(There is no output, because there is no person with the exact name -'li'.) Contrast this with the following regular expression match, which -accepts any record with a first field that contains 'li': - - $ awk '$1 ~ /li/ { print $2 }' mail-list - -| 555-5553 - -| 555-6699 - - A regexp constant as a pattern is also a special case of an -expression pattern. The expression '/li/' has the value one if 'li' -appears in the current input record. Thus, as a pattern, '/li/' matches -any record containing 'li'. - - Boolean expressions are also commonly used as patterns. Whether the -pattern matches an input record depends on whether its subexpressions -match. For example, the following command prints all the records in -'mail-list' that contain both 'edu' and 'li': - - $ awk '/edu/ && /li/' mail-list - -| Samuel 555-3430 samuel.lanceolis@shu.edu A - - The following command prints all records in 'mail-list' that contain -_either_ 'edu' or 'li' (or both, of course): - - $ awk '/edu/ || /li/' mail-list - -| Amelia 555-5553 amelia.zodiacusque@gmail.com F - -| Broderick 555-0542 broderick.aliquotiens@yahoo.com R - -| Fabius 555-1234 fabius.undevicesimus@ucb.edu F - -| Julie 555-6699 julie.perscrutabor@skeeve.com F - -| Samuel 555-3430 samuel.lanceolis@shu.edu A - -| Jean-Paul 555-2127 jeanpaul.campanorum@nyu.edu R - - The following command prints all records in 'mail-list' that do _not_ -contain the string 'li': - - $ awk '! /li/' mail-list - -| Anthony 555-3412 anthony.asserturo@hotmail.com A - -| Becky 555-7685 becky.algebrarum@gmail.com A - -| Bill 555-1675 bill.drowning@hotmail.com A - -| Camilla 555-2912 camilla.infusarum@skynet.be R - -| Fabius 555-1234 fabius.undevicesimus@ucb.edu F - -| Martin 555-6480 martin.codicibus@hotmail.com A - -| Jean-Paul 555-2127 jeanpaul.campanorum@nyu.edu R - - The subexpressions of a Boolean operator in a pattern can be constant -regular expressions, comparisons, or any other 'awk' expressions. Range -patterns are not expressions, so they cannot appear inside Boolean -patterns. Likewise, the special patterns 'BEGIN', 'END', 'BEGINFILE', -and 'ENDFILE', which never match any input record, are not expressions -and cannot appear inside Boolean patterns. - - The precedence of the different operators that can appear in patterns -is described in *note Precedence::. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Ranges, Next: BEGIN/END, Prev: Expression Patterns, Up: Pattern Overview - -7.1.3 Specifying Record Ranges with Patterns --------------------------------------------- - -A "range pattern" is made of two patterns separated by a comma, in the -form 'BEGPAT, ENDPAT'. It is used to match ranges of consecutive input -records. The first pattern, BEGPAT, controls where the range begins, -while ENDPAT controls where the pattern ends. For example, the -following: - - awk '$1 == "on", $1 == "off"' myfile - -prints every record in 'myfile' between 'on'/'off' pairs, inclusive. - - A range pattern starts out by matching BEGPAT against every input -record. When a record matches BEGPAT, the range pattern is "turned on", -and the range pattern matches this record as well. As long as the range -pattern stays turned on, it automatically matches every input record -read. The range pattern also matches ENDPAT against every input record; -when this succeeds, the range pattern is "turned off" again for the -following record. Then the range pattern goes back to checking BEGPAT -against each record. - - The record that turns on the range pattern and the one that turns it -off both match the range pattern. If you don't want to operate on these -records, you can write 'if' statements in the rule's action to -distinguish them from the records you are interested in. - - It is possible for a pattern to be turned on and off by the same -record. If the record satisfies both conditions, then the action is -executed for just that record. For example, suppose there is text -between two identical markers (e.g., the '%' symbol), each on its own -line, that should be ignored. A first attempt would be to combine a -range pattern that describes the delimited text with the 'next' -statement (not discussed yet, *note Next Statement::). This causes -'awk' to skip any further processing of the current record and start -over again with the next input record. Such a program looks like this: - - /^%$/,/^%$/ { next } - { print } - -This program fails because the range pattern is both turned on and -turned off by the first line, which just has a '%' on it. To accomplish -this task, write the program in the following manner, using a flag: - - /^%$/ { skip = ! skip; next } - skip == 1 { next } # skip lines with `skip' set - - In a range pattern, the comma (',') has the lowest precedence of all -the operators (i.e., it is evaluated last). Thus, the following program -attempts to combine a range pattern with another, simpler test: - - echo Yes | awk '/1/,/2/ || /Yes/' - - The intent of this program is '(/1/,/2/) || /Yes/'. However, 'awk' -interprets this as '/1/, (/2/ || /Yes/)'. This cannot be changed or -worked around; range patterns do not combine with other patterns: - - $ echo Yes | gawk '(/1/,/2/) || /Yes/' - error-> gawk: cmd. line:1: (/1/,/2/) || /Yes/ - error-> gawk: cmd. line:1: ^ syntax error - - As a minor point of interest, although it is poor style, POSIX allows -you to put a newline after the comma in a range pattern. (d.c.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: BEGIN/END, Next: BEGINFILE/ENDFILE, Prev: Ranges, Up: Pattern Overview - -7.1.4 The 'BEGIN' and 'END' Special Patterns --------------------------------------------- - -All the patterns described so far are for matching input records. The -'BEGIN' and 'END' special patterns are different. They supply startup -and cleanup actions for 'awk' programs. 'BEGIN' and 'END' rules must -have actions; there is no default action for these rules because there -is no current record when they run. 'BEGIN' and 'END' rules are often -referred to as "'BEGIN' and 'END' blocks" by longtime 'awk' programmers. - -* Menu: - -* Using BEGIN/END:: How and why to use BEGIN/END rules. -* I/O And BEGIN/END:: I/O issues in BEGIN/END rules. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Using BEGIN/END, Next: I/O And BEGIN/END, Up: BEGIN/END - -7.1.4.1 Startup and Cleanup Actions -................................... - -A 'BEGIN' rule is executed once only, before the first input record is -read. Likewise, an 'END' rule is executed once only, after all the -input is read. For example: - - $ awk ' - > BEGIN { print "Analysis of \"li\"" } - > /li/ { ++n } - > END { print "\"li\" appears in", n, "records." }' mail-list - -| Analysis of "li" - -| "li" appears in 4 records. - - This program finds the number of records in the input file -'mail-list' that contain the string 'li'. The 'BEGIN' rule prints a -title for the report. There is no need to use the 'BEGIN' rule to -initialize the counter 'n' to zero, as 'awk' does this automatically -(*note Variables::). The second rule increments the variable 'n' every -time a record containing the pattern 'li' is read. The 'END' rule -prints the value of 'n' at the end of the run. - - The special patterns 'BEGIN' and 'END' cannot be used in ranges or -with Boolean operators (indeed, they cannot be used with any operators). -An 'awk' program may have multiple 'BEGIN' and/or 'END' rules. They are -executed in the order in which they appear: all the 'BEGIN' rules at -startup and all the 'END' rules at termination. 'BEGIN' and 'END' rules -may be intermixed with other rules. This feature was added in the 1987 -version of 'awk' and is included in the POSIX standard. The original -(1978) version of 'awk' required the 'BEGIN' rule to be placed at the -beginning of the program, the 'END' rule to be placed at the end, and -only allowed one of each. This is no longer required, but it is a good -idea to follow this template in terms of program organization and -readability. - - Multiple 'BEGIN' and 'END' rules are useful for writing library -functions, because each library file can have its own 'BEGIN' and/or -'END' rule to do its own initialization and/or cleanup. The order in -which library functions are named on the command line controls the order -in which their 'BEGIN' and 'END' rules are executed. Therefore, you -have to be careful when writing such rules in library files so that the -order in which they are executed doesn't matter. *Note Options:: for -more information on using library functions. *Note Library Functions::, -for a number of useful library functions. - - If an 'awk' program has only 'BEGIN' rules and no other rules, then -the program exits after the 'BEGIN' rules are run.(1) However, if an -'END' rule exists, then the input is read, even if there are no other -rules in the program. This is necessary in case the 'END' rule checks -the 'FNR' and 'NR' variables. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The original version of 'awk' kept reading and ignoring input -until the end of the file was seen. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: I/O And BEGIN/END, Prev: Using BEGIN/END, Up: BEGIN/END - -7.1.4.2 Input/Output from 'BEGIN' and 'END' Rules -................................................. - -There are several (sometimes subtle) points to be aware of when doing -I/O from a 'BEGIN' or 'END' rule. The first has to do with the value of -'$0' in a 'BEGIN' rule. Because 'BEGIN' rules are executed before any -input is read, there simply is no input record, and therefore no fields, -when executing 'BEGIN' rules. References to '$0' and the fields yield a -null string or zero, depending upon the context. One way to give '$0' a -real value is to execute a 'getline' command without a variable (*note -Getline::). Another way is simply to assign a value to '$0'. - - The second point is similar to the first, but from the other -direction. Traditionally, due largely to implementation issues, '$0' -and 'NF' were _undefined_ inside an 'END' rule. The POSIX standard -specifies that 'NF' is available in an 'END' rule. It contains the -number of fields from the last input record. Most probably due to an -oversight, the standard does not say that '$0' is also preserved, -although logically one would think that it should be. In fact, all of -BWK 'awk', 'mawk', and 'gawk' preserve the value of '$0' for use in -'END' rules. Be aware, however, that some other implementations and -many older versions of Unix 'awk' do not. - - The third point follows from the first two. The meaning of 'print' -inside a 'BEGIN' or 'END' rule is the same as always: 'print $0'. If -'$0' is the null string, then this prints an empty record. Many -longtime 'awk' programmers use an unadorned 'print' in 'BEGIN' and 'END' -rules, to mean 'print ""', relying on '$0' being null. Although one -might generally get away with this in 'BEGIN' rules, it is a very bad -idea in 'END' rules, at least in 'gawk'. It is also poor style, because -if an empty line is needed in the output, the program should print one -explicitly. - - Finally, the 'next' and 'nextfile' statements are not allowed in a -'BEGIN' rule, because the implicit -read-a-record-and-match-against-the-rules loop has not started yet. -Similarly, those statements are not valid in an 'END' rule, because all -the input has been read. (*Note Next Statement:: and *note Nextfile -Statement::.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: BEGINFILE/ENDFILE, Next: Empty, Prev: BEGIN/END, Up: Pattern Overview - -7.1.5 The 'BEGINFILE' and 'ENDFILE' Special Patterns ----------------------------------------------------- - -This minor node describes a 'gawk'-specific feature. - - Two special kinds of rule, 'BEGINFILE' and 'ENDFILE', give you -"hooks" into 'gawk''s command-line file processing loop. As with the -'BEGIN' and 'END' rules (*note BEGIN/END::), all 'BEGINFILE' rules in a -program are merged, in the order they are read by 'gawk', and all -'ENDFILE' rules are merged as well. - - The body of the 'BEGINFILE' rules is executed just before 'gawk' -reads the first record from a file. 'FILENAME' is set to the name of -the current file, and 'FNR' is set to zero. - - The 'BEGINFILE' rule provides you the opportunity to accomplish two -tasks that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to perform: - - * You can test if the file is readable. Normally, it is a fatal - error if a file named on the command line cannot be opened for - reading. However, you can bypass the fatal error and move on to - the next file on the command line. - - You do this by checking if the 'ERRNO' variable is not the empty - string; if so, then 'gawk' was not able to open the file. In this - case, your program can execute the 'nextfile' statement (*note - Nextfile Statement::). This causes 'gawk' to skip the file - entirely. Otherwise, 'gawk' exits with the usual fatal error. - - * If you have written extensions that modify the record handling (by - inserting an "input parser"; *note Input Parsers::), you can invoke - them at this point, before 'gawk' has started processing the file. - (This is a _very_ advanced feature, currently used only by the - 'gawkextlib' project (http://sourceforge.net/projects/gawkextlib).) - - The 'ENDFILE' rule is called when 'gawk' has finished processing the -last record in an input file. For the last input file, it will be -called before any 'END' rules. The 'ENDFILE' rule is executed even for -empty input files. - - Normally, when an error occurs when reading input in the normal -input-processing loop, the error is fatal. However, if an 'ENDFILE' -rule is present, the error becomes non-fatal, and instead 'ERRNO' is -set. This makes it possible to catch and process I/O errors at the -level of the 'awk' program. - - The 'next' statement (*note Next Statement::) is not allowed inside -either a 'BEGINFILE' or an 'ENDFILE' rule. The 'nextfile' statement is -allowed only inside a 'BEGINFILE' rule, not inside an 'ENDFILE' rule. - - The 'getline' statement (*note Getline::) is restricted inside both -'BEGINFILE' and 'ENDFILE': only redirected forms of 'getline' are -allowed. - - 'BEGINFILE' and 'ENDFILE' are 'gawk' extensions. In most other 'awk' -implementations, or if 'gawk' is in compatibility mode (*note -Options::), they are not special. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Empty, Prev: BEGINFILE/ENDFILE, Up: Pattern Overview - -7.1.6 The Empty Pattern ------------------------ - -An empty (i.e., nonexistent) pattern is considered to match _every_ -input record. For example, the program: - - awk '{ print $1 }' mail-list - -prints the first field of every record. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Using Shell Variables, Next: Action Overview, Prev: Pattern Overview, Up: Patterns and Actions - -7.2 Using Shell Variables in Programs -===================================== - -'awk' programs are often used as components in larger programs written -in shell. For example, it is very common to use a shell variable to -hold a pattern that the 'awk' program searches for. There are two ways -to get the value of the shell variable into the body of the 'awk' -program. - - A common method is to use shell quoting to substitute the variable's -value into the program inside the script. For example, consider the -following program: - - printf "Enter search pattern: " - read pattern - awk "/$pattern/ "'{ nmatches++ } - END { print nmatches, "found" }' /path/to/data - -The 'awk' program consists of two pieces of quoted text that are -concatenated together to form the program. The first part is -double-quoted, which allows substitution of the 'pattern' shell variable -inside the quotes. The second part is single-quoted. - - Variable substitution via quoting works, but can potentially be -messy. It requires a good understanding of the shell's quoting rules -(*note Quoting::), and it's often difficult to correctly match up the -quotes when reading the program. - - A better method is to use 'awk''s variable assignment feature (*note -Assignment Options::) to assign the shell variable's value to an 'awk' -variable. Then use dynamic regexps to match the pattern (*note Computed -Regexps::). The following shows how to redo the previous example using -this technique: - - printf "Enter search pattern: " - read pattern - awk -v pat="$pattern" '$0 ~ pat { nmatches++ } - END { print nmatches, "found" }' /path/to/data - -Now, the 'awk' program is just one single-quoted string. The assignment -'-v pat="$pattern"' still requires double quotes, in case there is -whitespace in the value of '$pattern'. The 'awk' variable 'pat' could -be named 'pattern' too, but that would be more confusing. Using a -variable also provides more flexibility, as the variable can be used -anywhere inside the program--for printing, as an array subscript, or for -any other use--without requiring the quoting tricks at every point in -the program. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Action Overview, Next: Statements, Prev: Using Shell Variables, Up: Patterns and Actions - -7.3 Actions -=========== - -An 'awk' program or script consists of a series of rules and function -definitions interspersed. (Functions are described later. *Note -User-defined::.) A rule contains a pattern and an action, either of -which (but not both) may be omitted. The purpose of the "action" is to -tell 'awk' what to do once a match for the pattern is found. Thus, in -outline, an 'awk' program generally looks like this: - - [PATTERN] '{ ACTION }' - PATTERN ['{ ACTION }'] - ... - 'function NAME(ARGS) { ... }' - ... - - An action consists of one or more 'awk' "statements", enclosed in -braces ('{...}'). Each statement specifies one thing to do. The -statements are separated by newlines or semicolons. The braces around -an action must be used even if the action contains only one statement, -or if it contains no statements at all. However, if you omit the action -entirely, omit the braces as well. An omitted action is equivalent to -'{ print $0 }': - - /foo/ { } match 'foo', do nothing -- empty action - /foo/ match 'foo', print the record -- omitted action - - The following types of statements are supported in 'awk': - -Expressions - Call functions or assign values to variables (*note Expressions::). - Executing this kind of statement simply computes the value of the - expression. This is useful when the expression has side effects - (*note Assignment Ops::). - -Control statements - Specify the control flow of 'awk' programs. The 'awk' language - gives you C-like constructs ('if', 'for', 'while', and 'do') as - well as a few special ones (*note Statements::). - -Compound statements - Enclose one or more statements in braces. A compound statement is - used in order to put several statements together in the body of an - 'if', 'while', 'do', or 'for' statement. - -Input statements - Use the 'getline' command (*note Getline::). Also supplied in - 'awk' are the 'next' statement (*note Next Statement::) and the - 'nextfile' statement (*note Nextfile Statement::). - -Output statements - Such as 'print' and 'printf'. *Note Printing::. - -Deletion statements - For deleting array elements. *Note Delete::. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Statements, Next: Built-in Variables, Prev: Action Overview, Up: Patterns and Actions - -7.4 Control Statements in Actions -================================= - -"Control statements", such as 'if', 'while', and so on, control the flow -of execution in 'awk' programs. Most of 'awk''s control statements are -patterned after similar statements in C. - - All the control statements start with special keywords, such as 'if' -and 'while', to distinguish them from simple expressions. Many control -statements contain other statements. For example, the 'if' statement -contains another statement that may or may not be executed. The -contained statement is called the "body". To include more than one -statement in the body, group them into a single "compound statement" -with braces, separating them with newlines or semicolons. - -* Menu: - -* If Statement:: Conditionally execute some 'awk' - statements. -* While Statement:: Loop until some condition is satisfied. -* Do Statement:: Do specified action while looping until some - condition is satisfied. -* For Statement:: Another looping statement, that provides - initialization and increment clauses. -* Switch Statement:: Switch/case evaluation for conditional - execution of statements based on a value. -* Break Statement:: Immediately exit the innermost enclosing loop. -* Continue Statement:: Skip to the end of the innermost enclosing - loop. -* Next Statement:: Stop processing the current input record. -* Nextfile Statement:: Stop processing the current file. -* Exit Statement:: Stop execution of 'awk'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: If Statement, Next: While Statement, Up: Statements - -7.4.1 The 'if'-'else' Statement -------------------------------- - -The 'if'-'else' statement is 'awk''s decision-making statement. It -looks like this: - - 'if (CONDITION) THEN-BODY' ['else ELSE-BODY'] - -The CONDITION is an expression that controls what the rest of the -statement does. If the CONDITION is true, THEN-BODY is executed; -otherwise, ELSE-BODY is executed. The 'else' part of the statement is -optional. The condition is considered false if its value is zero or the -null string; otherwise, the condition is true. Refer to the following: - - if (x % 2 == 0) - print "x is even" - else - print "x is odd" - - In this example, if the expression 'x % 2 == 0' is true (i.e., if the -value of 'x' is evenly divisible by two), then the first 'print' -statement is executed; otherwise, the second 'print' statement is -executed. If the 'else' keyword appears on the same line as THEN-BODY -and THEN-BODY is not a compound statement (i.e., not surrounded by -braces), then a semicolon must separate THEN-BODY from the 'else'. To -illustrate this, the previous example can be rewritten as: - - if (x % 2 == 0) print "x is even"; else - print "x is odd" - -If the ';' is left out, 'awk' can't interpret the statement and it -produces a syntax error. Don't actually write programs this way, -because a human reader might fail to see the 'else' if it is not the -first thing on its line. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: While Statement, Next: Do Statement, Prev: If Statement, Up: Statements - -7.4.2 The 'while' Statement ---------------------------- - -In programming, a "loop" is a part of a program that can be executed two -or more times in succession. The 'while' statement is the simplest -looping statement in 'awk'. It repeatedly executes a statement as long -as a condition is true. For example: - - while (CONDITION) - BODY - -BODY is a statement called the "body" of the loop, and CONDITION is an -expression that controls how long the loop keeps running. The first -thing the 'while' statement does is test the CONDITION. If the -CONDITION is true, it executes the statement BODY. (The CONDITION is -true when the value is not zero and not a null string.) After BODY has -been executed, CONDITION is tested again, and if it is still true, BODY -executes again. This process repeats until the CONDITION is no longer -true. If the CONDITION is initially false, the body of the loop never -executes and 'awk' continues with the statement following the loop. -This example prints the first three fields of each record, one per line: - - awk ' - { - i = 1 - while (i <= 3) { - print $i - i++ - } - }' inventory-shipped - -The body of this loop is a compound statement enclosed in braces, -containing two statements. The loop works in the following manner: -first, the value of 'i' is set to one. Then, the 'while' statement -tests whether 'i' is less than or equal to three. This is true when 'i' -equals one, so the 'i'th field is printed. Then the 'i++' increments -the value of 'i' and the loop repeats. The loop terminates when 'i' -reaches four. - - A newline is not required between the condition and the body; -however, using one makes the program clearer unless the body is a -compound statement or else is very simple. The newline after the open -brace that begins the compound statement is not required either, but the -program is harder to read without it. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Do Statement, Next: For Statement, Prev: While Statement, Up: Statements - -7.4.3 The 'do'-'while' Statement --------------------------------- - -The 'do' loop is a variation of the 'while' looping statement. The 'do' -loop executes the BODY once and then repeats the BODY as long as the -CONDITION is true. It looks like this: - - do - BODY - while (CONDITION) - - Even if the CONDITION is false at the start, the BODY executes at -least once (and only once, unless executing BODY makes CONDITION true). -Contrast this with the corresponding 'while' statement: - - while (CONDITION) - BODY - -This statement does not execute the BODY even once if the CONDITION is -false to begin with. The following is an example of a 'do' statement: - - { - i = 1 - do { - print $0 - i++ - } while (i <= 10) - } - -This program prints each input record 10 times. However, it isn't a -very realistic example, because in this case an ordinary 'while' would -do just as well. This situation reflects actual experience; only -occasionally is there a real use for a 'do' statement. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: For Statement, Next: Switch Statement, Prev: Do Statement, Up: Statements - -7.4.4 The 'for' Statement -------------------------- - -The 'for' statement makes it more convenient to count iterations of a -loop. The general form of the 'for' statement looks like this: - - for (INITIALIZATION; CONDITION; INCREMENT) - BODY - -The INITIALIZATION, CONDITION, and INCREMENT parts are arbitrary 'awk' -expressions, and BODY stands for any 'awk' statement. - - The 'for' statement starts by executing INITIALIZATION. Then, as -long as the CONDITION is true, it repeatedly executes BODY and then -INCREMENT. Typically, INITIALIZATION sets a variable to either zero or -one, INCREMENT adds one to it, and CONDITION compares it against the -desired number of iterations. For example: - - awk ' - { - for (i = 1; i <= 3; i++) - print $i - }' inventory-shipped - -This prints the first three fields of each input record, with one field -per line. - - It isn't possible to set more than one variable in the INITIALIZATION -part without using a multiple assignment statement such as 'x = y = 0'. -This makes sense only if all the initial values are equal. (But it is -possible to initialize additional variables by writing their assignments -as separate statements preceding the 'for' loop.) - - The same is true of the INCREMENT part. Incrementing additional -variables requires separate statements at the end of the loop. The C -compound expression, using C's comma operator, is useful in this -context, but it is not supported in 'awk'. - - Most often, INCREMENT is an increment expression, as in the previous -example. But this is not required; it can be any expression whatsoever. -For example, the following statement prints all the powers of two -between 1 and 100: - - for (i = 1; i <= 100; i *= 2) - print i - - If there is nothing to be done, any of the three expressions in the -parentheses following the 'for' keyword may be omitted. Thus, -'for (; x > 0;)' is equivalent to 'while (x > 0)'. If the CONDITION is -omitted, it is treated as true, effectively yielding an "infinite loop" -(i.e., a loop that never terminates). - - In most cases, a 'for' loop is an abbreviation for a 'while' loop, as -shown here: - - INITIALIZATION - while (CONDITION) { - BODY - INCREMENT - } - -The only exception is when the 'continue' statement (*note Continue -Statement::) is used inside the loop. Changing a 'for' statement to a -'while' statement in this way can change the effect of the 'continue' -statement inside the loop. - - The 'awk' language has a 'for' statement in addition to a 'while' -statement because a 'for' loop is often both less work to type and more -natural to think of. Counting the number of iterations is very common -in loops. It can be easier to think of this counting as part of looping -rather than as something to do inside the loop. - - There is an alternative version of the 'for' loop, for iterating over -all the indices of an array: - - for (i in array) - DO SOMETHING WITH array[i] - -*Note Scanning an Array:: for more information on this version of the -'for' loop. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Switch Statement, Next: Break Statement, Prev: For Statement, Up: Statements - -7.4.5 The 'switch' Statement ----------------------------- - -This minor node describes a 'gawk'-specific feature. If 'gawk' is in -compatibility mode (*note Options::), it is not available. - - The 'switch' statement allows the evaluation of an expression and the -execution of statements based on a 'case' match. Case statements are -checked for a match in the order they are defined. If no suitable -'case' is found, the 'default' section is executed, if supplied. - - Each 'case' contains a single constant, be it numeric, string, or -regexp. The 'switch' expression is evaluated, and then each 'case''s -constant is compared against the result in turn. The type of constant -determines the comparison: numeric or string do the usual comparisons. -A regexp constant does a regular expression match against the string -value of the original expression. The general form of the 'switch' -statement looks like this: - - switch (EXPRESSION) { - case VALUE OR REGULAR EXPRESSION: - CASE-BODY - default: - DEFAULT-BODY - } - - Control flow in the 'switch' statement works as it does in C. Once a -match to a given case is made, the case statement bodies execute until a -'break', 'continue', 'next', 'nextfile', or 'exit' is encountered, or -the end of the 'switch' statement itself. For example: - - while ((c = getopt(ARGC, ARGV, "aksx")) != -1) { - switch (c) { - case "a": - # report size of all files - all_files = TRUE; - break - case "k": - BLOCK_SIZE = 1024 # 1K block size - break - case "s": - # do sums only - sum_only = TRUE - break - case "x": - # don't cross filesystems - fts_flags = or(fts_flags, FTS_XDEV) - break - case "?": - default: - usage() - break - } - } - - Note that if none of the statements specified here halt execution of -a matched 'case' statement, execution falls through to the next 'case' -until execution halts. In this example, the 'case' for '"?"' falls -through to the 'default' case, which is to call a function named -'usage()'. (The 'getopt()' function being called here is described in -*note Getopt Function::.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Break Statement, Next: Continue Statement, Prev: Switch Statement, Up: Statements - -7.4.6 The 'break' Statement ---------------------------- - -The 'break' statement jumps out of the innermost 'for', 'while', or 'do' -loop that encloses it. The following example finds the smallest divisor -of any integer, and also identifies prime numbers: - - # find smallest divisor of num - { - num = $1 - for (divisor = 2; divisor * divisor <= num; divisor++) { - if (num % divisor == 0) - break - } - if (num % divisor == 0) - printf "Smallest divisor of %d is %d\n", num, divisor - else - printf "%d is prime\n", num - } - - When the remainder is zero in the first 'if' statement, 'awk' -immediately "breaks out" of the containing 'for' loop. This means that -'awk' proceeds immediately to the statement following the loop and -continues processing. (This is very different from the 'exit' -statement, which stops the entire 'awk' program. *Note Exit -Statement::.) - - The following program illustrates how the CONDITION of a 'for' or -'while' statement could be replaced with a 'break' inside an 'if': - - # find smallest divisor of num - { - num = $1 - for (divisor = 2; ; divisor++) { - if (num % divisor == 0) { - printf "Smallest divisor of %d is %d\n", num, divisor - break - } - if (divisor * divisor > num) { - printf "%d is prime\n", num - break - } - } - } - - The 'break' statement is also used to break out of the 'switch' -statement. This is discussed in *note Switch Statement::. - - The 'break' statement has no meaning when used outside the body of a -loop or 'switch'. However, although it was never documented, historical -implementations of 'awk' treated the 'break' statement outside of a loop -as if it were a 'next' statement (*note Next Statement::). (d.c.) -Recent versions of BWK 'awk' no longer allow this usage, nor does -'gawk'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Continue Statement, Next: Next Statement, Prev: Break Statement, Up: Statements - -7.4.7 The 'continue' Statement ------------------------------- - -Similar to 'break', the 'continue' statement is used only inside 'for', -'while', and 'do' loops. It skips over the rest of the loop body, -causing the next cycle around the loop to begin immediately. Contrast -this with 'break', which jumps out of the loop altogether. - - The 'continue' statement in a 'for' loop directs 'awk' to skip the -rest of the body of the loop and resume execution with the -increment-expression of the 'for' statement. The following program -illustrates this fact: - - BEGIN { - for (x = 0; x <= 20; x++) { - if (x == 5) - continue - printf "%d ", x - } - print "" - } - -This program prints all the numbers from 0 to 20--except for 5, for -which the 'printf' is skipped. Because the increment 'x++' is not -skipped, 'x' does not remain stuck at 5. Contrast the 'for' loop from -the previous example with the following 'while' loop: - - BEGIN { - x = 0 - while (x <= 20) { - if (x == 5) - continue - printf "%d ", x - x++ - } - print "" - } - -This program loops forever once 'x' reaches 5, because the increment -('x++') is never reached. - - The 'continue' statement has no special meaning with respect to the -'switch' statement, nor does it have any meaning when used outside the -body of a loop. Historical versions of 'awk' treated a 'continue' -statement outside a loop the same way they treated a 'break' statement -outside a loop: as if it were a 'next' statement (*note Next -Statement::). (d.c.) Recent versions of BWK 'awk' no longer work this -way, nor does 'gawk'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Next Statement, Next: Nextfile Statement, Prev: Continue Statement, Up: Statements - -7.4.8 The 'next' Statement --------------------------- - -The 'next' statement forces 'awk' to immediately stop processing the -current record and go on to the next record. This means that no further -rules are executed for the current record, and the rest of the current -rule's action isn't executed. - - Contrast this with the effect of the 'getline' function (*note -Getline::). That also causes 'awk' to read the next record immediately, -but it does not alter the flow of control in any way (i.e., the rest of -the current action executes with a new input record). - - At the highest level, 'awk' program execution is a loop that reads an -input record and then tests each rule's pattern against it. If you -think of this loop as a 'for' statement whose body contains the rules, -then the 'next' statement is analogous to a 'continue' statement. It -skips to the end of the body of this implicit loop and executes the -increment (which reads another record). - - For example, suppose an 'awk' program works only on records with four -fields, and it shouldn't fail when given bad input. To avoid -complicating the rest of the program, write a "weed out" rule near the -beginning, in the following manner: - - NF != 4 { - printf("%s:%d: skipped: NF != 4\n", FILENAME, FNR) > "/dev/stderr" - next - } - -Because of the 'next' statement, the program's subsequent rules won't -see the bad record. The error message is redirected to the standard -error output stream, as error messages should be. For more detail, see -*note Special Files::. - - If the 'next' statement causes the end of the input to be reached, -then the code in any 'END' rules is executed. *Note BEGIN/END::. - - The 'next' statement is not allowed inside 'BEGINFILE' and 'ENDFILE' -rules. *Note BEGINFILE/ENDFILE::. - - According to the POSIX standard, the behavior is undefined if the -'next' statement is used in a 'BEGIN' or 'END' rule. 'gawk' treats it -as a syntax error. Although POSIX does not disallow it, most other -'awk' implementations don't allow the 'next' statement inside function -bodies (*note User-defined::). Just as with any other 'next' statement, -a 'next' statement inside a function body reads the next record and -starts processing it with the first rule in the program. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Nextfile Statement, Next: Exit Statement, Prev: Next Statement, Up: Statements - -7.4.9 The 'nextfile' Statement ------------------------------- - -The 'nextfile' statement is similar to the 'next' statement. However, -instead of abandoning processing of the current record, the 'nextfile' -statement instructs 'awk' to stop processing the current data file. - - Upon execution of the 'nextfile' statement, 'FILENAME' is updated to -the name of the next data file listed on the command line, 'FNR' is -reset to one, and processing starts over with the first rule in the -program. If the 'nextfile' statement causes the end of the input to be -reached, then the code in any 'END' rules is executed. An exception to -this is when 'nextfile' is invoked during execution of any statement in -an 'END' rule; in this case, it causes the program to stop immediately. -*Note BEGIN/END::. - - The 'nextfile' statement is useful when there are many data files to -process but it isn't necessary to process every record in every file. -Without 'nextfile', in order to move on to the next data file, a program -would have to continue scanning the unwanted records. The 'nextfile' -statement accomplishes this much more efficiently. - - In 'gawk', execution of 'nextfile' causes additional things to -happen: any 'ENDFILE' rules are executed if 'gawk' is not currently in -an 'END' or 'BEGINFILE' rule, 'ARGIND' is incremented, and any -'BEGINFILE' rules are executed. ('ARGIND' hasn't been introduced yet. -*Note Built-in Variables::.) - - With 'gawk', 'nextfile' is useful inside a 'BEGINFILE' rule to skip -over a file that would otherwise cause 'gawk' to exit with a fatal -error. In this case, 'ENDFILE' rules are not executed. *Note -BEGINFILE/ENDFILE::. - - Although it might seem that 'close(FILENAME)' would accomplish the -same as 'nextfile', this isn't true. 'close()' is reserved for closing -files, pipes, and coprocesses that are opened with redirections. It is -not related to the main processing that 'awk' does with the files listed -in 'ARGV'. - - NOTE: For many years, 'nextfile' was a common extension. In - September 2012, it was accepted for inclusion into the POSIX - standard. See the Austin Group website - (http://austingroupbugs.net/view.php?id=607). - - The current version of BWK 'awk' and 'mawk' also support 'nextfile'. -However, they don't allow the 'nextfile' statement inside function -bodies (*note User-defined::). 'gawk' does; a 'nextfile' inside a -function body reads the first record from the next file and starts -processing it with the first rule in the program, just as any other -'nextfile' statement. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Exit Statement, Prev: Nextfile Statement, Up: Statements - -7.4.10 The 'exit' Statement ---------------------------- - -The 'exit' statement causes 'awk' to immediately stop executing the -current rule and to stop processing input; any remaining input is -ignored. The 'exit' statement is written as follows: - - 'exit' [RETURN CODE] - - When an 'exit' statement is executed from a 'BEGIN' rule, the program -stops processing everything immediately. No input records are read. -However, if an 'END' rule is present, as part of executing the 'exit' -statement, the 'END' rule is executed (*note BEGIN/END::). If 'exit' is -used in the body of an 'END' rule, it causes the program to stop -immediately. - - An 'exit' statement that is not part of a 'BEGIN' or 'END' rule stops -the execution of any further automatic rules for the current record, -skips reading any remaining input records, and executes the 'END' rule -if there is one. 'gawk' also skips any 'ENDFILE' rules; they do not -execute. - - In such a case, if you don't want the 'END' rule to do its job, set a -variable to a nonzero value before the 'exit' statement and check that -variable in the 'END' rule. *Note Assert Function:: for an example that -does this. - - If an argument is supplied to 'exit', its value is used as the exit -status code for the 'awk' process. If no argument is supplied, 'exit' -causes 'awk' to return a "success" status. In the case where an -argument is supplied to a first 'exit' statement, and then 'exit' is -called a second time from an 'END' rule with no argument, 'awk' uses the -previously supplied exit value. (d.c.) *Note Exit Status:: for more -information. - - For example, suppose an error condition occurs that is difficult or -impossible to handle. Conventionally, programs report this by exiting -with a nonzero status. An 'awk' program can do this using an 'exit' -statement with a nonzero argument, as shown in the following example: - - BEGIN { - if (("date" | getline date_now) <= 0) { - print "Can't get system date" > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - print "current date is", date_now - close("date") - } - - NOTE: For full portability, exit values should be between zero and - 126, inclusive. Negative values, and values of 127 or greater, may - not produce consistent results across different operating systems. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Built-in Variables, Next: Pattern Action Summary, Prev: Statements, Up: Patterns and Actions - -7.5 Predefined Variables -======================== - -Most 'awk' variables are available to use for your own purposes; they -never change unless your program assigns values to them, and they never -affect anything unless your program examines them. However, a few -variables in 'awk' have special built-in meanings. 'awk' examines some -of these automatically, so that they enable you to tell 'awk' how to do -certain things. Others are set automatically by 'awk', so that they -carry information from the internal workings of 'awk' to your program. - - This minor node documents all of 'gawk''s predefined variables, most -of which are also documented in the major nodes describing their areas -of activity. - -* Menu: - -* User-modified:: Built-in variables that you change to control - 'awk'. -* Auto-set:: Built-in variables where 'awk' gives - you information. -* ARGC and ARGV:: Ways to use 'ARGC' and 'ARGV'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: User-modified, Next: Auto-set, Up: Built-in Variables - -7.5.1 Built-in Variables That Control 'awk' -------------------------------------------- - -The following is an alphabetical list of variables that you can change -to control how 'awk' does certain things. - - The variables that are specific to 'gawk' are marked with a pound -sign ('#'). These variables are 'gawk' extensions. In other 'awk' -implementations or if 'gawk' is in compatibility mode (*note Options::), -they are not special. (Any exceptions are noted in the description of -each variable.) - -'BINMODE #' - On non-POSIX systems, this variable specifies use of binary mode - for all I/O. Numeric values of one, two, or three specify that - input files, output files, or all files, respectively, should use - binary I/O. A numeric value less than zero is treated as zero, and - a numeric value greater than three is treated as three. - Alternatively, string values of '"r"' or '"w"' specify that input - files and output files, respectively, should use binary I/O. A - string value of '"rw"' or '"wr"' indicates that all files should - use binary I/O. Any other string value is treated the same as - '"rw"', but causes 'gawk' to generate a warning message. 'BINMODE' - is described in more detail in *note PC Using::. 'mawk' (*note - Other Versions::) also supports this variable, but only using - numeric values. - -'CONVFMT' - A string that controls the conversion of numbers to strings (*note - Conversion::). It works by being passed, in effect, as the first - argument to the 'sprintf()' function (*note String Functions::). - Its default value is '"%.6g"'. 'CONVFMT' was introduced by the - POSIX standard. - -'FIELDWIDTHS #' - A space-separated list of columns that tells 'gawk' how to split - input with fixed columnar boundaries. Assigning a value to - 'FIELDWIDTHS' overrides the use of 'FS' and 'FPAT' for field - splitting. *Note Constant Size:: for more information. - -'FPAT #' - A regular expression (as a string) that tells 'gawk' to create the - fields based on text that matches the regular expression. - Assigning a value to 'FPAT' overrides the use of 'FS' and - 'FIELDWIDTHS' for field splitting. *Note Splitting By Content:: - for more information. - -'FS' - The input field separator (*note Field Separators::). The value is - a single-character string or a multicharacter regular expression - that matches the separations between fields in an input record. If - the value is the null string ('""'), then each character in the - record becomes a separate field. (This behavior is a 'gawk' - extension. POSIX 'awk' does not specify the behavior when 'FS' is - the null string. Nonetheless, some other versions of 'awk' also - treat '""' specially.) - - The default value is '" "', a string consisting of a single space. - As a special exception, this value means that any sequence of - spaces, TABs, and/or newlines is a single separator. It also - causes spaces, TABs, and newlines at the beginning and end of a - record to be ignored. - - You can set the value of 'FS' on the command line using the '-F' - option: - - awk -F, 'PROGRAM' INPUT-FILES - - If 'gawk' is using 'FIELDWIDTHS' or 'FPAT' for field splitting, - assigning a value to 'FS' causes 'gawk' to return to the normal, - 'FS'-based field splitting. An easy way to do this is to simply - say 'FS = FS', perhaps with an explanatory comment. - -'IGNORECASE #' - If 'IGNORECASE' is nonzero or non-null, then all string comparisons - and all regular expression matching are case-independent. This - applies to regexp matching with '~' and '!~', the 'gensub()', - 'gsub()', 'index()', 'match()', 'patsplit()', 'split()', and - 'sub()' functions, record termination with 'RS', and field - splitting with 'FS' and 'FPAT'. However, the value of 'IGNORECASE' - does _not_ affect array subscripting and it does not affect field - splitting when using a single-character field separator. *Note - Case-sensitivity::. - -'LINT #' - When this variable is true (nonzero or non-null), 'gawk' behaves as - if the '--lint' command-line option is in effect (*note Options::). - With a value of '"fatal"', lint warnings become fatal errors. With - a value of '"invalid"', only warnings about things that are - actually invalid are issued. (This is not fully implemented yet.) - Any other true value prints nonfatal warnings. Assigning a false - value to 'LINT' turns off the lint warnings. - - This variable is a 'gawk' extension. It is not special in other - 'awk' implementations. Unlike with the other special variables, - changing 'LINT' does affect the production of lint warnings, even - if 'gawk' is in compatibility mode. Much as the '--lint' and - '--traditional' options independently control different aspects of - 'gawk''s behavior, the control of lint warnings during program - execution is independent of the flavor of 'awk' being executed. - -'OFMT' - A string that controls conversion of numbers to strings (*note - Conversion::) for printing with the 'print' statement. It works by - being passed as the first argument to the 'sprintf()' function - (*note String Functions::). Its default value is '"%.6g"'. - Earlier versions of 'awk' used 'OFMT' to specify the format for - converting numbers to strings in general expressions; this is now - done by 'CONVFMT'. - -'OFS' - The output field separator (*note Output Separators::). It is - output between the fields printed by a 'print' statement. Its - default value is '" "', a string consisting of a single space. - -'ORS' - The output record separator. It is output at the end of every - 'print' statement. Its default value is '"\n"', the newline - character. (*Note Output Separators::.) - -'PREC #' - The working precision of arbitrary-precision floating-point - numbers, 53 bits by default (*note Setting precision::). - -'ROUNDMODE #' - The rounding mode to use for arbitrary-precision arithmetic on - numbers, by default '"N"' ('roundTiesToEven' in the IEEE 754 - standard; *note Setting the rounding mode::). - -'RS' - The input record separator. Its default value is a string - containing a single newline character, which means that an input - record consists of a single line of text. It can also be the null - string, in which case records are separated by runs of blank lines. - If it is a regexp, records are separated by matches of the regexp - in the input text. (*Note Records::.) - - The ability for 'RS' to be a regular expression is a 'gawk' - extension. In most other 'awk' implementations, or if 'gawk' is in - compatibility mode (*note Options::), just the first character of - 'RS''s value is used. - -'SUBSEP' - The subscript separator. It has the default value of '"\034"' and - is used to separate the parts of the indices of a multidimensional - array. Thus, the expression 'foo["A", "B"]' really accesses - 'foo["A\034B"]' (*note Multidimensional::). - -'TEXTDOMAIN #' - Used for internationalization of programs at the 'awk' level. It - sets the default text domain for specially marked string constants - in the source text, as well as for the 'dcgettext()', - 'dcngettext()', and 'bindtextdomain()' functions (*note - Internationalization::). The default value of 'TEXTDOMAIN' is - '"messages"'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Auto-set, Next: ARGC and ARGV, Prev: User-modified, Up: Built-in Variables - -7.5.2 Built-in Variables That Convey Information ------------------------------------------------- - -The following is an alphabetical list of variables that 'awk' sets -automatically on certain occasions in order to provide information to -your program. - - The variables that are specific to 'gawk' are marked with a pound -sign ('#'). These variables are 'gawk' extensions. In other 'awk' -implementations or if 'gawk' is in compatibility mode (*note Options::), -they are not special: - -'ARGC', 'ARGV' - The command-line arguments available to 'awk' programs are stored - in an array called 'ARGV'. 'ARGC' is the number of command-line - arguments present. *Note Other Arguments::. Unlike most 'awk' - arrays, 'ARGV' is indexed from 0 to 'ARGC' - 1. In the following - example: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { - > for (i = 0; i < ARGC; i++) - > print ARGV[i] - > }' inventory-shipped mail-list - -| awk - -| inventory-shipped - -| mail-list - - 'ARGV[0]' contains 'awk', 'ARGV[1]' contains 'inventory-shipped', - and 'ARGV[2]' contains 'mail-list'. The value of 'ARGC' is three, - one more than the index of the last element in 'ARGV', because the - elements are numbered from zero. - - The names 'ARGC' and 'ARGV', as well as the convention of indexing - the array from 0 to 'ARGC' - 1, are derived from the C language's - method of accessing command-line arguments. - - The value of 'ARGV[0]' can vary from system to system. Also, you - should note that the program text is _not_ included in 'ARGV', nor - are any of 'awk''s command-line options. *Note ARGC and ARGV:: for - information about how 'awk' uses these variables. (d.c.) - -'ARGIND #' - The index in 'ARGV' of the current file being processed. Every - time 'gawk' opens a new data file for processing, it sets 'ARGIND' - to the index in 'ARGV' of the file name. When 'gawk' is processing - the input files, 'FILENAME == ARGV[ARGIND]' is always true. - - This variable is useful in file processing; it allows you to tell - how far along you are in the list of data files as well as to - distinguish between successive instances of the same file name on - the command line. - - While you can change the value of 'ARGIND' within your 'awk' - program, 'gawk' automatically sets it to a new value when it opens - the next file. - -'ENVIRON' - An associative array containing the values of the environment. The - array indices are the environment variable names; the elements are - the values of the particular environment variables. For example, - 'ENVIRON["HOME"]' might be '/home/arnold'. - - For POSIX 'awk', changing this array does not affect the - environment passed on to any programs that 'awk' may spawn via - redirection or the 'system()' function. - - However, beginning with version 4.2, if not in POSIX compatibility - mode, 'gawk' does update its own environment when 'ENVIRON' is - changed, thus changing the environment seen by programs that it - creates. You should therefore be especially careful if you modify - 'ENVIRON["PATH"]', which is the search path for finding executable - programs. - - This can also affect the running 'gawk' program, since some of the - built-in functions may pay attention to certain environment - variables. The most notable instance of this is 'mktime()' (*note - Time Functions::), which pays attention the value of the 'TZ' - environment variable on many systems. - - Some operating systems may not have environment variables. On such - systems, the 'ENVIRON' array is empty (except for - 'ENVIRON["AWKPATH"]' and 'ENVIRON["AWKLIBPATH"]'; *note AWKPATH - Variable:: and *note AWKLIBPATH Variable::). - -'ERRNO #' - If a system error occurs during a redirection for 'getline', during - a read for 'getline', or during a 'close()' operation, then 'ERRNO' - contains a string describing the error. - - In addition, 'gawk' clears 'ERRNO' before opening each command-line - input file. This enables checking if the file is readable inside a - 'BEGINFILE' pattern (*note BEGINFILE/ENDFILE::). - - Otherwise, 'ERRNO' works similarly to the C variable 'errno'. - Except for the case just mentioned, 'gawk' _never_ clears it (sets - it to zero or '""'). Thus, you should only expect its value to be - meaningful when an I/O operation returns a failure value, such as - 'getline' returning -1. You are, of course, free to clear it - yourself before doing an I/O operation. - - If the value of 'ERRNO' corresponds to a system error in the C - 'errno' variable, then 'PROCINFO["errno"]' will be set to the value - of 'errno'. For non-system errors, 'PROCINFO["errno"]' will be - zero. - -'FILENAME' - The name of the current input file. When no data files are listed - on the command line, 'awk' reads from the standard input and - 'FILENAME' is set to '"-"'. 'FILENAME' changes each time a new - file is read (*note Reading Files::). Inside a 'BEGIN' rule, the - value of 'FILENAME' is '""', because there are no input files being - processed yet.(1) (d.c.) Note, though, that using 'getline' - (*note Getline::) inside a 'BEGIN' rule can give 'FILENAME' a - value. - -'FNR' - The current record number in the current file. 'awk' increments - 'FNR' each time it reads a new record (*note Records::). 'awk' - resets 'FNR' to zero each time it starts a new input file. - -'NF' - The number of fields in the current input record. 'NF' is set each - time a new record is read, when a new field is created, or when - '$0' changes (*note Fields::). - - Unlike most of the variables described in this node, assigning a - value to 'NF' has the potential to affect 'awk''s internal - workings. In particular, assignments to 'NF' can be used to create - fields in or remove fields from the current record. *Note Changing - Fields::. - -'FUNCTAB #' - An array whose indices and corresponding values are the names of - all the built-in, user-defined, and extension functions in the - program. - - NOTE: Attempting to use the 'delete' statement with the - 'FUNCTAB' array causes a fatal error. Any attempt to assign - to an element of 'FUNCTAB' also causes a fatal error. - -'NR' - The number of input records 'awk' has processed since the beginning - of the program's execution (*note Records::). 'awk' increments - 'NR' each time it reads a new record. - -'PROCINFO #' - The elements of this array provide access to information about the - running 'awk' program. The following elements (listed - alphabetically) are guaranteed to be available: - - 'PROCINFO["egid"]' - The value of the 'getegid()' system call. - - 'PROCINFO["errno"]' - The value of the C 'errno' variable when 'ERRNO' is set to the - associated error message. - - 'PROCINFO["euid"]' - The value of the 'geteuid()' system call. - - 'PROCINFO["FS"]' - This is '"FS"' if field splitting with 'FS' is in effect, - '"FIELDWIDTHS"' if field splitting with 'FIELDWIDTHS' is in - effect, or '"FPAT"' if field matching with 'FPAT' is in - effect. - - 'PROCINFO["gid"]' - The value of the 'getgid()' system call. - - 'PROCINFO["identifiers"]' - A subarray, indexed by the names of all identifiers used in - the text of the 'awk' program. An "identifier" is simply the - name of a variable (be it scalar or array), built-in function, - user-defined function, or extension function. For each - identifier, the value of the element is one of the following: - - '"array"' - The identifier is an array. - - '"builtin"' - The identifier is a built-in function. - - '"extension"' - The identifier is an extension function loaded via - '@load' or '-l'. - - '"scalar"' - The identifier is a scalar. - - '"untyped"' - The identifier is untyped (could be used as a scalar or - an array; 'gawk' doesn't know yet). - - '"user"' - The identifier is a user-defined function. - - The values indicate what 'gawk' knows about the identifiers - after it has finished parsing the program; they are _not_ - updated while the program runs. - - 'PROCINFO["pgrpid"]' - The process group ID of the current process. - - 'PROCINFO["pid"]' - The process ID of the current process. - - 'PROCINFO["ppid"]' - The parent process ID of the current process. - - 'PROCINFO["strftime"]' - The default time format string for 'strftime()'. Assigning a - new value to this element changes the default. *Note Time - Functions::. - - 'PROCINFO["uid"]' - The value of the 'getuid()' system call. - - 'PROCINFO["version"]' - The version of 'gawk'. - - The following additional elements in the array are available to - provide information about the MPFR and GMP libraries if your - version of 'gawk' supports arbitrary-precision arithmetic (*note - Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic::): - - 'PROCINFO["gmp_version"]' - The version of the GNU MP library. - - 'PROCINFO["mpfr_version"]' - The version of the GNU MPFR library. - - 'PROCINFO["prec_max"]' - The maximum precision supported by MPFR. - - 'PROCINFO["prec_min"]' - The minimum precision required by MPFR. - - The following additional elements in the array are available to - provide information about the version of the extension API, if your - version of 'gawk' supports dynamic loading of extension functions - (*note Dynamic Extensions::): - - 'PROCINFO["api_major"]' - The major version of the extension API. - - 'PROCINFO["api_minor"]' - The minor version of the extension API. - - On some systems, there may be elements in the array, '"group1"' - through '"groupN"' for some N. N is the number of supplementary - groups that the process has. Use the 'in' operator to test for - these elements (*note Reference to Elements::). - - The following elements allow you to change 'gawk''s behavior: - - 'PROCINFO["NONFATAL"]' - If this element exists, then I/O errors for all output - redirections become nonfatal. *Note Nonfatal::. - - 'PROCINFO["OUTPUT_NAME", "NONFATAL"]' - Make output errors for OUTPUT_NAME be nonfatal. *Note - Nonfatal::. - - 'PROCINFO["COMMAND", "pty"]' - For two-way communication to COMMAND, use a pseudo-tty instead - of setting up a two-way pipe. *Note Two-way I/O:: for more - information. - - 'PROCINFO["INPUT_NAME", "READ_TIMEOUT"]' - Set a timeout for reading from input redirection INPUT_NAME. - *Note Read Timeout:: for more information. - - 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]' - If this element exists in 'PROCINFO', its value controls the - order in which array indices will be processed by 'for (INDX - in ARRAY)' loops. This is an advanced feature, so we defer - the full description until later; see *note Scanning an - Array::. - -'RLENGTH' - The length of the substring matched by the 'match()' function - (*note String Functions::). 'RLENGTH' is set by invoking the - 'match()' function. Its value is the length of the matched string, - or -1 if no match is found. - -'RSTART' - The start index in characters of the substring that is matched by - the 'match()' function (*note String Functions::). 'RSTART' is set - by invoking the 'match()' function. Its value is the position of - the string where the matched substring starts, or zero if no match - was found. - -'RT #' - The input text that matched the text denoted by 'RS', the record - separator. It is set every time a record is read. - -'SYMTAB #' - An array whose indices are the names of all defined global - variables and arrays in the program. 'SYMTAB' makes 'gawk''s - symbol table visible to the 'awk' programmer. It is built as - 'gawk' parses the program and is complete before the program starts - to run. - - The array may be used for indirect access to read or write the - value of a variable: - - foo = 5 - SYMTAB["foo"] = 4 - print foo # prints 4 - - The 'isarray()' function (*note Type Functions::) may be used to - test if an element in 'SYMTAB' is an array. Also, you may not use - the 'delete' statement with the 'SYMTAB' array. - - You may use an index for 'SYMTAB' that is not a predefined - identifier: - - SYMTAB["xxx"] = 5 - print SYMTAB["xxx"] - - This works as expected: in this case 'SYMTAB' acts just like a - regular array. The only difference is that you can't then delete - 'SYMTAB["xxx"]'. - - The 'SYMTAB' array is more interesting than it looks. Andrew - Schorr points out that it effectively gives 'awk' data pointers. - Consider his example: - - # Indirect multiply of any variable by amount, return result - - function multiply(variable, amount) - { - return SYMTAB[variable] *= amount - } - - You would use it like this: - - BEGIN { - answer = 10.5 - multiply("answer", 4) - print "The answer is", answer - } - - When run, this produces: - - $ gawk -f answer.awk - -| The answer is 42 - - NOTE: In order to avoid severe time-travel paradoxes,(2) - neither 'FUNCTAB' nor 'SYMTAB' is available as an element - within the 'SYMTAB' array. - - Changing 'NR' and 'FNR' - - 'awk' increments 'NR' and 'FNR' each time it reads a record, instead -of setting them to the absolute value of the number of records read. -This means that a program can change these variables and their new -values are incremented for each record. (d.c.) The following example -shows this: - - $ echo '1 - > 2 - > 3 - > 4' | awk 'NR == 2 { NR = 17 } - > { print NR }' - -| 1 - -| 17 - -| 18 - -| 19 - -Before 'FNR' was added to the 'awk' language (*note V7/SVR3.1::), many -'awk' programs used this feature to track the number of records in a -file by resetting 'NR' to zero when 'FILENAME' changed. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Some early implementations of Unix 'awk' initialized 'FILENAME' -to '"-"', even if there were data files to be processed. This behavior -was incorrect and should not be relied upon in your programs. - - (2) Not to mention difficult implementation issues. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: ARGC and ARGV, Prev: Auto-set, Up: Built-in Variables - -7.5.3 Using 'ARGC' and 'ARGV' ------------------------------ - -*note Auto-set:: presented the following program describing the -information contained in 'ARGC' and 'ARGV': - - $ awk 'BEGIN { - > for (i = 0; i < ARGC; i++) - > print ARGV[i] - > }' inventory-shipped mail-list - -| awk - -| inventory-shipped - -| mail-list - -In this example, 'ARGV[0]' contains 'awk', 'ARGV[1]' contains -'inventory-shipped', and 'ARGV[2]' contains 'mail-list'. Notice that -the 'awk' program is not entered in 'ARGV'. The other command-line -options, with their arguments, are also not entered. This includes -variable assignments done with the '-v' option (*note Options::). -Normal variable assignments on the command line _are_ treated as -arguments and do show up in the 'ARGV' array. Given the following -program in a file named 'showargs.awk': - - BEGIN { - printf "A=%d, B=%d\n", A, B - for (i = 0; i < ARGC; i++) - printf "\tARGV[%d] = %s\n", i, ARGV[i] - } - END { printf "A=%d, B=%d\n", A, B } - -Running it produces the following: - - $ awk -v A=1 -f showargs.awk B=2 /dev/null - -| A=1, B=0 - -| ARGV[0] = awk - -| ARGV[1] = B=2 - -| ARGV[2] = /dev/null - -| A=1, B=2 - - A program can alter 'ARGC' and the elements of 'ARGV'. Each time -'awk' reaches the end of an input file, it uses the next element of -'ARGV' as the name of the next input file. By storing a different -string there, a program can change which files are read. Use '"-"' to -represent the standard input. Storing additional elements and -incrementing 'ARGC' causes additional files to be read. - - If the value of 'ARGC' is decreased, that eliminates input files from -the end of the list. By recording the old value of 'ARGC' elsewhere, a -program can treat the eliminated arguments as something other than file -names. - - To eliminate a file from the middle of the list, store the null -string ('""') into 'ARGV' in place of the file's name. As a special -feature, 'awk' ignores file names that have been replaced with the null -string. Another option is to use the 'delete' statement to remove -elements from 'ARGV' (*note Delete::). - - All of these actions are typically done in the 'BEGIN' rule, before -actual processing of the input begins. *Note Split Program:: and *note -Tee Program:: for examples of each way of removing elements from 'ARGV'. - - To actually get options into an 'awk' program, end the 'awk' options -with '--' and then supply the 'awk' program's options, in the following -manner: - - awk -f myprog.awk -- -v -q file1 file2 ... - - The following fragment processes 'ARGV' in order to examine, and then -remove, the previously mentioned command-line options: - - BEGIN { - for (i = 1; i < ARGC; i++) { - if (ARGV[i] == "-v") - verbose = 1 - else if (ARGV[i] == "-q") - debug = 1 - else if (ARGV[i] ~ /^-./) { - e = sprintf("%s: unrecognized option -- %c", - ARGV[0], substr(ARGV[i], 2, 1)) - print e > "/dev/stderr" - } else - break - delete ARGV[i] - } - } - - Ending the 'awk' options with '--' isn't necessary in 'gawk'. Unless -'--posix' has been specified, 'gawk' silently puts any unrecognized -options into 'ARGV' for the 'awk' program to deal with. As soon as it -sees an unknown option, 'gawk' stops looking for other options that it -might otherwise recognize. The previous command line with 'gawk' would -be: - - gawk -f myprog.awk -q -v file1 file2 ... - -Because '-q' is not a valid 'gawk' option, it and the following '-v' are -passed on to the 'awk' program. (*Note Getopt Function:: for an 'awk' -library function that parses command-line options.) - - When designing your program, you should choose options that don't -conflict with 'gawk''s, because it will process any options that it -accepts before passing the rest of the command line on to your program. -Using '#!' with the '-E' option may help (*note Executable Scripts:: and -*note Options::). - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Pattern Action Summary, Prev: Built-in Variables, Up: Patterns and Actions - -7.6 Summary -=========== - - * Pattern-action pairs make up the basic elements of an 'awk' - program. Patterns are either normal expressions, range - expressions, or regexp constants; one of the special keywords - 'BEGIN', 'END', 'BEGINFILE', or 'ENDFILE'; or empty. The action - executes if the current record matches the pattern. Empty - (missing) patterns match all records. - - * I/O from 'BEGIN' and 'END' rules has certain constraints. This is - also true, only more so, for 'BEGINFILE' and 'ENDFILE' rules. The - latter two give you "hooks" into 'gawk''s file processing, allowing - you to recover from a file that otherwise would cause a fatal error - (such as a file that cannot be opened). - - * Shell variables can be used in 'awk' programs by careful use of - shell quoting. It is easier to pass a shell variable into 'awk' by - using the '-v' option and an 'awk' variable. - - * Actions consist of statements enclosed in curly braces. Statements - are built up from expressions, control statements, compound - statements, input and output statements, and deletion statements. - - * The control statements in 'awk' are 'if'-'else', 'while', 'for', - and 'do'-'while'. 'gawk' adds the 'switch' statement. There are - two flavors of 'for' statement: one for performing general looping, - and the other for iterating through an array. - - * 'break' and 'continue' let you exit early or start the next - iteration of a loop (or get out of a 'switch'). - - * 'next' and 'nextfile' let you read the next record and start over - at the top of your program or skip to the next input file and start - over, respectively. - - * The 'exit' statement terminates your program. When executed from - an action (or function body), it transfers control to the 'END' - statements. From an 'END' statement body, it exits immediately. - You may pass an optional numeric value to be used as 'awk''s exit - status. - - * Some predefined variables provide control over 'awk', mainly for - I/O. Other variables convey information from 'awk' to your program. - - * 'ARGC' and 'ARGV' make the command-line arguments available to your - program. Manipulating them from a 'BEGIN' rule lets you control - how 'awk' will process the provided data files. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Arrays, Next: Functions, Prev: Patterns and Actions, Up: Top - -8 Arrays in 'awk' -***************** - -An "array" is a table of values called "elements". The elements of an -array are distinguished by their "indices". Indices may be either -numbers or strings. - - This major node describes how arrays work in 'awk', how to use array -elements, how to scan through every element in an array, and how to -remove array elements. It also describes how 'awk' simulates -multidimensional arrays, as well as some of the less obvious points -about array usage. The major node moves on to discuss 'gawk''s facility -for sorting arrays, and ends with a brief description of 'gawk''s -ability to support true arrays of arrays. - -* Menu: - -* Array Basics:: The basics of arrays. -* Numeric Array Subscripts:: How to use numbers as subscripts in - 'awk'. -* Uninitialized Subscripts:: Using Uninitialized variables as subscripts. -* Delete:: The 'delete' statement removes an element - from an array. -* Multidimensional:: Emulating multidimensional arrays in - 'awk'. -* Arrays of Arrays:: True multidimensional arrays. -* Arrays Summary:: Summary of arrays. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Array Basics, Next: Numeric Array Subscripts, Up: Arrays - -8.1 The Basics of Arrays -======================== - -This minor node presents the basics: working with elements in arrays one -at a time, and traversing all of the elements in an array. - -* Menu: - -* Array Intro:: Introduction to Arrays -* Reference to Elements:: How to examine one element of an array. -* Assigning Elements:: How to change an element of an array. -* Array Example:: Basic Example of an Array -* Scanning an Array:: A variation of the 'for' statement. It - loops through the indices of an array's - existing elements. -* Controlling Scanning:: Controlling the order in which arrays are - scanned. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Array Intro, Next: Reference to Elements, Up: Array Basics - -8.1.1 Introduction to Arrays ----------------------------- - - Doing linear scans over an associative array is like trying to club - someone to death with a loaded Uzi. - -- _Larry Wall_ - - The 'awk' language provides one-dimensional arrays for storing groups -of related strings or numbers. Every 'awk' array must have a name. -Array names have the same syntax as variable names; any valid variable -name would also be a valid array name. But one name cannot be used in -both ways (as an array and as a variable) in the same 'awk' program. - - Arrays in 'awk' superficially resemble arrays in other programming -languages, but there are fundamental differences. In 'awk', it isn't -necessary to specify the size of an array before starting to use it. -Additionally, any number or string, not just consecutive integers, may -be used as an array index. - - In most other languages, arrays must be "declared" before use, -including a specification of how many elements or components they -contain. In such languages, the declaration causes a contiguous block -of memory to be allocated for that many elements. Usually, an index in -the array must be a nonnegative integer. For example, the index zero -specifies the first element in the array, which is actually stored at -the beginning of the block of memory. Index one specifies the second -element, which is stored in memory right after the first element, and so -on. It is impossible to add more elements to the array, because it has -room only for as many elements as given in the declaration. (Some -languages allow arbitrary starting and ending indices--e.g., '15 .. -27'--but the size of the array is still fixed when the array is -declared.) - - A contiguous array of four elements might look like *note Figure 8.1: -figure-array-elements, conceptually, if the element values are eight, -'"foo"', '""', and 30. - -[image src="array-elements.png" alt="A Contiguous Array" text="+---------+---------+--------+---------+ -| 8 | \"foo\" | \"\" | 30 | Value -+---------+---------+--------+---------+ - 0 1 2 3 Index"] - -Figure 8.1: A contiguous array - -Only the values are stored; the indices are implicit from the order of -the values. Here, eight is the value at index zero, because eight -appears in the position with zero elements before it. - - Arrays in 'awk' are different--they are "associative". This means -that each array is a collection of pairs--an index and its corresponding -array element value: - - Index Value ------------------------- - '3' '30' - '1' '"foo"' - '0' '8' - '2' '""' - -The pairs are shown in jumbled order because their order is -irrelevant.(1) - - One advantage of associative arrays is that new pairs can be added at -any time. For example, suppose a tenth element is added to the array -whose value is '"number ten"'. The result is: - - Index Value -------------------------------- - '10' '"number - ten"' - '3' '30' - '1' '"foo"' - '0' '8' - '2' '""' - -Now the array is "sparse", which just means some indices are missing. -It has elements 0-3 and 10, but doesn't have elements 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or -9. - - Another consequence of associative arrays is that the indices don't -have to be nonnegative integers. Any number, or even a string, can be -an index. For example, the following is an array that translates words -from English to French: - - Index Value ------------------------- - '"dog"' '"chien"' - '"cat"' '"chat"' - '"one"' '"un"' - '1' '"un"' - -Here we decided to translate the number one in both spelled-out and -numeric form--thus illustrating that a single array can have both -numbers and strings as indices. (In fact, array subscripts are always -strings. There are some subtleties to how numbers work when used as -array subscripts; this is discussed in more detail in *note Numeric -Array Subscripts::.) Here, the number '1' isn't double-quoted, because -'awk' automatically converts it to a string. - - The value of 'IGNORECASE' has no effect upon array subscripting. The -identical string value used to store an array element must be used to -retrieve it. When 'awk' creates an array (e.g., with the 'split()' -built-in function), that array's indices are consecutive integers -starting at one. (*Note String Functions::.) - - 'awk''s arrays are efficient--the time to access an element is -independent of the number of elements in the array. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The ordering will vary among 'awk' implementations, which -typically use hash tables to store array elements and values. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Reference to Elements, Next: Assigning Elements, Prev: Array Intro, Up: Array Basics - -8.1.2 Referring to an Array Element ------------------------------------ - -The principal way to use an array is to refer to one of its elements. -An "array reference" is an expression as follows: - - ARRAY[INDEX-EXPRESSION] - -Here, ARRAY is the name of an array. The expression INDEX-EXPRESSION is -the index of the desired element of the array. - - The value of the array reference is the current value of that array -element. For example, 'foo[4.3]' is an expression referencing the -element of array 'foo' at index '4.3'. - - A reference to an array element that has no recorded value yields a -value of '""', the null string. This includes elements that have not -been assigned any value as well as elements that have been deleted -(*note Delete::). - - NOTE: A reference to an element that does not exist _automatically_ - creates that array element, with the null string as its value. (In - some cases, this is unfortunate, because it might waste memory - inside 'awk'.) - - Novice 'awk' programmers often make the mistake of checking if an - element exists by checking if the value is empty: - - # Check if "foo" exists in a: Incorrect! - if (a["foo"] != "") ... - - This is incorrect for two reasons. First, it _creates_ 'a["foo"]' - if it didn't exist before! Second, it is valid (if a bit unusual) - to set an array element equal to the empty string. - - To determine whether an element exists in an array at a certain -index, use the following expression: - - INDX in ARRAY - -This expression tests whether the particular index INDX exists, without -the side effect of creating that element if it is not present. The -expression has the value one (true) if 'ARRAY[INDX]' exists and zero -(false) if it does not exist. (We use INDX here, because 'index' is the -name of a built-in function.) For example, this statement tests whether -the array 'frequencies' contains the index '2': - - if (2 in frequencies) - print "Subscript 2 is present." - - Note that this is _not_ a test of whether the array 'frequencies' -contains an element whose _value_ is two. There is no way to do that -except to scan all the elements. Also, this _does not_ create -'frequencies[2]', while the following (incorrect) alternative does: - - if (frequencies[2] != "") - print "Subscript 2 is present." - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Assigning Elements, Next: Array Example, Prev: Reference to Elements, Up: Array Basics - -8.1.3 Assigning Array Elements ------------------------------- - -Array elements can be assigned values just like 'awk' variables: - - ARRAY[INDEX-EXPRESSION] = VALUE - -ARRAY is the name of an array. The expression INDEX-EXPRESSION is the -index of the element of the array that is assigned a value. The -expression VALUE is the value to assign to that element of the array. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Array Example, Next: Scanning an Array, Prev: Assigning Elements, Up: Array Basics - -8.1.4 Basic Array Example -------------------------- - -The following program takes a list of lines, each beginning with a line -number, and prints them out in order of line number. The line numbers -are not in order when they are first read--instead, they are scrambled. -This program sorts the lines by making an array using the line numbers -as subscripts. The program then prints out the lines in sorted order of -their numbers. It is a very simple program and gets confused upon -encountering repeated numbers, gaps, or lines that don't begin with a -number: - - { - if ($1 > max) - max = $1 - arr[$1] = $0 - } - - END { - for (x = 1; x <= max; x++) - print arr[x] - } - - The first rule keeps track of the largest line number seen so far; it -also stores each line into the array 'arr', at an index that is the -line's number. The second rule runs after all the input has been read, -to print out all the lines. When this program is run with the following -input: - - 5 I am the Five man - 2 Who are you? The new number two! - 4 . . . And four on the floor - 1 Who is number one? - 3 I three you. - -Its output is: - - 1 Who is number one? - 2 Who are you? The new number two! - 3 I three you. - 4 . . . And four on the floor - 5 I am the Five man - - If a line number is repeated, the last line with a given number -overrides the others. Gaps in the line numbers can be handled with an -easy improvement to the program's 'END' rule, as follows: - - END { - for (x = 1; x <= max; x++) - if (x in arr) - print arr[x] - } - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Scanning an Array, Next: Controlling Scanning, Prev: Array Example, Up: Array Basics - -8.1.5 Scanning All Elements of an Array ---------------------------------------- - -In programs that use arrays, it is often necessary to use a loop that -executes once for each element of an array. In other languages, where -arrays are contiguous and indices are limited to nonnegative integers, -this is easy: all the valid indices can be found by counting from the -lowest index up to the highest. This technique won't do the job in -'awk', because any number or string can be an array index. So 'awk' has -a special kind of 'for' statement for scanning an array: - - for (VAR in ARRAY) - BODY - -This loop executes BODY once for each index in ARRAY that the program -has previously used, with the variable VAR set to that index. - - The following program uses this form of the 'for' statement. The -first rule scans the input records and notes which words appear (at -least once) in the input, by storing a one into the array 'used' with -the word as the index. The second rule scans the elements of 'used' to -find all the distinct words that appear in the input. It prints each -word that is more than 10 characters long and also prints the number of -such words. *Note String Functions:: for more information on the -built-in function 'length()'. - - # Record a 1 for each word that is used at least once - { - for (i = 1; i <= NF; i++) - used[$i] = 1 - } - - # Find number of distinct words more than 10 characters long - END { - for (x in used) { - if (length(x) > 10) { - ++num_long_words - print x - } - } - print num_long_words, "words longer than 10 characters" - } - -*Note Word Sorting:: for a more detailed example of this type. - - The order in which elements of the array are accessed by this -statement is determined by the internal arrangement of the array -elements within 'awk' and in standard 'awk' cannot be controlled or -changed. This can lead to problems if new elements are added to ARRAY -by statements in the loop body; it is not predictable whether the 'for' -loop will reach them. Similarly, changing VAR inside the loop may -produce strange results. It is best to avoid such things. - - As a point of information, 'gawk' sets up the list of elements to be -iterated over before the loop starts, and does not change it. But not -all 'awk' versions do so. Consider this program, named 'loopcheck.awk': - - BEGIN { - a["here"] = "here" - a["is"] = "is" - a["a"] = "a" - a["loop"] = "loop" - for (i in a) { - j++ - a[j] = j - print i - } - } - - Here is what happens when run with 'gawk' (and 'mawk'): - - $ gawk -f loopcheck.awk - -| here - -| loop - -| a - -| is - - Contrast this to BWK 'awk': - - $ nawk -f loopcheck.awk - -| loop - -| here - -| is - -| a - -| 1 - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Controlling Scanning, Prev: Scanning an Array, Up: Array Basics - -8.1.6 Using Predefined Array Scanning Orders with 'gawk' --------------------------------------------------------- - -This node describes a feature that is specific to 'gawk'. - - By default, when a 'for' loop traverses an array, the order is -undefined, meaning that the 'awk' implementation determines the order in -which the array is traversed. This order is usually based on the -internal implementation of arrays and will vary from one version of -'awk' to the next. - - Often, though, you may wish to do something simple, such as "traverse -the array by comparing the indices in ascending order," or "traverse the -array by comparing the values in descending order." 'gawk' provides two -mechanisms that give you this control: - - * Set 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]' to one of a set of predefined values. - We describe this now. - - * Set 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]' to the name of a user-defined function - to use for comparison of array elements. This advanced feature is - described later in *note Array Sorting::. - - The following special values for 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]' are -available: - -'"@unsorted"' - Array elements are processed in arbitrary order, which is the - default 'awk' behavior. - -'"@ind_str_asc"' - Order by indices in ascending order compared as strings; this is - the most basic sort. (Internally, array indices are always - strings, so with 'a[2*5] = 1' the index is '"10"' rather than - numeric 10.) - -'"@ind_num_asc"' - Order by indices in ascending order but force them to be treated as - numbers in the process. Any index with a non-numeric value will - end up positioned as if it were zero. - -'"@val_type_asc"' - Order by element values in ascending order (rather than by - indices). Ordering is by the type assigned to the element (*note - Typing and Comparison::). All numeric values come before all - string values, which in turn come before all subarrays. (Subarrays - have not been described yet; *note Arrays of Arrays::.) - -'"@val_str_asc"' - Order by element values in ascending order (rather than by - indices). Scalar values are compared as strings. Subarrays, if - present, come out last. - -'"@val_num_asc"' - Order by element values in ascending order (rather than by - indices). Scalar values are compared as numbers. Subarrays, if - present, come out last. When numeric values are equal, the string - values are used to provide an ordering: this guarantees consistent - results across different versions of the C 'qsort()' function,(1) - which 'gawk' uses internally to perform the sorting. - -'"@ind_str_desc"' - Like '"@ind_str_asc"', but the string indices are ordered from high - to low. - -'"@ind_num_desc"' - Like '"@ind_num_asc"', but the numeric indices are ordered from - high to low. - -'"@val_type_desc"' - Like '"@val_type_asc"', but the element values, based on type, are - ordered from high to low. Subarrays, if present, come out first. - -'"@val_str_desc"' - Like '"@val_str_asc"', but the element values, treated as strings, - are ordered from high to low. Subarrays, if present, come out - first. - -'"@val_num_desc"' - Like '"@val_num_asc"', but the element values, treated as numbers, - are ordered from high to low. Subarrays, if present, come out - first. - - The array traversal order is determined before the 'for' loop starts -to run. Changing 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]' in the loop body does not -affect the loop. For example: - - $ gawk ' - > BEGIN { - > a[4] = 4 - > a[3] = 3 - > for (i in a) - > print i, a[i] - > }' - -| 4 4 - -| 3 3 - $ gawk ' - > BEGIN { - > PROCINFO["sorted_in"] = "@ind_str_asc" - > a[4] = 4 - > a[3] = 3 - > for (i in a) - > print i, a[i] - > }' - -| 3 3 - -| 4 4 - - When sorting an array by element values, if a value happens to be a -subarray then it is considered to be greater than any string or numeric -value, regardless of what the subarray itself contains, and all -subarrays are treated as being equal to each other. Their order -relative to each other is determined by their index strings. - - Here are some additional things to bear in mind about sorted array -traversal: - - * The value of 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]' is global. That is, it - affects all array traversal 'for' loops. If you need to change it - within your own code, you should see if it's defined and save and - restore the value: - - ... - if ("sorted_in" in PROCINFO) { - save_sorted = PROCINFO["sorted_in"] - PROCINFO["sorted_in"] = "@val_str_desc" # or whatever - } - ... - if (save_sorted) - PROCINFO["sorted_in"] = save_sorted - - * As already mentioned, the default array traversal order is - represented by '"@unsorted"'. You can also get the default - behavior by assigning the null string to 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]' or - by just deleting the '"sorted_in"' element from the 'PROCINFO' - array with the 'delete' statement. (The 'delete' statement hasn't - been described yet; *note Delete::.) - - In addition, 'gawk' provides built-in functions for sorting arrays; -see *note Array Sorting Functions::. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) When two elements compare as equal, the C 'qsort()' function does -not guarantee that they will maintain their original relative order -after sorting. Using the string value to provide a unique ordering when -the numeric values are equal ensures that 'gawk' behaves consistently -across different environments. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Numeric Array Subscripts, Next: Uninitialized Subscripts, Prev: Array Basics, Up: Arrays - -8.2 Using Numbers to Subscript Arrays -===================================== - -An important aspect to remember about arrays is that _array subscripts -are always strings_. When a numeric value is used as a subscript, it is -converted to a string value before being used for subscripting (*note -Conversion::). This means that the value of the predefined variable -'CONVFMT' can affect how your program accesses elements of an array. -For example: - - xyz = 12.153 - data[xyz] = 1 - CONVFMT = "%2.2f" - if (xyz in data) - printf "%s is in data\n", xyz - else - printf "%s is not in data\n", xyz - -This prints '12.15 is not in data'. The first statement gives 'xyz' a -numeric value. Assigning to 'data[xyz]' subscripts 'data' with the -string value '"12.153"' (using the default conversion value of -'CONVFMT', '"%.6g"'). Thus, the array element 'data["12.153"]' is -assigned the value one. The program then changes the value of -'CONVFMT'. The test '(xyz in data)' generates a new string value from -'xyz'--this time '"12.15"'--because the value of 'CONVFMT' only allows -two significant digits. This test fails, because '"12.15"' is different -from '"12.153"'. - - According to the rules for conversions (*note Conversion::), integer -values always convert to strings as integers, no matter what the value -of 'CONVFMT' may happen to be. So the usual case of the following -works: - - for (i = 1; i <= maxsub; i++) - do something with array[i] - - The "integer values always convert to strings as integers" rule has -an additional consequence for array indexing. Octal and hexadecimal -constants (*note Nondecimal-numbers::) are converted internally into -numbers, and their original form is forgotten. This means, for example, -that 'array[17]', 'array[021]', and 'array[0x11]' all refer to the same -element! - - As with many things in 'awk', the majority of the time things work as -you would expect them to. But it is useful to have a precise knowledge -of the actual rules, as they can sometimes have a subtle effect on your -programs. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Uninitialized Subscripts, Next: Delete, Prev: Numeric Array Subscripts, Up: Arrays - -8.3 Using Uninitialized Variables as Subscripts -=============================================== - -Suppose it's necessary to write a program to print the input data in -reverse order. A reasonable attempt to do so (with some test data) -might look like this: - - $ echo 'line 1 - > line 2 - > line 3' | awk '{ l[lines] = $0; ++lines } - > END { - > for (i = lines - 1; i >= 0; i--) - > print l[i] - > }' - -| line 3 - -| line 2 - - Unfortunately, the very first line of input data did not appear in -the output! - - Upon first glance, we would think that this program should have -worked. The variable 'lines' is uninitialized, and uninitialized -variables have the numeric value zero. So, 'awk' should have printed -the value of 'l[0]'. - - The issue here is that subscripts for 'awk' arrays are _always_ -strings. Uninitialized variables, when used as strings, have the value -'""', not zero. Thus, 'line 1' ends up stored in 'l[""]'. The -following version of the program works correctly: - - { l[lines++] = $0 } - END { - for (i = lines - 1; i >= 0; i--) - print l[i] - } - - Here, the '++' forces 'lines' to be numeric, thus making the "old -value" numeric zero. This is then converted to '"0"' as the array -subscript. - - Even though it is somewhat unusual, the null string ('""') is a valid -array subscript. (d.c.) 'gawk' warns about the use of the null string -as a subscript if '--lint' is provided on the command line (*note -Options::). - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Delete, Next: Multidimensional, Prev: Uninitialized Subscripts, Up: Arrays - -8.4 The 'delete' Statement -========================== - -To remove an individual element of an array, use the 'delete' statement: - - delete ARRAY[INDEX-EXPRESSION] - - Once an array element has been deleted, any value the element once -had is no longer available. It is as if the element had never been -referred to or been given a value. The following is an example of -deleting elements in an array: - - for (i in frequencies) - delete frequencies[i] - -This example removes all the elements from the array 'frequencies'. -Once an element is deleted, a subsequent 'for' statement to scan the -array does not report that element and using the 'in' operator to check -for the presence of that element returns zero (i.e., false): - - delete foo[4] - if (4 in foo) - print "This will never be printed" - - It is important to note that deleting an element is _not_ the same as -assigning it a null value (the empty string, '""'). For example: - - foo[4] = "" - if (4 in foo) - print "This is printed, even though foo[4] is empty" - - It is not an error to delete an element that does not exist. -However, if '--lint' is provided on the command line (*note Options::), -'gawk' issues a warning message when an element that is not in the array -is deleted. - - All the elements of an array may be deleted with a single statement -by leaving off the subscript in the 'delete' statement, as follows: - - delete ARRAY - - Using this version of the 'delete' statement is about three times -more efficient than the equivalent loop that deletes each element one at -a time. - - This form of the 'delete' statement is also supported by BWK 'awk' -and 'mawk', as well as by a number of other implementations. - - NOTE: For many years, using 'delete' without a subscript was a - common extension. In September 2012, it was accepted for inclusion - into the POSIX standard. See the Austin Group website - (http://austingroupbugs.net/view.php?id=544). - - The following statement provides a portable but nonobvious way to -clear out an array:(1) - - split("", array) - - The 'split()' function (*note String Functions::) clears out the -target array first. This call asks it to split apart the null string. -Because there is no data to split out, the function simply clears the -array and then returns. - - CAUTION: Deleting all the elements from an array does not change - its type; you cannot clear an array and then use the array's name - as a scalar (i.e., a regular variable). For example, the following - does not work: - - a[1] = 3 - delete a - a = 3 - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Thanks to Michael Brennan for pointing this out. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Multidimensional, Next: Arrays of Arrays, Prev: Delete, Up: Arrays - -8.5 Multidimensional Arrays -=========================== - -* Menu: - -* Multiscanning:: Scanning multidimensional arrays. - -A "multidimensional array" is an array in which an element is identified -by a sequence of indices instead of a single index. For example, a -two-dimensional array requires two indices. The usual way (in many -languages, including 'awk') to refer to an element of a two-dimensional -array named 'grid' is with 'grid[X,Y]'. - - Multidimensional arrays are supported in 'awk' through concatenation -of indices into one string. 'awk' converts the indices into strings -(*note Conversion::) and concatenates them together, with a separator -between them. This creates a single string that describes the values of -the separate indices. The combined string is used as a single index -into an ordinary, one-dimensional array. The separator used is the -value of the built-in variable 'SUBSEP'. - - For example, suppose we evaluate the expression 'foo[5,12] = "value"' -when the value of 'SUBSEP' is '"@"'. The numbers 5 and 12 are converted -to strings and concatenated with an '@' between them, yielding '"5@12"'; -thus, the array element 'foo["5@12"]' is set to '"value"'. - - Once the element's value is stored, 'awk' has no record of whether it -was stored with a single index or a sequence of indices. The two -expressions 'foo[5,12]' and 'foo[5 SUBSEP 12]' are always equivalent. - - The default value of 'SUBSEP' is the string '"\034"', which contains -a nonprinting character that is unlikely to appear in an 'awk' program -or in most input data. The usefulness of choosing an unlikely character -comes from the fact that index values that contain a string matching -'SUBSEP' can lead to combined strings that are ambiguous. Suppose that -'SUBSEP' is '"@"'; then 'foo["a@b", "c"]' and 'foo["a", "b@c"]' are -indistinguishable because both are actually stored as 'foo["a@b@c"]'. - - To test whether a particular index sequence exists in a -multidimensional array, use the same operator ('in') that is used for -single-dimensional arrays. Write the whole sequence of indices in -parentheses, separated by commas, as the left operand: - - if ((SUBSCRIPT1, SUBSCRIPT2, ...) in ARRAY) - ... - - Here is an example that treats its input as a two-dimensional array -of fields; it rotates this array 90 degrees clockwise and prints the -result. It assumes that all lines have the same number of elements: - - { - if (max_nf < NF) - max_nf = NF - max_nr = NR - for (x = 1; x <= NF; x++) - vector[x, NR] = $x - } - - END { - for (x = 1; x <= max_nf; x++) { - for (y = max_nr; y >= 1; --y) - printf("%s ", vector[x, y]) - printf("\n") - } - } - -When given the input: - - 1 2 3 4 5 6 - 2 3 4 5 6 1 - 3 4 5 6 1 2 - 4 5 6 1 2 3 - -the program produces the following output: - - 4 3 2 1 - 5 4 3 2 - 6 5 4 3 - 1 6 5 4 - 2 1 6 5 - 3 2 1 6 - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Multiscanning, Up: Multidimensional - -8.5.1 Scanning Multidimensional Arrays --------------------------------------- - -There is no special 'for' statement for scanning a "multidimensional" -array. There cannot be one, because, in truth, 'awk' does not have -multidimensional arrays or elements--there is only a multidimensional -_way of accessing_ an array. - - However, if your program has an array that is always accessed as -multidimensional, you can get the effect of scanning it by combining the -scanning 'for' statement (*note Scanning an Array::) with the built-in -'split()' function (*note String Functions::). It works in the -following manner: - - for (combined in array) { - split(combined, separate, SUBSEP) - ... - } - -This sets the variable 'combined' to each concatenated combined index in -the array, and splits it into the individual indices by breaking it -apart where the value of 'SUBSEP' appears. The individual indices then -become the elements of the array 'separate'. - - Thus, if a value is previously stored in 'array[1, "foo"]', then an -element with index '"1\034foo"' exists in 'array'. (Recall that the -default value of 'SUBSEP' is the character with code 034.) Sooner or -later, the 'for' statement finds that index and does an iteration with -the variable 'combined' set to '"1\034foo"'. Then the 'split()' -function is called as follows: - - split("1\034foo", separate, "\034") - -The result is to set 'separate[1]' to '"1"' and 'separate[2]' to -'"foo"'. Presto! The original sequence of separate indices is -recovered. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Arrays of Arrays, Next: Arrays Summary, Prev: Multidimensional, Up: Arrays - -8.6 Arrays of Arrays -==================== - -'gawk' goes beyond standard 'awk''s multidimensional array access and -provides true arrays of arrays. Elements of a subarray are referred to -by their own indices enclosed in square brackets, just like the elements -of the main array. For example, the following creates a two-element -subarray at index '1' of the main array 'a': - - a[1][1] = 1 - a[1][2] = 2 - - This simulates a true two-dimensional array. Each subarray element -can contain another subarray as a value, which in turn can hold other -arrays as well. In this way, you can create arrays of three or more -dimensions. The indices can be any 'awk' expressions, including scalars -separated by commas (i.e., a regular 'awk' simulated multidimensional -subscript). So the following is valid in 'gawk': - - a[1][3][1, "name"] = "barney" - - Each subarray and the main array can be of different length. In -fact, the elements of an array or its subarray do not all have to have -the same type. This means that the main array and any of its subarrays -can be nonrectangular, or jagged in structure. You can assign a scalar -value to the index '4' of the main array 'a', even though 'a[1]' is -itself an array and not a scalar: - - a[4] = "An element in a jagged array" - - The terms "dimension", "row", and "column" are meaningless when -applied to such an array, but we will use "dimension" henceforth to -imply the maximum number of indices needed to refer to an existing -element. The type of any element that has already been assigned cannot -be changed by assigning a value of a different type. You have to first -delete the current element, which effectively makes 'gawk' forget about -the element at that index: - - delete a[4] - a[4][5][6][7] = "An element in a four-dimensional array" - -This removes the scalar value from index '4' and then inserts a -three-level nested subarray containing a scalar. You can also delete an -entire subarray or subarray of subarrays: - - delete a[4][5] - a[4][5] = "An element in subarray a[4]" - - But recall that you can not delete the main array 'a' and then use it -as a scalar. - - The built-in functions that take array arguments can also be used -with subarrays. For example, the following code fragment uses -'length()' (*note String Functions::) to determine the number of -elements in the main array 'a' and its subarrays: - - print length(a), length(a[1]), length(a[1][3]) - -This results in the following output for our main array 'a': - - 2, 3, 1 - -The 'SUBSCRIPT in ARRAY' expression (*note Reference to Elements::) -works similarly for both regular 'awk'-style arrays and arrays of -arrays. For example, the tests '1 in a', '3 in a[1]', and '(1, "name") -in a[1][3]' all evaluate to one (true) for our array 'a'. - - The 'for (item in array)' statement (*note Scanning an Array::) can -be nested to scan all the elements of an array of arrays if it is -rectangular in structure. In order to print the contents (scalar -values) of a two-dimensional array of arrays (i.e., in which each -first-level element is itself an array, not necessarily of the same -length), you could use the following code: - - for (i in array) - for (j in array[i]) - print array[i][j] - - The 'isarray()' function (*note Type Functions::) lets you test if an -array element is itself an array: - - for (i in array) { - if (isarray(array[i]) { - for (j in array[i]) { - print array[i][j] - } - } - else - print array[i] - } - - If the structure of a jagged array of arrays is known in advance, you -can often devise workarounds using control statements. For example, the -following code prints the elements of our main array 'a': - - for (i in a) { - for (j in a[i]) { - if (j == 3) { - for (k in a[i][j]) - print a[i][j][k] - } else - print a[i][j] - } - } - -*Note Walking Arrays:: for a user-defined function that "walks" an -arbitrarily dimensioned array of arrays. - - Recall that a reference to an uninitialized array element yields a -value of '""', the null string. This has one important implication when -you intend to use a subarray as an argument to a function, as -illustrated by the following example: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { split("a b c d", b[1]); print b[1][1] }' - error-> gawk: cmd. line:1: fatal: split: second argument is not an array - - The way to work around this is to first force 'b[1]' to be an array -by creating an arbitrary index: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { b[1][1] = ""; split("a b c d", b[1]); print b[1][1] }' - -| a - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Arrays Summary, Prev: Arrays of Arrays, Up: Arrays - -8.7 Summary -=========== - - * Standard 'awk' provides one-dimensional associative arrays (arrays - indexed by string values). All arrays are associative; numeric - indices are converted automatically to strings. - - * Array elements are referenced as 'ARRAY[INDX]'. Referencing an - element creates it if it did not exist previously. - - * The proper way to see if an array has an element with a given index - is to use the 'in' operator: 'INDX in ARRAY'. - - * Use 'for (INDX in ARRAY) ...' to scan through all the individual - elements of an array. In the body of the loop, INDX takes on the - value of each element's index in turn. - - * The order in which a 'for (INDX in ARRAY)' loop traverses an array - is undefined in POSIX 'awk' and varies among implementations. - 'gawk' lets you control the order by assigning special predefined - values to 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]'. - - * Use 'delete ARRAY[INDX]' to delete an individual element. To - delete all of the elements in an array, use 'delete ARRAY'. This - latter feature has been a common extension for many years and is - now standard, but may not be supported by all commercial versions - of 'awk'. - - * Standard 'awk' simulates multidimensional arrays by separating - subscript values with commas. The values are concatenated into a - single string, separated by the value of 'SUBSEP'. The fact that - such a subscript was created in this way is not retained; thus, - changing 'SUBSEP' may have unexpected consequences. You can use - '(SUB1, SUB2, ...) in ARRAY' to see if such a multidimensional - subscript exists in ARRAY. - - * 'gawk' provides true arrays of arrays. You use a separate set of - square brackets for each dimension in such an array: - 'data[row][col]', for example. Array elements may thus be either - scalar values (number or string) or other arrays. - - * Use the 'isarray()' built-in function to determine if an array - element is itself a subarray. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Functions, Next: Library Functions, Prev: Arrays, Up: Top - -9 Functions -*********** - -This major node describes 'awk''s built-in functions, which fall into -three categories: numeric, string, and I/O. 'gawk' provides additional -groups of functions to work with values that represent time, do bit -manipulation, sort arrays, provide type information, and -internationalize and localize programs. - - Besides the built-in functions, 'awk' has provisions for writing new -functions that the rest of a program can use. The second half of this -major node describes these "user-defined" functions. Finally, we -explore indirect function calls, a 'gawk'-specific extension that lets -you determine at runtime what function is to be called. - -* Menu: - -* Built-in:: Summarizes the built-in functions. -* User-defined:: Describes User-defined functions in detail. -* Indirect Calls:: Choosing the function to call at runtime. -* Functions Summary:: Summary of functions. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Built-in, Next: User-defined, Up: Functions - -9.1 Built-in Functions -====================== - -"Built-in" functions are always available for your 'awk' program to -call. This minor node defines all the built-in functions in 'awk'; some -of these are mentioned in other minor nodes but are summarized here for -your convenience. - -* Menu: - -* Calling Built-in:: How to call built-in functions. -* Numeric Functions:: Functions that work with numbers, including - 'int()', 'sin()' and 'rand()'. -* String Functions:: Functions for string manipulation, such as - 'split()', 'match()' and - 'sprintf()'. -* I/O Functions:: Functions for files and shell commands. -* Time Functions:: Functions for dealing with timestamps. -* Bitwise Functions:: Functions for bitwise operations. -* Type Functions:: Functions for type information. -* I18N Functions:: Functions for string translation. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Calling Built-in, Next: Numeric Functions, Up: Built-in - -9.1.1 Calling Built-in Functions --------------------------------- - -To call one of 'awk''s built-in functions, write the name of the -function followed by arguments in parentheses. For example, 'atan2(y + -z, 1)' is a call to the function 'atan2()' and has two arguments. - - Whitespace is ignored between the built-in function name and the -opening parenthesis, but nonetheless it is good practice to avoid using -whitespace there. User-defined functions do not permit whitespace in -this way, and it is easier to avoid mistakes by following a simple -convention that always works--no whitespace after a function name. - - Each built-in function accepts a certain number of arguments. In -some cases, arguments can be omitted. The defaults for omitted -arguments vary from function to function and are described under the -individual functions. In some 'awk' implementations, extra arguments -given to built-in functions are ignored. However, in 'gawk', it is a -fatal error to give extra arguments to a built-in function. - - When a function is called, expressions that create the function's -actual parameters are evaluated completely before the call is performed. -For example, in the following code fragment: - - i = 4 - j = sqrt(i++) - -the variable 'i' is incremented to the value five before 'sqrt()' is -called with a value of four for its actual parameter. The order of -evaluation of the expressions used for the function's parameters is -undefined. Thus, avoid writing programs that assume that parameters are -evaluated from left to right or from right to left. For example: - - i = 5 - j = atan2(++i, i *= 2) - - If the order of evaluation is left to right, then 'i' first becomes -six, and then 12, and 'atan2()' is called with the two arguments six and -12. But if the order of evaluation is right to left, 'i' first becomes -10, then 11, and 'atan2()' is called with the two arguments 11 and 10. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Numeric Functions, Next: String Functions, Prev: Calling Built-in, Up: Built-in - -9.1.2 Numeric Functions ------------------------ - -The following list describes all of the built-in functions that work -with numbers. Optional parameters are enclosed in square -brackets ([ ]): - -'atan2(Y, X)' - Return the arctangent of 'Y / X' in radians. You can use 'pi = - atan2(0, -1)' to retrieve the value of pi. - -'cos(X)' - Return the cosine of X, with X in radians. - -'exp(X)' - Return the exponential of X ('e ^ X') or report an error if X is - out of range. The range of values X can have depends on your - machine's floating-point representation. - -'int(X)' - Return the nearest integer to X, located between X and zero and - truncated toward zero. For example, 'int(3)' is 3, 'int(3.9)' is - 3, 'int(-3.9)' is -3, and 'int(-3)' is -3 as well. - -'intdiv(NUMERATOR, DENOMINATOR, RESULT)' - Perform integer division, similar to the standard C function of the - same name. First, truncate 'numerator' and 'denominator' towards - zero, creating integer values. Clear the 'result' array, and then - set 'result["quotient"]' to the result of 'numerator / - denominator', truncated towards zero to an integer, and set - 'result["remainder"]' to the result of 'numerator % denominator', - truncated towards zero to an integer. This function is primarily - intended for use with arbitrary length integers; it avoids creating - MPFR arbitrary precision floating-point values (*note Arbitrary - Precision Integers::). - - This function is a 'gawk' extension. It is not available in - compatibility mode (*note Options::). - -'log(X)' - Return the natural logarithm of X, if X is positive; otherwise, - return 'NaN' ("not a number") on IEEE 754 systems. Additionally, - 'gawk' prints a warning message when 'x' is negative. - -'rand()' - Return a random number. The values of 'rand()' are uniformly - distributed between zero and one. The value could be zero but is - never one.(1) - - Often random integers are needed instead. Following is a - user-defined function that can be used to obtain a random - nonnegative integer less than N: - - function randint(n) - { - return int(n * rand()) - } - - The multiplication produces a random number greater than or equal - to zero and less than 'n'. Using 'int()', this result is made into - an integer between zero and 'n' - 1, inclusive. - - The following example uses a similar function to produce random - integers between one and N. This program prints a new random - number for each input record: - - # Function to roll a simulated die. - function roll(n) { return 1 + int(rand() * n) } - - # Roll 3 six-sided dice and - # print total number of points. - { - printf("%d points\n", roll(6) + roll(6) + roll(6)) - } - - CAUTION: In most 'awk' implementations, including 'gawk', - 'rand()' starts generating numbers from the same starting - number, or "seed", each time you run 'awk'.(2) Thus, a - program generates the same results each time you run it. The - numbers are random within one 'awk' run but predictable from - run to run. This is convenient for debugging, but if you want - a program to do different things each time it is used, you - must change the seed to a value that is different in each run. - To do this, use 'srand()'. - -'sin(X)' - Return the sine of X, with X in radians. - -'sqrt(X)' - Return the positive square root of X. 'gawk' prints a warning - message if X is negative. Thus, 'sqrt(4)' is 2. - -'srand('[X]')' - Set the starting point, or seed, for generating random numbers to - the value X. - - Each seed value leads to a particular sequence of random - numbers.(3) Thus, if the seed is set to the same value a second - time, the same sequence of random numbers is produced again. - - CAUTION: Different 'awk' implementations use different - random-number generators internally. Don't expect the same - 'awk' program to produce the same series of random numbers - when executed by different versions of 'awk'. - - If the argument X is omitted, as in 'srand()', then the current - date and time of day are used for a seed. This is the way to get - random numbers that are truly unpredictable. - - The return value of 'srand()' is the previous seed. This makes it - easy to keep track of the seeds in case you need to consistently - reproduce sequences of random numbers. - - POSIX does not specify the initial seed; it differs among 'awk' - implementations. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The C version of 'rand()' on many Unix systems is known to -produce fairly poor sequences of random numbers. However, nothing -requires that an 'awk' implementation use the C 'rand()' to implement -the 'awk' version of 'rand()'. In fact, 'gawk' uses the BSD 'random()' -function, which is considerably better than 'rand()', to produce random -numbers. - - (2) 'mawk' uses a different seed each time. - - (3) Computer-generated random numbers really are not truly random. -They are technically known as "pseudorandom". This means that although -the numbers in a sequence appear to be random, you can in fact generate -the same sequence of random numbers over and over again. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: String Functions, Next: I/O Functions, Prev: Numeric Functions, Up: Built-in - -9.1.3 String-Manipulation Functions ------------------------------------ - -The functions in this minor node look at or change the text of one or -more strings. - - 'gawk' understands locales (*note Locales::) and does all string -processing in terms of _characters_, not _bytes_. This distinction is -particularly important to understand for locales where one character may -be represented by multiple bytes. Thus, for example, 'length()' returns -the number of characters in a string, and not the number of bytes used -to represent those characters. Similarly, 'index()' works with -character indices, and not byte indices. - - CAUTION: A number of functions deal with indices into strings. For - these functions, the first character of a string is at position - (index) one. This is different from C and the languages descended - from it, where the first character is at position zero. You need - to remember this when doing index calculations, particularly if you - are used to C. - - In the following list, optional parameters are enclosed in square -brackets ([ ]). Several functions perform string substitution; the full -discussion is provided in the description of the 'sub()' function, which -comes toward the end, because the list is presented alphabetically. - - Those functions that are specific to 'gawk' are marked with a pound -sign ('#'). They are not available in compatibility mode (*note -Options::): - -* Menu: - -* Gory Details:: More than you want to know about '\' and - '&' with 'sub()', 'gsub()', and - 'gensub()'. - -'asort('SOURCE [',' DEST [',' HOW ] ]') #' -'asorti('SOURCE [',' DEST [',' HOW ] ]') #' - These two functions are similar in behavior, so they are described - together. - - NOTE: The following description ignores the third argument, - HOW, as it requires understanding features that we have not - discussed yet. Thus, the discussion here is a deliberate - simplification. (We do provide all the details later on; see - *note Array Sorting Functions:: for the full story.) - - Both functions return the number of elements in the array SOURCE. - For 'asort()', 'gawk' sorts the values of SOURCE and replaces the - indices of the sorted values of SOURCE with sequential integers - starting with one. If the optional array DEST is specified, then - SOURCE is duplicated into DEST. DEST is then sorted, leaving the - indices of SOURCE unchanged. - - When comparing strings, 'IGNORECASE' affects the sorting (*note - Array Sorting Functions::). If the SOURCE array contains subarrays - as values (*note Arrays of Arrays::), they will come last, after - all scalar values. Subarrays are _not_ recursively sorted. - - For example, if the contents of 'a' are as follows: - - a["last"] = "de" - a["first"] = "sac" - a["middle"] = "cul" - - A call to 'asort()': - - asort(a) - - results in the following contents of 'a': - - a[1] = "cul" - a[2] = "de" - a[3] = "sac" - - The 'asorti()' function works similarly to 'asort()'; however, the - _indices_ are sorted, instead of the values. Thus, in the previous - example, starting with the same initial set of indices and values - in 'a', calling 'asorti(a)' would yield: - - a[1] = "first" - a[2] = "last" - a[3] = "middle" - -'gensub(REGEXP, REPLACEMENT, HOW' [', TARGET']') #' - Search the target string TARGET for matches of the regular - expression REGEXP. If HOW is a string beginning with 'g' or 'G' - (short for "global"), then replace all matches of REGEXP with - REPLACEMENT. Otherwise, HOW is treated as a number indicating - which match of REGEXP to replace. If no TARGET is supplied, use - '$0'. It returns the modified string as the result of the function - and the original target string is _not_ changed. - - 'gensub()' is a general substitution function. Its purpose is to - provide more features than the standard 'sub()' and 'gsub()' - functions. - - 'gensub()' provides an additional feature that is not available in - 'sub()' or 'gsub()': the ability to specify components of a regexp - in the replacement text. This is done by using parentheses in the - regexp to mark the components and then specifying '\N' in the - replacement text, where N is a digit from 1 to 9. For example: - - $ gawk ' - > BEGIN { - > a = "abc def" - > b = gensub(/(.+) (.+)/, "\\2 \\1", "g", a) - > print b - > }' - -| def abc - - As with 'sub()', you must type two backslashes in order to get one - into the string. In the replacement text, the sequence '\0' - represents the entire matched text, as does the character '&'. - - The following example shows how you can use the third argument to - control which match of the regexp should be changed: - - $ echo a b c a b c | - > gawk '{ print gensub(/a/, "AA", 2) }' - -| a b c AA b c - - In this case, '$0' is the default target string. 'gensub()' - returns the new string as its result, which is passed directly to - 'print' for printing. - - If the HOW argument is a string that does not begin with 'g' or - 'G', or if it is a number that is less than or equal to zero, only - one substitution is performed. If HOW is zero, 'gawk' issues a - warning message. - - If REGEXP does not match TARGET, 'gensub()''s return value is the - original unchanged value of TARGET. - -'gsub(REGEXP, REPLACEMENT' [', TARGET']')' - Search TARGET for _all_ of the longest, leftmost, _nonoverlapping_ - matching substrings it can find and replace them with REPLACEMENT. - The 'g' in 'gsub()' stands for "global," which means replace - everywhere. For example: - - { gsub(/Britain/, "United Kingdom"); print } - - replaces all occurrences of the string 'Britain' with 'United - Kingdom' for all input records. - - The 'gsub()' function returns the number of substitutions made. If - the variable to search and alter (TARGET) is omitted, then the - entire input record ('$0') is used. As in 'sub()', the characters - '&' and '\' are special, and the third argument must be assignable. - -'index(IN, FIND)' - Search the string IN for the first occurrence of the string FIND, - and return the position in characters where that occurrence begins - in the string IN. Consider the following example: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { print index("peanut", "an") }' - -| 3 - - If FIND is not found, 'index()' returns zero. - - With BWK 'awk' and 'gawk', it is a fatal error to use a regexp - constant for FIND. Other implementations allow it, simply treating - the regexp constant as an expression meaning '$0 ~ /regexp/'. - (d.c.) - -'length('[STRING]')' - Return the number of characters in STRING. If STRING is a number, - the length of the digit string representing that number is - returned. For example, 'length("abcde")' is five. By contrast, - 'length(15 * 35)' works out to three. In this example, 15 * 35 = - 525, and 525 is then converted to the string '"525"', which has - three characters. - - If no argument is supplied, 'length()' returns the length of '$0'. - - NOTE: In older versions of 'awk', the 'length()' function - could be called without any parentheses. Doing so is - considered poor practice, although the 2008 POSIX standard - explicitly allows it, to support historical practice. For - programs to be maximally portable, always supply the - parentheses. - - If 'length()' is called with a variable that has not been used, - 'gawk' forces the variable to be a scalar. Other implementations - of 'awk' leave the variable without a type. (d.c.) Consider: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { print length(x) ; x[1] = 1 }' - -| 0 - error-> gawk: fatal: attempt to use scalar `x' as array - - $ nawk 'BEGIN { print length(x) ; x[1] = 1 }' - -| 0 - - If '--lint' has been specified on the command line, 'gawk' issues a - warning about this. - - With 'gawk' and several other 'awk' implementations, when given an - array argument, the 'length()' function returns the number of - elements in the array. (c.e.) This is less useful than it might - seem at first, as the array is not guaranteed to be indexed from - one to the number of elements in it. If '--lint' is provided on - the command line (*note Options::), 'gawk' warns that passing an - array argument is not portable. If '--posix' is supplied, using an - array argument is a fatal error (*note Arrays::). - -'match(STRING, REGEXP' [', ARRAY']')' - Search STRING for the longest, leftmost substring matched by the - regular expression REGEXP and return the character position (index) - at which that substring begins (one, if it starts at the beginning - of STRING). If no match is found, return zero. - - The REGEXP argument may be either a regexp constant ('/'...'/') or - a string constant ('"'...'"'). In the latter case, the string is - treated as a regexp to be matched. *Note Computed Regexps:: for a - discussion of the difference between the two forms, and the - implications for writing your program correctly. - - The order of the first two arguments is the opposite of most other - string functions that work with regular expressions, such as - 'sub()' and 'gsub()'. It might help to remember that for - 'match()', the order is the same as for the '~' operator: 'STRING ~ - REGEXP'. - - The 'match()' function sets the predefined variable 'RSTART' to the - index. It also sets the predefined variable 'RLENGTH' to the - length in characters of the matched substring. If no match is - found, 'RSTART' is set to zero, and 'RLENGTH' to -1. - - For example: - - { - if ($1 == "FIND") - regex = $2 - else { - where = match($0, regex) - if (where != 0) - print "Match of", regex, "found at", where, "in", $0 - } - } - - This program looks for lines that match the regular expression - stored in the variable 'regex'. This regular expression can be - changed. If the first word on a line is 'FIND', 'regex' is changed - to be the second word on that line. Therefore, if given: - - FIND ru+n - My program runs - but not very quickly - FIND Melvin - JF+KM - This line is property of Reality Engineering Co. - Melvin was here. - - 'awk' prints: - - Match of ru+n found at 12 in My program runs - Match of Melvin found at 1 in Melvin was here. - - If ARRAY is present, it is cleared, and then the zeroth element of - ARRAY is set to the entire portion of STRING matched by REGEXP. If - REGEXP contains parentheses, the integer-indexed elements of ARRAY - are set to contain the portion of STRING matching the corresponding - parenthesized subexpression. For example: - - $ echo foooobazbarrrrr | - > gawk '{ match($0, /(fo+).+(bar*)/, arr) - > print arr[1], arr[2] }' - -| foooo barrrrr - - In addition, multidimensional subscripts are available providing - the start index and length of each matched subexpression: - - $ echo foooobazbarrrrr | - > gawk '{ match($0, /(fo+).+(bar*)/, arr) - > print arr[1], arr[2] - > print arr[1, "start"], arr[1, "length"] - > print arr[2, "start"], arr[2, "length"] - > }' - -| foooo barrrrr - -| 1 5 - -| 9 7 - - There may not be subscripts for the start and index for every - parenthesized subexpression, because they may not all have matched - text; thus, they should be tested for with the 'in' operator (*note - Reference to Elements::). - - The ARRAY argument to 'match()' is a 'gawk' extension. In - compatibility mode (*note Options::), using a third argument is a - fatal error. - -'patsplit(STRING, ARRAY' [', FIELDPAT' [', SEPS' ] ]') #' - Divide STRING into pieces defined by FIELDPAT and store the pieces - in ARRAY and the separator strings in the SEPS array. The first - piece is stored in 'ARRAY[1]', the second piece in 'ARRAY[2]', and - so forth. The third argument, FIELDPAT, is a regexp describing the - fields in STRING (just as 'FPAT' is a regexp describing the fields - in input records). It may be either a regexp constant or a string. - If FIELDPAT is omitted, the value of 'FPAT' is used. 'patsplit()' - returns the number of elements created. 'SEPS[I]' is the separator - string between 'ARRAY[I]' and 'ARRAY[I+1]'. Any leading separator - will be in 'SEPS[0]'. - - The 'patsplit()' function splits strings into pieces in a manner - similar to the way input lines are split into fields using 'FPAT' - (*note Splitting By Content::). - - Before splitting the string, 'patsplit()' deletes any previously - existing elements in the arrays ARRAY and SEPS. - -'split(STRING, ARRAY' [', FIELDSEP' [', SEPS' ] ]')' - Divide STRING into pieces separated by FIELDSEP and store the - pieces in ARRAY and the separator strings in the SEPS array. The - first piece is stored in 'ARRAY[1]', the second piece in - 'ARRAY[2]', and so forth. The string value of the third argument, - FIELDSEP, is a regexp describing where to split STRING (much as - 'FS' can be a regexp describing where to split input records). If - FIELDSEP is omitted, the value of 'FS' is used. 'split()' returns - the number of elements created. SEPS is a 'gawk' extension, with - 'SEPS[I]' being the separator string between 'ARRAY[I]' and - 'ARRAY[I+1]'. If FIELDSEP is a single space, then any leading - whitespace goes into 'SEPS[0]' and any trailing whitespace goes - into 'SEPS[N]', where N is the return value of 'split()' (i.e., the - number of elements in ARRAY). - - The 'split()' function splits strings into pieces in a manner - similar to the way input lines are split into fields. For example: - - split("cul-de-sac", a, "-", seps) - - splits the string '"cul-de-sac"' into three fields using '-' as the - separator. It sets the contents of the array 'a' as follows: - - a[1] = "cul" - a[2] = "de" - a[3] = "sac" - - and sets the contents of the array 'seps' as follows: - - seps[1] = "-" - seps[2] = "-" - - The value returned by this call to 'split()' is three. - - As with input field-splitting, when the value of FIELDSEP is '" "', - leading and trailing whitespace is ignored in values assigned to - the elements of ARRAY but not in SEPS, and the elements are - separated by runs of whitespace. Also, as with input field - splitting, if FIELDSEP is the null string, each individual - character in the string is split into its own array element. - (c.e.) - - Note, however, that 'RS' has no effect on the way 'split()' works. - Even though 'RS = ""' causes the newline character to also be an - input field separator, this does not affect how 'split()' splits - strings. - - Modern implementations of 'awk', including 'gawk', allow the third - argument to be a regexp constant ('/'...'/') as well as a string. - (d.c.) The POSIX standard allows this as well. *Note Computed - Regexps:: for a discussion of the difference between using a string - constant or a regexp constant, and the implications for writing - your program correctly. - - Before splitting the string, 'split()' deletes any previously - existing elements in the arrays ARRAY and SEPS. - - If STRING is null, the array has no elements. (So this is a - portable way to delete an entire array with one statement. *Note - Delete::.) - - If STRING does not match FIELDSEP at all (but is not null), ARRAY - has one element only. The value of that element is the original - STRING. - - In POSIX mode (*note Options::), the fourth argument is not - allowed. - -'sprintf(FORMAT, EXPRESSION1, ...)' - Return (without printing) the string that 'printf' would have - printed out with the same arguments (*note Printf::). For example: - - pival = sprintf("pi = %.2f (approx.)", 22/7) - - assigns the string 'pi = 3.14 (approx.)' to the variable 'pival'. - -'strtonum(STR) #' - Examine STR and return its numeric value. If STR begins with a - leading '0', 'strtonum()' assumes that STR is an octal number. If - STR begins with a leading '0x' or '0X', 'strtonum()' assumes that - STR is a hexadecimal number. For example: - - $ echo 0x11 | - > gawk '{ printf "%d\n", strtonum($1) }' - -| 17 - - Using the 'strtonum()' function is _not_ the same as adding zero to - a string value; the automatic coercion of strings to numbers works - only for decimal data, not for octal or hexadecimal.(1) - - Note also that 'strtonum()' uses the current locale's decimal point - for recognizing numbers (*note Locales::). - -'sub(REGEXP, REPLACEMENT' [', TARGET']')' - Search TARGET, which is treated as a string, for the leftmost, - longest substring matched by the regular expression REGEXP. Modify - the entire string by replacing the matched text with REPLACEMENT. - The modified string becomes the new value of TARGET. Return the - number of substitutions made (zero or one). - - The REGEXP argument may be either a regexp constant ('/'...'/') or - a string constant ('"'...'"'). In the latter case, the string is - treated as a regexp to be matched. *Note Computed Regexps:: for a - discussion of the difference between the two forms, and the - implications for writing your program correctly. - - This function is peculiar because TARGET is not simply used to - compute a value, and not just any expression will do--it must be a - variable, field, or array element so that 'sub()' can store a - modified value there. If this argument is omitted, then the - default is to use and alter '$0'.(2) For example: - - str = "water, water, everywhere" - sub(/at/, "ith", str) - - sets 'str' to 'wither, water, everywhere', by replacing the - leftmost longest occurrence of 'at' with 'ith'. - - If the special character '&' appears in REPLACEMENT, it stands for - the precise substring that was matched by REGEXP. (If the regexp - can match more than one string, then this precise substring may - vary.) For example: - - { sub(/candidate/, "& and his wife"); print } - - changes the first occurrence of 'candidate' to 'candidate and his - wife' on each input line. Here is another example: - - $ awk 'BEGIN { - > str = "daabaaa" - > sub(/a+/, "C&C", str) - > print str - > }' - -| dCaaCbaaa - - This shows how '&' can represent a nonconstant string and also - illustrates the "leftmost, longest" rule in regexp matching (*note - Leftmost Longest::). - - The effect of this special character ('&') can be turned off by - putting a backslash before it in the string. As usual, to insert - one backslash in the string, you must write two backslashes. - Therefore, write '\\&' in a string constant to include a literal - '&' in the replacement. For example, the following shows how to - replace the first '|' on each line with an '&': - - { sub(/\|/, "\\&"); print } - - As mentioned, the third argument to 'sub()' must be a variable, - field, or array element. Some versions of 'awk' allow the third - argument to be an expression that is not an lvalue. In such a - case, 'sub()' still searches for the pattern and returns zero or - one, but the result of the substitution (if any) is thrown away - because there is no place to put it. Such versions of 'awk' accept - expressions like the following: - - sub(/USA/, "United States", "the USA and Canada") - - For historical compatibility, 'gawk' accepts such erroneous code. - However, using any other nonchangeable object as the third - parameter causes a fatal error and your program will not run. - - Finally, if the REGEXP is not a regexp constant, it is converted - into a string, and then the value of that string is treated as the - regexp to match. - -'substr(STRING, START' [', LENGTH' ]')' - Return a LENGTH-character-long substring of STRING, starting at - character number START. The first character of a string is - character number one.(3) For example, 'substr("washington", 5, 3)' - returns '"ing"'. - - If LENGTH is not present, 'substr()' returns the whole suffix of - STRING that begins at character number START. For example, - 'substr("washington", 5)' returns '"ington"'. The whole suffix is - also returned if LENGTH is greater than the number of characters - remaining in the string, counting from character START. - - If START is less than one, 'substr()' treats it as if it was one. - (POSIX doesn't specify what to do in this case: BWK 'awk' acts this - way, and therefore 'gawk' does too.) If START is greater than the - number of characters in the string, 'substr()' returns the null - string. Similarly, if LENGTH is present but less than or equal to - zero, the null string is returned. - - The string returned by 'substr()' _cannot_ be assigned. Thus, it - is a mistake to attempt to change a portion of a string, as shown - in the following example: - - string = "abcdef" - # try to get "abCDEf", won't work - substr(string, 3, 3) = "CDE" - - It is also a mistake to use 'substr()' as the third argument of - 'sub()' or 'gsub()': - - gsub(/xyz/, "pdq", substr($0, 5, 20)) # WRONG - - (Some commercial versions of 'awk' treat 'substr()' as assignable, - but doing so is not portable.) - - If you need to replace bits and pieces of a string, combine - 'substr()' with string concatenation, in the following manner: - - string = "abcdef" - ... - string = substr(string, 1, 2) "CDE" substr(string, 6) - -'tolower(STRING)' - Return a copy of STRING, with each uppercase character in the - string replaced with its corresponding lowercase character. - Nonalphabetic characters are left unchanged. For example, - 'tolower("MiXeD cAsE 123")' returns '"mixed case 123"'. - -'toupper(STRING)' - Return a copy of STRING, with each lowercase character in the - string replaced with its corresponding uppercase character. - Nonalphabetic characters are left unchanged. For example, - 'toupper("MiXeD cAsE 123")' returns '"MIXED CASE 123"'. - - Matching the Null String - - In 'awk', the '*' operator can match the null string. This is -particularly important for the 'sub()', 'gsub()', and 'gensub()' -functions. For example: - - $ echo abc | awk '{ gsub(/m*/, "X"); print }' - -| XaXbXcX - -Although this makes a certain amount of sense, it can be surprising. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Unless you use the '--non-decimal-data' option, which isn't -recommended. *Note Nondecimal Data:: for more information. - - (2) Note that this means that the record will first be regenerated -using the value of 'OFS' if any fields have been changed, and that the -fields will be updated after the substitution, even if the operation is -a "no-op" such as 'sub(/^/, "")'. - - (3) This is different from C and C++, in which the first character is -number zero. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Gory Details, Up: String Functions - -9.1.3.1 More about '\' and '&' with 'sub()', 'gsub()', and 'gensub()' -..................................................................... - - CAUTION: This subsubsection has been reported to cause headaches. - You might want to skip it upon first reading. - - When using 'sub()', 'gsub()', or 'gensub()', and trying to get -literal backslashes and ampersands into the replacement text, you need -to remember that there are several levels of "escape processing" going -on. - - First, there is the "lexical" level, which is when 'awk' reads your -program and builds an internal copy of it to execute. Then there is the -runtime level, which is when 'awk' actually scans the replacement string -to determine what to generate. - - At both levels, 'awk' looks for a defined set of characters that can -come after a backslash. At the lexical level, it looks for the escape -sequences listed in *note Escape Sequences::. Thus, for every '\' that -'awk' processes at the runtime level, you must type two backslashes at -the lexical level. When a character that is not valid for an escape -sequence follows the '\', BWK 'awk' and 'gawk' both simply remove the -initial '\' and put the next character into the string. Thus, for -example, '"a\qb"' is treated as '"aqb"'. - - At the runtime level, the various functions handle sequences of '\' -and '&' differently. The situation is (sadly) somewhat complex. -Historically, the 'sub()' and 'gsub()' functions treated the -two-character sequence '\&' specially; this sequence was replaced in the -generated text with a single '&'. Any other '\' within the REPLACEMENT -string that did not precede an '&' was passed through unchanged. This -is illustrated in *note Table 9.1: table-sub-escapes. - - You type 'sub()' sees 'sub()' generates - ----- ------- ---------- - '\&' '&' The matched text - '\\&' '\&' A literal '&' - '\\\&' '\&' A literal '&' - '\\\\&' '\\&' A literal '\&' - '\\\\\&' '\\&' A literal '\&' - '\\\\\\&' '\\\&' A literal '\\&' - '\\q' '\q' A literal '\q' - -Table 9.1: Historical escape sequence processing for 'sub()' and -'gsub()' - -This table shows the lexical-level processing, where an odd number of -backslashes becomes an even number at the runtime level, as well as the -runtime processing done by 'sub()'. (For the sake of simplicity, the -rest of the following tables only show the case of even numbers of -backslashes entered at the lexical level.) - - The problem with the historical approach is that there is no way to -get a literal '\' followed by the matched text. - - Several editions of the POSIX standard attempted to fix this problem -but weren't successful. The details are irrelevant at this point in -time. - - At one point, the 'gawk' maintainer submitted proposed text for a -revised standard that reverts to rules that correspond more closely to -the original existing practice. The proposed rules have special cases -that make it possible to produce a '\' preceding the matched text. This -is shown in *note Table 9.2: table-sub-proposed. - - You type 'sub()' sees 'sub()' generates - ----- ------- ---------- - '\\\\\\&' '\\\&' A literal '\&' - '\\\\&' '\\&' A literal '\', followed by the matched text - '\\&' '\&' A literal '&' - '\\q' '\q' A literal '\q' - '\\\\' '\\' '\\' - -Table 9.2: 'gawk' rules for 'sub()' and backslash - - In a nutshell, at the runtime level, there are now three special -sequences of characters ('\\\&', '\\&', and '\&') whereas historically -there was only one. However, as in the historical case, any '\' that is -not part of one of these three sequences is not special and appears in -the output literally. - - 'gawk' 3.0 and 3.1 follow these rules for 'sub()' and 'gsub()'. The -POSIX standard took much longer to be revised than was expected. In -addition, the 'gawk' maintainer's proposal was lost during the -standardization process. The final rules are somewhat simpler. The -results are similar except for one case. - - The POSIX rules state that '\&' in the replacement string produces a -literal '&', '\\' produces a literal '\', and '\' followed by anything -else is not special; the '\' is placed straight into the output. These -rules are presented in *note Table 9.3: table-posix-sub. - - You type 'sub()' sees 'sub()' generates - ----- ------- ---------- - '\\\\\\&' '\\\&' A literal '\&' - '\\\\&' '\\&' A literal '\', followed by the matched text - '\\&' '\&' A literal '&' - '\\q' '\q' A literal '\q' - '\\\\' '\\' '\' - -Table 9.3: POSIX rules for 'sub()' and 'gsub()' - - The only case where the difference is noticeable is the last one: -'\\\\' is seen as '\\' and produces '\' instead of '\\'. - - Starting with version 3.1.4, 'gawk' followed the POSIX rules when -'--posix' was specified (*note Options::). Otherwise, it continued to -follow the proposed rules, as that had been its behavior for many years. - - When version 4.0.0 was released, the 'gawk' maintainer made the POSIX -rules the default, breaking well over a decade's worth of backward -compatibility.(1) Needless to say, this was a bad idea, and as of -version 4.0.1, 'gawk' resumed its historical behavior, and only follows -the POSIX rules when '--posix' is given. - - The rules for 'gensub()' are considerably simpler. At the runtime -level, whenever 'gawk' sees a '\', if the following character is a -digit, then the text that matched the corresponding parenthesized -subexpression is placed in the generated output. Otherwise, no matter -what character follows the '\', it appears in the generated text and the -'\' does not, as shown in *note Table 9.4: table-gensub-escapes. - - You type 'gensub()' sees 'gensub()' generates - ----- --------- ------------ - '&' '&' The matched text - '\\&' '\&' A literal '&' - '\\\\' '\\' A literal '\' - '\\\\&' '\\&' A literal '\', then the matched text - '\\\\\\&' '\\\&' A literal '\&' - '\\q' '\q' A literal 'q' - -Table 9.4: Escape sequence processing for 'gensub()' - - Because of the complexity of the lexical- and runtime-level -processing and the special cases for 'sub()' and 'gsub()', we recommend -the use of 'gawk' and 'gensub()' when you have to do substitutions. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This was rather naive of him, despite there being a note in this -minor node indicating that the next major version would move to the -POSIX rules. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: I/O Functions, Next: Time Functions, Prev: String Functions, Up: Built-in - -9.1.4 Input/Output Functions ----------------------------- - -The following functions relate to input/output (I/O). Optional -parameters are enclosed in square brackets ([ ]): - -'close('FILENAME [',' HOW]')' - Close the file FILENAME for input or output. Alternatively, the - argument may be a shell command that was used for creating a - coprocess, or for redirecting to or from a pipe; then the coprocess - or pipe is closed. *Note Close Files And Pipes:: for more - information. - - When closing a coprocess, it is occasionally useful to first close - one end of the two-way pipe and then to close the other. This is - done by providing a second argument to 'close()'. This second - argument (HOW) should be one of the two string values '"to"' or - '"from"', indicating which end of the pipe to close. Case in the - string does not matter. *Note Two-way I/O::, which discusses this - feature in more detail and gives an example. - - Note that the second argument to 'close()' is a 'gawk' extension; - it is not available in compatibility mode (*note Options::). - -'fflush('[FILENAME]')' - Flush any buffered output associated with FILENAME, which is either - a file opened for writing or a shell command for redirecting output - to a pipe or coprocess. - - Many utility programs "buffer" their output (i.e., they save - information to write to a disk file or the screen in memory until - there is enough for it to be worthwhile to send the data to the - output device). This is often more efficient than writing every - little bit of information as soon as it is ready. However, - sometimes it is necessary to force a program to "flush" its buffers - (i.e., write the information to its destination, even if a buffer - is not full). This is the purpose of the 'fflush()' - function--'gawk' also buffers its output, and the 'fflush()' - function forces 'gawk' to flush its buffers. - - Brian Kernighan added 'fflush()' to his 'awk' in April 1992. For - two decades, it was a common extension. In December 2012, it was - accepted for inclusion into the POSIX standard. See the Austin - Group website (http://austingroupbugs.net/view.php?id=634). - - POSIX standardizes 'fflush()' as follows: if there is no argument, - or if the argument is the null string ('""'), then 'awk' flushes - the buffers for _all_ open output files and pipes. - - NOTE: Prior to version 4.0.2, 'gawk' would flush only the - standard output if there was no argument, and flush all output - files and pipes if the argument was the null string. This was - changed in order to be compatible with Brian Kernighan's - 'awk', in the hope that standardizing this feature in POSIX - would then be easier (which indeed proved to be the case). - - With 'gawk', you can use 'fflush("/dev/stdout")' if you wish - to flush only the standard output. - - 'fflush()' returns zero if the buffer is successfully flushed; - otherwise, it returns a nonzero value. ('gawk' returns -1.) In - the case where all buffers are flushed, the return value is zero - only if all buffers were flushed successfully. Otherwise, it is - -1, and 'gawk' warns about the problem FILENAME. - - 'gawk' also issues a warning message if you attempt to flush a file - or pipe that was opened for reading (such as with 'getline'), or if - FILENAME is not an open file, pipe, or coprocess. In such a case, - 'fflush()' returns -1, as well. - - Interactive Versus Noninteractive Buffering - - As a side point, buffering issues can be even more confusing if - your program is "interactive" (i.e., communicating with a user - sitting at a keyboard).(1) - - Interactive programs generally "line buffer" their output (i.e., - they write out every line). Noninteractive programs wait until - they have a full buffer, which may be many lines of output. Here - is an example of the difference: - - $ awk '{ print $1 + $2 }' - 1 1 - -| 2 - 2 3 - -| 5 - Ctrl-d - - Each line of output is printed immediately. Compare that behavior - with this example: - - $ awk '{ print $1 + $2 }' | cat - 1 1 - 2 3 - Ctrl-d - -| 2 - -| 5 - - Here, no output is printed until after the 'Ctrl-d' is typed, - because it is all buffered and sent down the pipe to 'cat' in one - shot. - -'system(COMMAND)' - Execute the operating system command COMMAND and then return to the - 'awk' program. Return COMMAND's exit status (see further on). - - For example, if the following fragment of code is put in your 'awk' - program: - - END { - system("date | mail -s 'awk run done' root") - } - - the system administrator is sent mail when the 'awk' program - finishes processing input and begins its end-of-input processing. - - Note that redirecting 'print' or 'printf' into a pipe is often - enough to accomplish your task. If you need to run many commands, - it is more efficient to simply print them down a pipeline to the - shell: - - while (MORE STUFF TO DO) - print COMMAND | "/bin/sh" - close("/bin/sh") - - However, if your 'awk' program is interactive, 'system()' is useful - for running large self-contained programs, such as a shell or an - editor. Some operating systems cannot implement the 'system()' - function. 'system()' causes a fatal error if it is not supported. - - NOTE: When '--sandbox' is specified, the 'system()' function - is disabled (*note Options::). - - On POSIX systems, a command's exit status is a 16-bit number. The - exit value passed to the C 'exit()' function is held in the - high-order eight bits. The low-order bits indicate if the process - was killed by a signal (bit 7) and if so, the guilty signal number - (bits 0-6). - - Traditionally, 'awk''s 'system()' function has simply returned the - exit status value divided by 256. In the normal case this gives - the exit status but in the case of death-by-signal it yields a - fractional floating-point value.(2) POSIX states that 'awk''s - 'system()' should return the full 16-bit value. - - 'gawk' steers a middle ground. The return values are summarized in - *note Table 9.5: table-system-return-values. - - Situation Return value from 'system()' - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - '--traditional' C 'system()''s value divided by 256 - '--posix' C 'system()''s value - Normal exit of command Command's exit status - Death by signal of command 256 + number of murderous signal - Death by signal of command 512 + number of murderous signal - with core dump - Some kind of error -1 - - Table 9.5: Return values from 'system()' - - Controlling Output Buffering with 'system()' - - The 'fflush()' function provides explicit control over output -buffering for individual files and pipes. However, its use is not -portable to many older 'awk' implementations. An alternative method to -flush output buffers is to call 'system()' with a null string as its -argument: - - system("") # flush output - -'gawk' treats this use of the 'system()' function as a special case and -is smart enough not to run a shell (or other command interpreter) with -the empty command. Therefore, with 'gawk', this idiom is not only -useful, it is also efficient. Although this method should work with -other 'awk' implementations, it does not necessarily avoid starting an -unnecessary shell. (Other implementations may only flush the buffer -associated with the standard output and not necessarily all buffered -output.) - - If you think about what a programmer expects, it makes sense that -'system()' should flush any pending output. The following program: - - BEGIN { - print "first print" - system("echo system echo") - print "second print" - } - -must print: - - first print - system echo - second print - -and not: - - system echo - first print - second print - - If 'awk' did not flush its buffers before calling 'system()', you -would see the latter (undesirable) output. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) A program is interactive if the standard output is connected to a -terminal device. On modern systems, this means your keyboard and -screen. - - (2) In private correspondence, Dr. Kernighan has indicated to me that -the way this was done was probably a mistake. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Time Functions, Next: Bitwise Functions, Prev: I/O Functions, Up: Built-in - -9.1.5 Time Functions --------------------- - -'awk' programs are commonly used to process log files containing -timestamp information, indicating when a particular log record was -written. Many programs log their timestamps in the form returned by the -'time()' system call, which is the number of seconds since a particular -epoch. On POSIX-compliant systems, it is the number of seconds since -1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC, not counting leap seconds.(1) All known -POSIX-compliant systems support timestamps from 0 through 2^31 - 1, -which is sufficient to represent times through 2038-01-19 03:14:07 UTC. -Many systems support a wider range of timestamps, including negative -timestamps that represent times before the epoch. - - In order to make it easier to process such log files and to produce -useful reports, 'gawk' provides the following functions for working with -timestamps. They are 'gawk' extensions; they are not specified in the -POSIX standard.(2) However, recent versions of 'mawk' (*note Other -Versions::) also support these functions. Optional parameters are -enclosed in square brackets ([ ]): - -'mktime(DATESPEC)' - Turn DATESPEC into a timestamp in the same form as is returned by - 'systime()'. It is similar to the function of the same name in ISO - C. The argument, DATESPEC, is a string of the form - '"YYYY MM DD HH MM SS [DST]"'. The string consists of six or seven - numbers representing, respectively, the full year including - century, the month from 1 to 12, the day of the month from 1 to 31, - the hour of the day from 0 to 23, the minute from 0 to 59, the - second from 0 to 60,(3) and an optional daylight-savings flag. - - The values of these numbers need not be within the ranges - specified; for example, an hour of -1 means 1 hour before midnight. - The origin-zero Gregorian calendar is assumed, with year 0 - preceding year 1 and year -1 preceding year 0. The time is assumed - to be in the local time zone. If the daylight-savings flag is - positive, the time is assumed to be daylight savings time; if zero, - the time is assumed to be standard time; and if negative (the - default), 'mktime()' attempts to determine whether daylight savings - time is in effect for the specified time. - - If DATESPEC does not contain enough elements or if the resulting - time is out of range, 'mktime()' returns -1. - -'strftime('[FORMAT [',' TIMESTAMP [',' UTC-FLAG] ] ]')' - Format the time specified by TIMESTAMP based on the contents of the - FORMAT string and return the result. It is similar to the function - of the same name in ISO C. If UTC-FLAG is present and is either - nonzero or non-null, the value is formatted as UTC (Coordinated - Universal Time, formerly GMT or Greenwich Mean Time). Otherwise, - the value is formatted for the local time zone. The TIMESTAMP is - in the same format as the value returned by the 'systime()' - function. If no TIMESTAMP argument is supplied, 'gawk' uses the - current time of day as the timestamp. Without a FORMAT argument, - 'strftime()' uses the value of 'PROCINFO["strftime"]' as the format - string (*note Built-in Variables::). The default string value is - '"%a %b %e %H:%M:%S %Z %Y"'. This format string produces output - that is equivalent to that of the 'date' utility. You can assign a - new value to 'PROCINFO["strftime"]' to change the default format; - see the following list for the various format directives. - -'systime()' - Return the current time as the number of seconds since the system - epoch. On POSIX systems, this is the number of seconds since - 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC, not counting leap seconds. It may be a - different number on other systems. - - The 'systime()' function allows you to compare a timestamp from a log -file with the current time of day. In particular, it is easy to -determine how long ago a particular record was logged. It also allows -you to produce log records using the "seconds since the epoch" format. - - The 'mktime()' function allows you to convert a textual -representation of a date and time into a timestamp. This makes it easy -to do before/after comparisons of dates and times, particularly when -dealing with date and time data coming from an external source, such as -a log file. - - The 'strftime()' function allows you to easily turn a timestamp into -human-readable information. It is similar in nature to the 'sprintf()' -function (*note String Functions::), in that it copies nonformat -specification characters verbatim to the returned string, while -substituting date and time values for format specifications in the -FORMAT string. - - 'strftime()' is guaranteed by the 1999 ISO C standard(4) to support -the following date format specifications: - -'%a' - The locale's abbreviated weekday name. - -'%A' - The locale's full weekday name. - -'%b' - The locale's abbreviated month name. - -'%B' - The locale's full month name. - -'%c' - The locale's "appropriate" date and time representation. (This is - '%A %B %d %T %Y' in the '"C"' locale.) - -'%C' - The century part of the current year. This is the year divided by - 100 and truncated to the next lower integer. - -'%d' - The day of the month as a decimal number (01-31). - -'%D' - Equivalent to specifying '%m/%d/%y'. - -'%e' - The day of the month, padded with a space if it is only one digit. - -'%F' - Equivalent to specifying '%Y-%m-%d'. This is the ISO 8601 date - format. - -'%g' - The year modulo 100 of the ISO 8601 week number, as a decimal - number (00-99). For example, January 1, 2012, is in week 53 of - 2011. Thus, the year of its ISO 8601 week number is 2011, even - though its year is 2012. Similarly, December 31, 2012, is in week - 1 of 2013. Thus, the year of its ISO week number is 2013, even - though its year is 2012. - -'%G' - The full year of the ISO week number, as a decimal number. - -'%h' - Equivalent to '%b'. - -'%H' - The hour (24-hour clock) as a decimal number (00-23). - -'%I' - The hour (12-hour clock) as a decimal number (01-12). - -'%j' - The day of the year as a decimal number (001-366). - -'%m' - The month as a decimal number (01-12). - -'%M' - The minute as a decimal number (00-59). - -'%n' - A newline character (ASCII LF). - -'%p' - The locale's equivalent of the AM/PM designations associated with a - 12-hour clock. - -'%r' - The locale's 12-hour clock time. (This is '%I:%M:%S %p' in the - '"C"' locale.) - -'%R' - Equivalent to specifying '%H:%M'. - -'%S' - The second as a decimal number (00-60). - -'%t' - A TAB character. - -'%T' - Equivalent to specifying '%H:%M:%S'. - -'%u' - The weekday as a decimal number (1-7). Monday is day one. - -'%U' - The week number of the year (with the first Sunday as the first day - of week one) as a decimal number (00-53). - -'%V' - The week number of the year (with the first Monday as the first day - of week one) as a decimal number (01-53). The method for - determining the week number is as specified by ISO 8601. (To wit: - if the week containing January 1 has four or more days in the new - year, then it is week one; otherwise it is the last week [52 or 53] - of the previous year and the next week is week one.) - -'%w' - The weekday as a decimal number (0-6). Sunday is day zero. - -'%W' - The week number of the year (with the first Monday as the first day - of week one) as a decimal number (00-53). - -'%x' - The locale's "appropriate" date representation. (This is '%A %B %d - %Y' in the '"C"' locale.) - -'%X' - The locale's "appropriate" time representation. (This is '%T' in - the '"C"' locale.) - -'%y' - The year modulo 100 as a decimal number (00-99). - -'%Y' - The full year as a decimal number (e.g., 2015). - -'%z' - The time zone offset in a '+HHMM' format (e.g., the format - necessary to produce RFC 822/RFC 1036 date headers). - -'%Z' - The time zone name or abbreviation; no characters if no time zone - is determinable. - -'%Ec %EC %Ex %EX %Ey %EY %Od %Oe %OH' -'%OI %Om %OM %OS %Ou %OU %OV %Ow %OW %Oy' - "Alternative representations" for the specifications that use only - the second letter ('%c', '%C', and so on).(5) (These facilitate - compliance with the POSIX 'date' utility.) - -'%%' - A literal '%'. - - If a conversion specifier is not one of those just listed, the -behavior is undefined.(6) - - For systems that are not yet fully standards-compliant, 'gawk' -supplies a copy of 'strftime()' from the GNU C Library. It supports all -of the just-listed format specifications. If that version is used to -compile 'gawk' (*note Installation::), then the following additional -format specifications are available: - -'%k' - The hour (24-hour clock) as a decimal number (0-23). Single-digit - numbers are padded with a space. - -'%l' - The hour (12-hour clock) as a decimal number (1-12). Single-digit - numbers are padded with a space. - -'%s' - The time as a decimal timestamp in seconds since the epoch. - - Additionally, the alternative representations are recognized but -their normal representations are used. - - The following example is an 'awk' implementation of the POSIX 'date' -utility. Normally, the 'date' utility prints the current date and time -of day in a well-known format. However, if you provide an argument to -it that begins with a '+', 'date' copies nonformat specifier characters -to the standard output and interprets the current time according to the -format specifiers in the string. For example: - - $ date '+Today is %A, %B %d, %Y.' - -| Today is Monday, September 22, 2014. - - Here is the 'gawk' version of the 'date' utility. It has a shell -"wrapper" to handle the '-u' option, which requires that 'date' run as -if the time zone is set to UTC: - - #! /bin/sh - # - # date --- approximate the POSIX 'date' command - - case $1 in - -u) TZ=UTC0 # use UTC - export TZ - shift ;; - esac - - gawk 'BEGIN { - format = PROCINFO["strftime"] - exitval = 0 - - if (ARGC > 2) - exitval = 1 - else if (ARGC == 2) { - format = ARGV[1] - if (format ~ /^\+/) - format = substr(format, 2) # remove leading + - } - print strftime(format) - exit exitval - }' "$@" - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) *Note Glossary::, especially the entries "Epoch" and "UTC." - - (2) The GNU 'date' utility can also do many of the things described -here. Its use may be preferable for simple time-related operations in -shell scripts. - - (3) Occasionally there are minutes in a year with a leap second, -which is why the seconds can go up to 60. - - (4) Unfortunately, not every system's 'strftime()' necessarily -supports all of the conversions listed here. - - (5) If you don't understand any of this, don't worry about it; these -facilities are meant to make it easier to "internationalize" programs. -Other internationalization features are described in *note -Internationalization::. - - (6) This is because ISO C leaves the behavior of the C version of -'strftime()' undefined and 'gawk' uses the system's version of -'strftime()' if it's there. Typically, the conversion specifier either -does not appear in the returned string or appears literally. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Bitwise Functions, Next: Type Functions, Prev: Time Functions, Up: Built-in - -9.1.6 Bit-Manipulation Functions --------------------------------- - - I can explain it for you, but I can't understand it for you. - -- _Anonymous_ - - Many languages provide the ability to perform "bitwise" operations on -two integer numbers. In other words, the operation is performed on each -successive pair of bits in the operands. Three common operations are -bitwise AND, OR, and XOR. The operations are described in *note Table -9.6: table-bitwise-ops. - - Bit operator - | AND | OR | XOR - |--+--+--+--+--+-- - Operands | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 - -------+--+--+--+--+--+-- - 0 | 0 0 | 0 1 | 0 1 - 1 | 0 1 | 1 1 | 1 0 - -Table 9.6: Bitwise operations - - As you can see, the result of an AND operation is 1 only when _both_ -bits are 1. The result of an OR operation is 1 if _either_ bit is 1. -The result of an XOR operation is 1 if either bit is 1, but not both. -The next operation is the "complement"; the complement of 1 is 0 and the -complement of 0 is 1. Thus, this operation "flips" all the bits of a -given value. - - Finally, two other common operations are to shift the bits left or -right. For example, if you have a bit string '10111001' and you shift -it right by three bits, you end up with '00010111'.(1) If you start -over again with '10111001' and shift it left by three bits, you end up -with '11001000'. The following list describes 'gawk''s built-in -functions that implement the bitwise operations. Optional parameters -are enclosed in square brackets ([ ]): - -'and(V1, V2 [, ...])' - Return the bitwise AND of the arguments. There must be at least - two. - -'compl(VAL)' - Return the bitwise complement of VAL. - -'lshift(VAL, COUNT)' - Return the value of VAL, shifted left by COUNT bits. - -'or(V1, V2 [, ...])' - Return the bitwise OR of the arguments. There must be at least - two. - -'rshift(VAL, COUNT)' - Return the value of VAL, shifted right by COUNT bits. - -'xor(V1, V2 [, ...])' - Return the bitwise XOR of the arguments. There must be at least - two. - - CAUTION: Beginning with 'gawk' 4.1 4.2, negative operands are not - allowed for any of these functions. A negative operand produces a - fatal error. See the sidebar "Beware The Smoke and Mirrors!" for - more information as to why. - - Here is a user-defined function (*note User-defined::) that -illustrates the use of these functions: - - # bits2str --- turn a byte into readable ones and zeros - - function bits2str(bits, data, mask) - { - if (bits == 0) - return "0" - - mask = 1 - for (; bits != 0; bits = rshift(bits, 1)) - data = (and(bits, mask) ? "1" : "0") data - - while ((length(data) % 8) != 0) - data = "0" data - - return data - } - - BEGIN { - printf "123 = %s\n", bits2str(123) - printf "0123 = %s\n", bits2str(0123) - printf "0x99 = %s\n", bits2str(0x99) - comp = compl(0x99) - printf "compl(0x99) = %#x = %s\n", comp, bits2str(comp) - shift = lshift(0x99, 2) - printf "lshift(0x99, 2) = %#x = %s\n", shift, bits2str(shift) - shift = rshift(0x99, 2) - printf "rshift(0x99, 2) = %#x = %s\n", shift, bits2str(shift) - } - -This program produces the following output when run: - - $ gawk -f testbits.awk - -| 123 = 01111011 - -| 0123 = 01010011 - -| 0x99 = 10011001 - -| compl(0x99) = 0x3fffffffffff66 = 00111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111101100110 - -| lshift(0x99, 2) = 0x264 = 0000001001100100 - -| rshift(0x99, 2) = 0x26 = 00100110 - - The 'bits2str()' function turns a binary number into a string. -Initializing 'mask' to one creates a binary value where the rightmost -bit is set to one. Using this mask, the function repeatedly checks the -rightmost bit. ANDing the mask with the value indicates whether the -rightmost bit is one or not. If so, a '"1"' is concatenated onto the -front of the string. Otherwise, a '"0"' is added. The value is then -shifted right by one bit and the loop continues until there are no more -one bits. - - If the initial value is zero, it returns a simple '"0"'. Otherwise, -at the end, it pads the value with zeros to represent multiples of 8-bit -quantities. This is typical in modern computers. - - The main code in the 'BEGIN' rule shows the difference between the -decimal and octal values for the same numbers (*note -Nondecimal-numbers::), and then demonstrates the results of the -'compl()', 'lshift()', and 'rshift()' functions. - - Beware The Smoke and Mirrors! - - It other languages, bitwise operations are performed on integer -values, not floating-point values. As a general statement, such -operations work best when performed on unsigned integers. - - 'gawk' attempts to treat the arguments to the bitwise functions as -unsigned integers. For this reason, negative arguments produce a fatal -error. - - In normal operation, for all of these functions, first the -double-precision floating-point value is converted to the widest C -unsigned integer type, then the bitwise operation is performed. If the -result cannot be represented exactly as a C 'double', leading nonzero -bits are removed one by one until it can be represented exactly. The -result is then converted back into a C 'double'.(2) - - However, when using arbitrary precision arithmetic with the '-M' -option (*note Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic::), the results may differ. -This is particularly noticable with the 'compl()' function: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { print compl(42) }' - -| 9007199254740949 - $ gawk -M 'BEGIN { print compl(42) }' - -| -43 - - What's going on becomes clear when printing the results in -hexadecimal: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { printf "%#x\n", compl(42) }' - -| 0x1fffffffffffd5 - $ gawk -M 'BEGIN { printf "%#x\n", compl(42) }' - -| 0xffffffffffffffd5 - - When using the '-M' option, under the hood, 'gawk' uses GNU MP -arbitrary precision integers which have at least 64 bits of precision. -When not using '-M', 'gawk' stores integral values in regular -double-precision floating point, which only maintain 53 bits of -precision. Furthermore, the GNU MP library treats (or least seems to -treat) the leading bit as a sign bit; thus the result with '-M' in this -case is a negative number. - - In short, using 'gawk' for any but the simplest kind of bitwise -operations is probably a bad idea; caveat emptor! - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This example shows that zeros come in on the left side. For -'gawk', this is always true, but in some languages, it's possible to -have the left side fill with ones. - - (2) If you don't understand this paragraph, the upshot is that 'gawk' -can only store a particular range of integer values; numbers outside -that range are reduced to fit within the range. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Type Functions, Next: I18N Functions, Prev: Bitwise Functions, Up: Built-in - -9.1.7 Getting Type Information ------------------------------- - -'gawk' provides two functions that lets you distinguish the type of a -variable. This is necessary for writing code that traverses every -element of an array of arrays (*note Arrays of Arrays::), and in other -contexts. - -'isarray(X)' - Return a true value if X is an array. Otherwise, return false. - -'typeof(X)' - Return one of the following strings, depending upon the type of X: - - '"array"' - X is an array. - - '"number"' - X is a number. - - '"string"' - X is a string. - - '"strnum"' - X is a string that might be a number, such as a field or the - result of calling 'split()'. (I.e., X has the STRNUM - attribute; *note Variable Typing::.) - - '"unassigned"' - X is a scalar variable that has not been assigned a value yet. - For example: - - BEGIN { - a[1] # creates a[1] but it has no assigned value - print typeof(a[1]) # scalar_u - } - - '"untyped"' - X has not yet been used yet at all; it can become a scalar or - an array. For example: - - BEGIN { - print typeof(x) # x never used --> untyped - mk_arr(x) - print typeof(x) # x now an array --> array - } - - function mk_arr(a) { a[1] = 1 } - - 'isarray()' is meant for use in two circumstances. The first is when -traversing a multidimensional array: you can test if an element is -itself an array or not. The second is inside the body of a user-defined -function (not discussed yet; *note User-defined::), to test if a -parameter is an array or not. - - NOTE: Using 'isarray()' at the global level to test variables makes - no sense. Because you are the one writing the program, you are - supposed to know if your variables are arrays or not. And in fact, - due to the way 'gawk' works, if you pass the name of a variable - that has not been previously used to 'isarray()', 'gawk' ends up - turning it into a scalar. - - The 'typeof()' function is general; it allows you to determine if a -variable or function parameter is a scalar, an array. - - 'isarray()' is deprecated; you should use 'typeof()' instead. You -should replace any existing uses of 'isarray(var)' in your code with -'typeof(var) == "array"'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: I18N Functions, Prev: Type Functions, Up: Built-in - -9.1.8 String-Translation Functions ----------------------------------- - -'gawk' provides facilities for internationalizing 'awk' programs. These -include the functions described in the following list. The descriptions -here are purposely brief. *Note Internationalization::, for the full -story. Optional parameters are enclosed in square brackets ([ ]): - -'bindtextdomain(DIRECTORY' [',' DOMAIN]')' - Set the directory in which 'gawk' will look for message translation - files, in case they will not or cannot be placed in the "standard" - locations (e.g., during testing). It returns the directory in - which DOMAIN is "bound." - - The default DOMAIN is the value of 'TEXTDOMAIN'. If DIRECTORY is - the null string ('""'), then 'bindtextdomain()' returns the current - binding for the given DOMAIN. - -'dcgettext(STRING' [',' DOMAIN [',' CATEGORY] ]')' - Return the translation of STRING in text domain DOMAIN for locale - category CATEGORY. The default value for DOMAIN is the current - value of 'TEXTDOMAIN'. The default value for CATEGORY is - '"LC_MESSAGES"'. - -'dcngettext(STRING1, STRING2, NUMBER' [',' DOMAIN [',' CATEGORY] ]')' - Return the plural form used for NUMBER of the translation of - STRING1 and STRING2 in text domain DOMAIN for locale category - CATEGORY. STRING1 is the English singular variant of a message, - and STRING2 is the English plural variant of the same message. The - default value for DOMAIN is the current value of 'TEXTDOMAIN'. The - default value for CATEGORY is '"LC_MESSAGES"'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: User-defined, Next: Indirect Calls, Prev: Built-in, Up: Functions - -9.2 User-Defined Functions -========================== - -Complicated 'awk' programs can often be simplified by defining your own -functions. User-defined functions can be called just like built-in ones -(*note Function Calls::), but it is up to you to define them (i.e., to -tell 'awk' what they should do). - -* Menu: - -* Definition Syntax:: How to write definitions and what they mean. -* Function Example:: An example function definition and what it - does. -* Function Caveats:: Things to watch out for. -* Return Statement:: Specifying the value a function returns. -* Dynamic Typing:: How variable types can change at runtime. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Definition Syntax, Next: Function Example, Up: User-defined - -9.2.1 Function Definition Syntax --------------------------------- - - It's entirely fair to say that the awk syntax for local variable - definitions is appallingly awful. - -- _Brian Kernighan_ - - Definitions of functions can appear anywhere between the rules of an -'awk' program. Thus, the general form of an 'awk' program is extended -to include sequences of rules _and_ user-defined function definitions. -There is no need to put the definition of a function before all uses of -the function. This is because 'awk' reads the entire program before -starting to execute any of it. - - The definition of a function named NAME looks like this: - - 'function' NAME'('[PARAMETER-LIST]')' - '{' - BODY-OF-FUNCTION - '}' - -Here, NAME is the name of the function to define. A valid function name -is like a valid variable name: a sequence of letters, digits, and -underscores that doesn't start with a digit. Here too, only the 52 -upper- and lowercase English letters may be used in a function name. -Within a single 'awk' program, any particular name can only be used as a -variable, array, or function. - - PARAMETER-LIST is an optional list of the function's arguments and -local variable names, separated by commas. When the function is called, -the argument names are used to hold the argument values given in the -call. - - A function cannot have two parameters with the same name, nor may it -have a parameter with the same name as the function itself. - - CAUTION: According to the POSIX standard, function parameters - cannot have the same name as one of the special predefined - variables (*note Built-in Variables::), nor may a function - parameter have the same name as another function. - - Not all versions of 'awk' enforce these restrictions. 'gawk' - always enforces the first restriction. With '--posix' (*note - Options::), it also enforces the second restriction. - - Local variables act like the empty string if referenced where a -string value is required, and like zero if referenced where a numeric -value is required. This is the same as the behavior of regular -variables that have never been assigned a value. (There is more to -understand about local variables; *note Dynamic Typing::.) - - The BODY-OF-FUNCTION consists of 'awk' statements. It is the most -important part of the definition, because it says what the function -should actually _do_. The argument names exist to give the body a way -to talk about the arguments; local variables exist to give the body -places to keep temporary values. - - Argument names are not distinguished syntactically from local -variable names. Instead, the number of arguments supplied when the -function is called determines how many argument variables there are. -Thus, if three argument values are given, the first three names in -PARAMETER-LIST are arguments and the rest are local variables. - - It follows that if the number of arguments is not the same in all -calls to the function, some of the names in PARAMETER-LIST may be -arguments on some occasions and local variables on others. Another way -to think of this is that omitted arguments default to the null string. - - Usually when you write a function, you know how many names you intend -to use for arguments and how many you intend to use as local variables. -It is conventional to place some extra space between the arguments and -the local variables, in order to document how your function is supposed -to be used. - - During execution of the function body, the arguments and local -variable values hide, or "shadow", any variables of the same names used -in the rest of the program. The shadowed variables are not accessible -in the function definition, because there is no way to name them while -their names have been taken away for the arguments and local variables. -All other variables used in the 'awk' program can be referenced or set -normally in the function's body. - - The arguments and local variables last only as long as the function -body is executing. Once the body finishes, you can once again access -the variables that were shadowed while the function was running. - - The function body can contain expressions that call functions. They -can even call this function, either directly or by way of another -function. When this happens, we say the function is "recursive". The -act of a function calling itself is called "recursion". - - All the built-in functions return a value to their caller. -User-defined functions can do so also, using the 'return' statement, -which is described in detail in *note Return Statement::. Many of the -subsequent examples in this minor node use the 'return' statement. - - In many 'awk' implementations, including 'gawk', the keyword -'function' may be abbreviated 'func'. (c.e.) However, POSIX only -specifies the use of the keyword 'function'. This actually has some -practical implications. If 'gawk' is in POSIX-compatibility mode (*note -Options::), then the following statement does _not_ define a function: - - func foo() { a = sqrt($1) ; print a } - -Instead, it defines a rule that, for each record, concatenates the value -of the variable 'func' with the return value of the function 'foo'. If -the resulting string is non-null, the action is executed. This is -probably not what is desired. ('awk' accepts this input as -syntactically valid, because functions may be used before they are -defined in 'awk' programs.(1)) - - To ensure that your 'awk' programs are portable, always use the -keyword 'function' when defining a function. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This program won't actually run, because 'foo()' is undefined. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Function Example, Next: Function Caveats, Prev: Definition Syntax, Up: User-defined - -9.2.2 Function Definition Examples ----------------------------------- - -Here is an example of a user-defined function, called 'myprint()', that -takes a number and prints it in a specific format: - - function myprint(num) - { - printf "%6.3g\n", num - } - -To illustrate, here is an 'awk' rule that uses our 'myprint()' function: - - $3 > 0 { myprint($3) } - -This program prints, in our special format, all the third fields that -contain a positive number in our input. Therefore, when given the -following input: - - 1.2 3.4 5.6 7.8 - 9.10 11.12 -13.14 15.16 - 17.18 19.20 21.22 23.24 - -this program, using our function to format the results, prints: - - 5.6 - 21.2 - - This function deletes all the elements in an array (recall that the -extra whitespace signifies the start of the local variable list): - - function delarray(a, i) - { - for (i in a) - delete a[i] - } - - When working with arrays, it is often necessary to delete all the -elements in an array and start over with a new list of elements (*note -Delete::). Instead of having to repeat this loop everywhere that you -need to clear out an array, your program can just call 'delarray()'. -(This guarantees portability. The use of 'delete ARRAY' to delete the -contents of an entire array is a relatively recent(1) addition to the -POSIX standard.) - - The following is an example of a recursive function. It takes a -string as an input parameter and returns the string in reverse order. -Recursive functions must always have a test that stops the recursion. -In this case, the recursion terminates when the input string is already -empty: - - function rev(str) - { - if (str == "") - return "" - - return (rev(substr(str, 2)) substr(str, 1, 1)) - } - - If this function is in a file named 'rev.awk', it can be tested this -way: - - $ echo "Don't Panic!" | - > gawk -e '{ print rev($0) }' -f rev.awk - -| !cinaP t'noD - - The C 'ctime()' function takes a timestamp and returns it as a -string, formatted in a well-known fashion. The following example uses -the built-in 'strftime()' function (*note Time Functions::) to create an -'awk' version of 'ctime()': - - # ctime.awk - # - # awk version of C ctime(3) function - - function ctime(ts, format) - { - format = "%a %b %e %H:%M:%S %Z %Y" - - if (ts == 0) - ts = systime() # use current time as default - return strftime(format, ts) - } - - You might think that 'ctime()' could use 'PROCINFO["strftime"]' for -its format string. That would be a mistake, because 'ctime()' is -supposed to return the time formatted in a standard fashion, and -user-level code could have changed 'PROCINFO["strftime"]'. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Late in 2012. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Function Caveats, Next: Return Statement, Prev: Function Example, Up: User-defined - -9.2.3 Calling User-Defined Functions ------------------------------------- - -"Calling a function" means causing the function to run and do its job. -A function call is an expression and its value is the value returned by -the function. - -* Menu: - -* Calling A Function:: Don't use spaces. -* Variable Scope:: Controlling variable scope. -* Pass By Value/Reference:: Passing parameters. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Calling A Function, Next: Variable Scope, Up: Function Caveats - -9.2.3.1 Writing a Function Call -............................... - -A function call consists of the function name followed by the arguments -in parentheses. 'awk' expressions are what you write in the call for -the arguments. Each time the call is executed, these expressions are -evaluated, and the values become the actual arguments. For example, -here is a call to 'foo()' with three arguments (the first being a string -concatenation): - - foo(x y, "lose", 4 * z) - - CAUTION: Whitespace characters (spaces and TABs) are not allowed - between the function name and the opening parenthesis of the - argument list. If you write whitespace by mistake, 'awk' might - think that you mean to concatenate a variable with an expression in - parentheses. However, it notices that you used a function name and - not a variable name, and reports an error. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Variable Scope, Next: Pass By Value/Reference, Prev: Calling A Function, Up: Function Caveats - -9.2.3.2 Controlling Variable Scope -.................................. - -Unlike in many languages, there is no way to make a variable local to a -'{' ... '}' block in 'awk', but you can make a variable local to a -function. It is good practice to do so whenever a variable is needed -only in that function. - - To make a variable local to a function, simply declare the variable -as an argument after the actual function arguments (*note Definition -Syntax::). Look at the following example, where variable 'i' is a -global variable used by both functions 'foo()' and 'bar()': - - function bar() - { - for (i = 0; i < 3; i++) - print "bar's i=" i - } - - function foo(j) - { - i = j + 1 - print "foo's i=" i - bar() - print "foo's i=" i - } - - BEGIN { - i = 10 - print "top's i=" i - foo(0) - print "top's i=" i - } - - Running this script produces the following, because the 'i' in -functions 'foo()' and 'bar()' and at the top level refer to the same -variable instance: - - top's i=10 - foo's i=1 - bar's i=0 - bar's i=1 - bar's i=2 - foo's i=3 - top's i=3 - - If you want 'i' to be local to both 'foo()' and 'bar()', do as -follows (the extra space before 'i' is a coding convention to indicate -that 'i' is a local variable, not an argument): - - function bar( i) - { - for (i = 0; i < 3; i++) - print "bar's i=" i - } - - function foo(j, i) - { - i = j + 1 - print "foo's i=" i - bar() - print "foo's i=" i - } - - BEGIN { - i = 10 - print "top's i=" i - foo(0) - print "top's i=" i - } - - Running the corrected script produces the following: - - top's i=10 - foo's i=1 - bar's i=0 - bar's i=1 - bar's i=2 - foo's i=1 - top's i=10 - - Besides scalar values (strings and numbers), you may also have local -arrays. By using a parameter name as an array, 'awk' treats it as an -array, and it is local to the function. In addition, recursive calls -create new arrays. Consider this example: - - function some_func(p1, a) - { - if (p1++ > 3) - return - - a[p1] = p1 - - some_func(p1) - - printf("At level %d, index %d %s found in a\n", - p1, (p1 - 1), (p1 - 1) in a ? "is" : "is not") - printf("At level %d, index %d %s found in a\n", - p1, p1, p1 in a ? "is" : "is not") - print "" - } - - BEGIN { - some_func(1) - } - - When run, this program produces the following output: - - At level 4, index 3 is not found in a - At level 4, index 4 is found in a - - At level 3, index 2 is not found in a - At level 3, index 3 is found in a - - At level 2, index 1 is not found in a - At level 2, index 2 is found in a - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Pass By Value/Reference, Prev: Variable Scope, Up: Function Caveats - -9.2.3.3 Passing Function Arguments by Value Or by Reference -........................................................... - -In 'awk', when you declare a function, there is no way to declare -explicitly whether the arguments are passed "by value" or "by -reference". - - Instead, the passing convention is determined at runtime when the -function is called, according to the following rule: if the argument is -an array variable, then it is passed by reference. Otherwise, the -argument is passed by value. - - Passing an argument by value means that when a function is called, it -is given a _copy_ of the value of this argument. The caller may use a -variable as the expression for the argument, but the called function -does not know this--it only knows what value the argument had. For -example, if you write the following code: - - foo = "bar" - z = myfunc(foo) - -then you should not think of the argument to 'myfunc()' as being "the -variable 'foo'." Instead, think of the argument as the string value -'"bar"'. If the function 'myfunc()' alters the values of its local -variables, this has no effect on any other variables. Thus, if -'myfunc()' does this: - - function myfunc(str) - { - print str - str = "zzz" - print str - } - -to change its first argument variable 'str', it does _not_ change the -value of 'foo' in the caller. The role of 'foo' in calling 'myfunc()' -ended when its value ('"bar"') was computed. If 'str' also exists -outside of 'myfunc()', the function body cannot alter this outer value, -because it is shadowed during the execution of 'myfunc()' and cannot be -seen or changed from there. - - However, when arrays are the parameters to functions, they are _not_ -copied. Instead, the array itself is made available for direct -manipulation by the function. This is usually termed "call by -reference". Changes made to an array parameter inside the body of a -function _are_ visible outside that function. - - NOTE: Changing an array parameter inside a function can be very - dangerous if you do not watch what you are doing. For example: - - function changeit(array, ind, nvalue) - { - array[ind] = nvalue - } - - BEGIN { - a[1] = 1; a[2] = 2; a[3] = 3 - changeit(a, 2, "two") - printf "a[1] = %s, a[2] = %s, a[3] = %s\n", - a[1], a[2], a[3] - } - - prints 'a[1] = 1, a[2] = two, a[3] = 3', because 'changeit()' - stores '"two"' in the second element of 'a'. - - Some 'awk' implementations allow you to call a function that has not -been defined. They only report a problem at runtime, when the program -actually tries to call the function. For example: - - BEGIN { - if (0) - foo() - else - bar() - } - function bar() { ... } - # note that `foo' is not defined - -Because the 'if' statement will never be true, it is not really a -problem that 'foo()' has not been defined. Usually, though, it is a -problem if a program calls an undefined function. - - If '--lint' is specified (*note Options::), 'gawk' reports calls to -undefined functions. - - Some 'awk' implementations generate a runtime error if you use either -the 'next' statement or the 'nextfile' statement (*note Next -Statement::, and *note Nextfile Statement::) inside a user-defined -function. 'gawk' does not have this limitation. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Return Statement, Next: Dynamic Typing, Prev: Function Caveats, Up: User-defined - -9.2.4 The 'return' Statement ----------------------------- - -As seen in several earlier examples, the body of a user-defined function -can contain a 'return' statement. This statement returns control to the -calling part of the 'awk' program. It can also be used to return a -value for use in the rest of the 'awk' program. It looks like this: - - 'return' [EXPRESSION] - - The EXPRESSION part is optional. Due most likely to an oversight, -POSIX does not define what the return value is if you omit the -EXPRESSION. Technically speaking, this makes the returned value -undefined, and therefore, unpredictable. In practice, though, all -versions of 'awk' simply return the null string, which acts like zero if -used in a numeric context. - - A 'return' statement without an EXPRESSION is assumed at the end of -every function definition. So, if control reaches the end of the -function body, then technically the function returns an unpredictable -value. In practice, it returns the empty string. 'awk' does _not_ warn -you if you use the return value of such a function. - - Sometimes, you want to write a function for what it does, not for -what it returns. Such a function corresponds to a 'void' function in C, -C++, or Java, or to a 'procedure' in Ada. Thus, it may be appropriate -to not return any value; simply bear in mind that you should not be -using the return value of such a function. - - The following is an example of a user-defined function that returns a -value for the largest number among the elements of an array: - - function maxelt(vec, i, ret) - { - for (i in vec) { - if (ret == "" || vec[i] > ret) - ret = vec[i] - } - return ret - } - -You call 'maxelt()' with one argument, which is an array name. The -local variables 'i' and 'ret' are not intended to be arguments; there is -nothing to stop you from passing more than one argument to 'maxelt()' -but the results would be strange. The extra space before 'i' in the -function parameter list indicates that 'i' and 'ret' are local -variables. You should follow this convention when defining functions. - - The following program uses the 'maxelt()' function. It loads an -array, calls 'maxelt()', and then reports the maximum number in that -array: - - function maxelt(vec, i, ret) - { - for (i in vec) { - if (ret == "" || vec[i] > ret) - ret = vec[i] - } - return ret - } - - # Load all fields of each record into nums. - { - for(i = 1; i <= NF; i++) - nums[NR, i] = $i - } - - END { - print maxelt(nums) - } - - Given the following input: - - 1 5 23 8 16 - 44 3 5 2 8 26 - 256 291 1396 2962 100 - -6 467 998 1101 - 99385 11 0 225 - -the program reports (predictably) that 99,385 is the largest value in -the array. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Dynamic Typing, Prev: Return Statement, Up: User-defined - -9.2.5 Functions and Their Effects on Variable Typing ----------------------------------------------------- - -'awk' is a very fluid language. It is possible that 'awk' can't tell if -an identifier represents a scalar variable or an array until runtime. -Here is an annotated sample program: - - function foo(a) - { - a[1] = 1 # parameter is an array - } - - BEGIN { - b = 1 - foo(b) # invalid: fatal type mismatch - - foo(x) # x uninitialized, becomes an array dynamically - x = 1 # now not allowed, runtime error - } - - In this example, the first call to 'foo()' generates a fatal error, -so 'awk' will not report the second error. If you comment out that -call, though, then 'awk' does report the second error. - - Usually, such things aren't a big issue, but it's worth being aware -of them. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Indirect Calls, Next: Functions Summary, Prev: User-defined, Up: Functions - -9.3 Indirect Function Calls -=========================== - -This section describes an advanced, 'gawk'-specific extension. - - Often, you may wish to defer the choice of function to call until -runtime. For example, you may have different kinds of records, each of -which should be processed differently. - - Normally, you would have to use a series of 'if'-'else' statements to -decide which function to call. By using "indirect" function calls, you -can specify the name of the function to call as a string variable, and -then call the function. Let's look at an example. - - Suppose you have a file with your test scores for the classes you are -taking, and you wish to get the sum and the average of your test scores. -The first field is the class name. The following fields are the -functions to call to process the data, up to a "marker" field 'data:'. -Following the marker, to the end of the record, are the various numeric -test scores. - - Here is the initial file: - - Biology_101 sum average data: 87.0 92.4 78.5 94.9 - Chemistry_305 sum average data: 75.2 98.3 94.7 88.2 - English_401 sum average data: 100.0 95.6 87.1 93.4 - - To process the data, you might write initially: - - { - class = $1 - for (i = 2; $i != "data:"; i++) { - if ($i == "sum") - sum() # processes the whole record - else if ($i == "average") - average() - ... # and so on - } - } - -This style of programming works, but can be awkward. With "indirect" -function calls, you tell 'gawk' to use the _value_ of a variable as the -_name_ of the function to call. - - The syntax is similar to that of a regular function call: an -identifier immediately followed by an opening parenthesis, any -arguments, and then a closing parenthesis, with the addition of a -leading '@' character: - - the_func = "sum" - result = @the_func() # calls the sum() function - - Here is a full program that processes the previously shown data, -using indirect function calls: - - # indirectcall.awk --- Demonstrate indirect function calls - - # average --- return the average of the values in fields $first - $last - - function average(first, last, sum, i) - { - sum = 0; - for (i = first; i <= last; i++) - sum += $i - - return sum / (last - first + 1) - } - - # sum --- return the sum of the values in fields $first - $last - - function sum(first, last, ret, i) - { - ret = 0; - for (i = first; i <= last; i++) - ret += $i - - return ret - } - - These two functions expect to work on fields; thus, the parameters -'first' and 'last' indicate where in the fields to start and end. -Otherwise, they perform the expected computations and are not unusual: - - # For each record, print the class name and the requested statistics - { - class_name = $1 - gsub(/_/, " ", class_name) # Replace _ with spaces - - # find start - for (i = 1; i <= NF; i++) { - if ($i == "data:") { - start = i + 1 - break - } - } - - printf("%s:\n", class_name) - for (i = 2; $i != "data:"; i++) { - the_function = $i - printf("\t%s: <%s>\n", $i, @the_function(start, NF) "") - } - print "" - } - - This is the main processing for each record. It prints the class -name (with underscores replaced with spaces). It then finds the start -of the actual data, saving it in 'start'. The last part of the code -loops through each function name (from '$2' up to the marker, 'data:'), -calling the function named by the field. The indirect function call -itself occurs as a parameter in the call to 'printf'. (The 'printf' -format string uses '%s' as the format specifier so that we can use -functions that return strings, as well as numbers. Note that the result -from the indirect call is concatenated with the empty string, in order -to force it to be a string value.) - - Here is the result of running the program: - - $ gawk -f indirectcall.awk class_data1 - -| Biology 101: - -| sum: <352.8> - -| average: <88.2> - -| - -| Chemistry 305: - -| sum: <356.4> - -| average: <89.1> - -| - -| English 401: - -| sum: <376.1> - -| average: <94.025> - - The ability to use indirect function calls is more powerful than you -may think at first. The C and C++ languages provide "function -pointers," which are a mechanism for calling a function chosen at -runtime. One of the most well-known uses of this ability is the C -'qsort()' function, which sorts an array using the famous "quicksort" -algorithm (see the Wikipedia article -(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quicksort) for more information). To use -this function, you supply a pointer to a comparison function. This -mechanism allows you to sort arbitrary data in an arbitrary fashion. - - We can do something similar using 'gawk', like this: - - # quicksort.awk --- Quicksort algorithm, with user-supplied - # comparison function - - # quicksort --- C.A.R. Hoare's quicksort algorithm. See Wikipedia - # or almost any algorithms or computer science text. - - function quicksort(data, left, right, less_than, i, last) - { - if (left >= right) # do nothing if array contains fewer - return # than two elements - - quicksort_swap(data, left, int((left + right) / 2)) - last = left - for (i = left + 1; i <= right; i++) - if (@less_than(data[i], data[left])) - quicksort_swap(data, ++last, i) - quicksort_swap(data, left, last) - quicksort(data, left, last - 1, less_than) - quicksort(data, last + 1, right, less_than) - } - - # quicksort_swap --- helper function for quicksort, should really be inline - - function quicksort_swap(data, i, j, temp) - { - temp = data[i] - data[i] = data[j] - data[j] = temp - } - - The 'quicksort()' function receives the 'data' array, the starting -and ending indices to sort ('left' and 'right'), and the name of a -function that performs a "less than" comparison. It then implements the -quicksort algorithm. - - To make use of the sorting function, we return to our previous -example. The first thing to do is write some comparison functions: - - # num_lt --- do a numeric less than comparison - - function num_lt(left, right) - { - return ((left + 0) < (right + 0)) - } - - # num_ge --- do a numeric greater than or equal to comparison - - function num_ge(left, right) - { - return ((left + 0) >= (right + 0)) - } - - The 'num_ge()' function is needed to perform a descending sort; when -used to perform a "less than" test, it actually does the opposite -(greater than or equal to), which yields data sorted in descending -order. - - Next comes a sorting function. It is parameterized with the starting -and ending field numbers and the comparison function. It builds an -array with the data and calls 'quicksort()' appropriately, and then -formats the results as a single string: - - # do_sort --- sort the data according to `compare' - # and return it as a string - - function do_sort(first, last, compare, data, i, retval) - { - delete data - for (i = 1; first <= last; first++) { - data[i] = $first - i++ - } - - quicksort(data, 1, i-1, compare) - - retval = data[1] - for (i = 2; i in data; i++) - retval = retval " " data[i] - - return retval - } - - Finally, the two sorting functions call 'do_sort()', passing in the -names of the two comparison functions: - - # sort --- sort the data in ascending order and return it as a string - - function sort(first, last) - { - return do_sort(first, last, "num_lt") - } - - # rsort --- sort the data in descending order and return it as a string - - function rsort(first, last) - { - return do_sort(first, last, "num_ge") - } - - Here is an extended version of the data file: - - Biology_101 sum average sort rsort data: 87.0 92.4 78.5 94.9 - Chemistry_305 sum average sort rsort data: 75.2 98.3 94.7 88.2 - English_401 sum average sort rsort data: 100.0 95.6 87.1 93.4 - - Finally, here are the results when the enhanced program is run: - - $ gawk -f quicksort.awk -f indirectcall.awk class_data2 - -| Biology 101: - -| sum: <352.8> - -| average: <88.2> - -| sort: <78.5 87.0 92.4 94.9> - -| rsort: <94.9 92.4 87.0 78.5> - -| - -| Chemistry 305: - -| sum: <356.4> - -| average: <89.1> - -| sort: <75.2 88.2 94.7 98.3> - -| rsort: <98.3 94.7 88.2 75.2> - -| - -| English 401: - -| sum: <376.1> - -| average: <94.025> - -| sort: <87.1 93.4 95.6 100.0> - -| rsort: <100.0 95.6 93.4 87.1> - - Another example where indirect functions calls are useful can be -found in processing arrays. This is described in *note Walking -Arrays::. - - Remember that you must supply a leading '@' in front of an indirect -function call. - - Starting with version 4.1.2 of 'gawk', indirect function calls may -also be used with built-in functions and with extension functions (*note -Dynamic Extensions::). There are some limitations when calling built-in -functions indirectly, as follows. - - * You cannot pass a regular expression constant to a built-in - function through an indirect function call.(1) This applies to the - 'sub()', 'gsub()', 'gensub()', 'match()', 'split()' and - 'patsplit()' functions. - - * If calling 'sub()' or 'gsub()', you may only pass two arguments, - since those functions are unusual in that they update their third - argument. This means that '$0' will be updated. - - 'gawk' does its best to make indirect function calls efficient. For -example, in the following case: - - for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) - @the_func() - -'gawk' looks up the actual function to call only once. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This may change in a future version; recheck the documentation -that comes with your version of 'gawk' to see if it has. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Functions Summary, Prev: Indirect Calls, Up: Functions - -9.4 Summary -=========== - - * 'awk' provides built-in functions and lets you define your own - functions. - - * POSIX 'awk' provides three kinds of built-in functions: numeric, - string, and I/O. 'gawk' provides functions that sort arrays, work - with values representing time, do bit manipulation, determine - variable type (array versus scalar), and internationalize and - localize programs. 'gawk' also provides several extensions to some - of standard functions, typically in the form of additional - arguments. - - * Functions accept zero or more arguments and return a value. The - expressions that provide the argument values are completely - evaluated before the function is called. Order of evaluation is - not defined. The return value can be ignored. - - * The handling of backslash in 'sub()' and 'gsub()' is not simple. - It is more straightforward in 'gawk''s 'gensub()' function, but - that function still requires care in its use. - - * User-defined functions provide important capabilities but come with - some syntactic inelegancies. In a function call, there cannot be - any space between the function name and the opening left - parenthesis of the argument list. Also, there is no provision for - local variables, so the convention is to add extra parameters, and - to separate them visually from the real parameters by extra - whitespace. - - * User-defined functions may call other user-defined (and built-in) - functions and may call themselves recursively. Function parameters - "hide" any global variables of the same names. You cannot use the - name of a reserved variable (such as 'ARGC') as the name of a - parameter in user-defined functions. - - * Scalar values are passed to user-defined functions by value. Array - parameters are passed by reference; any changes made by the - function to array parameters are thus visible after the function - has returned. - - * Use the 'return' statement to return from a user-defined function. - An optional expression becomes the function's return value. Only - scalar values may be returned by a function. - - * If a variable that has never been used is passed to a user-defined - function, how that function treats the variable can set its nature: - either scalar or array. - - * 'gawk' provides indirect function calls using a special syntax. By - setting a variable to the name of a function, you can determine at - runtime what function will be called at that point in the program. - This is equivalent to function pointers in C and C++. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Library Functions, Next: Sample Programs, Prev: Functions, Up: Top - -10 A Library of 'awk' Functions -******************************* - -*note User-defined:: describes how to write your own 'awk' functions. -Writing functions is important, because it allows you to encapsulate -algorithms and program tasks in a single place. It simplifies -programming, making program development more manageable and making -programs more readable. - - In their seminal 1976 book, 'Software Tools',(1) Brian Kernighan and -P.J. Plauger wrote: - - Good Programming is not learned from generalities, but by seeing - how significant programs can be made clean, easy to read, easy to - maintain and modify, human-engineered, efficient and reliable, by - the application of common sense and good programming practices. - Careful study and imitation of good programs leads to better - writing. - - In fact, they felt this idea was so important that they placed this -statement on the cover of their book. Because we believe strongly that -their statement is correct, this major node and *note Sample Programs::, -provide a good-sized body of code for you to read and, we hope, to learn -from. - - This major node presents a library of useful 'awk' functions. Many -of the sample programs presented later in this Info file use these -functions. The functions are presented here in a progression from -simple to complex. - - *note Extract Program:: presents a program that you can use to -extract the source code for these example library functions and programs -from the Texinfo source for this Info file. (This has already been done -as part of the 'gawk' distribution.) - - If you have written one or more useful, general-purpose 'awk' -functions and would like to contribute them to the 'awk' user community, -see *note How To Contribute::, for more information. - - The programs in this major node and in *note Sample Programs::, -freely use 'gawk'-specific features. Rewriting these programs for -different implementations of 'awk' is pretty straightforward: - - * Diagnostic error messages are sent to '/dev/stderr'. Use '| "cat - 1>&2"' instead of '> "/dev/stderr"' if your system does not have a - '/dev/stderr', or if you cannot use 'gawk'. - - * A number of programs use 'nextfile' (*note Nextfile Statement::) to - skip any remaining input in the input file. - - * Finally, some of the programs choose to ignore upper- and lowercase - distinctions in their input. They do so by assigning one to - 'IGNORECASE'. You can achieve almost the same effect(2) by adding - the following rule to the beginning of the program: - - # ignore case - { $0 = tolower($0) } - - Also, verify that all regexp and string constants used in - comparisons use only lowercase letters. - -* Menu: - -* Library Names:: How to best name private global variables in - library functions. -* General Functions:: Functions that are of general use. -* Data File Management:: Functions for managing command-line data - files. -* Getopt Function:: A function for processing command-line - arguments. -* Passwd Functions:: Functions for getting user information. -* Group Functions:: Functions for getting group information. -* Walking Arrays:: A function to walk arrays of arrays. -* Library Functions Summary:: Summary of library functions. -* Library Exercises:: Exercises. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Sadly, over 35 years later, many of the lessons taught by this -book have yet to be learned by a vast number of practicing programmers. - - (2) The effects are not identical. Output of the transformed record -will be in all lowercase, while 'IGNORECASE' preserves the original -contents of the input record. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Library Names, Next: General Functions, Up: Library Functions - -10.1 Naming Library Function Global Variables -============================================= - -Due to the way the 'awk' language evolved, variables are either "global" -(usable by the entire program) or "local" (usable just by a specific -function). There is no intermediate state analogous to 'static' -variables in C. - - Library functions often need to have global variables that they can -use to preserve state information between calls to the function--for -example, 'getopt()''s variable '_opti' (*note Getopt Function::). Such -variables are called "private", as the only functions that need to use -them are the ones in the library. - - When writing a library function, you should try to choose names for -your private variables that will not conflict with any variables used by -either another library function or a user's main program. For example, -a name like 'i' or 'j' is not a good choice, because user programs often -use variable names like these for their own purposes. - - The example programs shown in this major node all start the names of -their private variables with an underscore ('_'). Users generally don't -use leading underscores in their variable names, so this convention -immediately decreases the chances that the variable names will be -accidentally shared with the user's program. - - In addition, several of the library functions use a prefix that helps -indicate what function or set of functions use the variables--for -example, '_pw_byname()' in the user database routines (*note Passwd -Functions::). This convention is recommended, as it even further -decreases the chance of inadvertent conflict among variable names. Note -that this convention is used equally well for variable names and for -private function names.(1) - - As a final note on variable naming, if a function makes global -variables available for use by a main program, it is a good convention -to start those variables' names with a capital letter--for example, -'getopt()''s 'Opterr' and 'Optind' variables (*note Getopt Function::). -The leading capital letter indicates that it is global, while the fact -that the variable name is not all capital letters indicates that the -variable is not one of 'awk''s predefined variables, such as 'FS'. - - It is also important that _all_ variables in library functions that -do not need to save state are, in fact, declared local.(2) If this is -not done, the variables could accidentally be used in the user's -program, leading to bugs that are very difficult to track down: - - function lib_func(x, y, l1, l2) - { - ... - # some_var should be local but by oversight is not - USE VARIABLE some_var - ... - } - - A different convention, common in the Tcl community, is to use a -single associative array to hold the values needed by the library -function(s), or "package." This significantly decreases the number of -actual global names in use. For example, the functions described in -*note Passwd Functions:: might have used array elements -'PW_data["inited"]', 'PW_data["total"]', 'PW_data["count"]', and -'PW_data["awklib"]', instead of '_pw_inited', '_pw_awklib', '_pw_total', -and '_pw_count'. - - The conventions presented in this minor node are exactly that: -conventions. You are not required to write your programs this way--we -merely recommend that you do so. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Although all the library routines could have been rewritten to -use this convention, this was not done, in order to show how our own -'awk' programming style has evolved and to provide some basis for this -discussion. - - (2) 'gawk''s '--dump-variables' command-line option is useful for -verifying this. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: General Functions, Next: Data File Management, Prev: Library Names, Up: Library Functions - -10.2 General Programming -======================== - -This minor node presents a number of functions that are of general -programming use. - -* Menu: - -* Strtonum Function:: A replacement for the built-in - 'strtonum()' function. -* Assert Function:: A function for assertions in 'awk' - programs. -* Round Function:: A function for rounding if 'sprintf()' - does not do it correctly. -* Cliff Random Function:: The Cliff Random Number Generator. -* Ordinal Functions:: Functions for using characters as numbers and - vice versa. -* Join Function:: A function to join an array into a string. -* Getlocaltime Function:: A function to get formatted times. -* Readfile Function:: A function to read an entire file at once. -* Shell Quoting:: A function to quote strings for the shell. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Strtonum Function, Next: Assert Function, Up: General Functions - -10.2.1 Converting Strings to Numbers ------------------------------------- - -The 'strtonum()' function (*note String Functions::) is a 'gawk' -extension. The following function provides an implementation for other -versions of 'awk': - - # mystrtonum --- convert string to number - - function mystrtonum(str, ret, n, i, k, c) - { - if (str ~ /^0[0-7]*$/) { - # octal - n = length(str) - ret = 0 - for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) { - c = substr(str, i, 1) - # index() returns 0 if c not in string, - # includes c == "0" - k = index("1234567", c) - - ret = ret * 8 + k - } - } else if (str ~ /^0[xX][[:xdigit:]]+$/) { - # hexadecimal - str = substr(str, 3) # lop off leading 0x - n = length(str) - ret = 0 - for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) { - c = substr(str, i, 1) - c = tolower(c) - # index() returns 0 if c not in string, - # includes c == "0" - k = index("123456789abcdef", c) - - ret = ret * 16 + k - } - } else if (str ~ \ - /^[-+]?([0-9]+([.][0-9]*([Ee][0-9]+)?)?|([.][0-9]+([Ee][-+]?[0-9]+)?))$/) { - # decimal number, possibly floating point - ret = str + 0 - } else - ret = "NOT-A-NUMBER" - - return ret - } - - # BEGIN { # gawk test harness - # a[1] = "25" - # a[2] = ".31" - # a[3] = "0123" - # a[4] = "0xdeadBEEF" - # a[5] = "123.45" - # a[6] = "1.e3" - # a[7] = "1.32" - # a[8] = "1.32E2" - # - # for (i = 1; i in a; i++) - # print a[i], strtonum(a[i]), mystrtonum(a[i]) - # } - - The function first looks for C-style octal numbers (base 8). If the -input string matches a regular expression describing octal numbers, then -'mystrtonum()' loops through each character in the string. It sets 'k' -to the index in '"1234567"' of the current octal digit. The return -value will either be the same number as the digit, or zero if the -character is not there, which will be true for a '0'. This is safe, -because the regexp test in the 'if' ensures that only octal values are -converted. - - Similar logic applies to the code that checks for and converts a -hexadecimal value, which starts with '0x' or '0X'. The use of -'tolower()' simplifies the computation for finding the correct numeric -value for each hexadecimal digit. - - Finally, if the string matches the (rather complicated) regexp for a -regular decimal integer or floating-point number, the computation 'ret = -str + 0' lets 'awk' convert the value to a number. - - A commented-out test program is included, so that the function can be -tested with 'gawk' and the results compared to the built-in 'strtonum()' -function. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Assert Function, Next: Round Function, Prev: Strtonum Function, Up: General Functions - -10.2.2 Assertions ------------------ - -When writing large programs, it is often useful to know that a condition -or set of conditions is true. Before proceeding with a particular -computation, you make a statement about what you believe to be the case. -Such a statement is known as an "assertion". The C language provides an -'' header file and corresponding 'assert()' macro that a -programmer can use to make assertions. If an assertion fails, the -'assert()' macro arranges to print a diagnostic message describing the -condition that should have been true but was not, and then it kills the -program. In C, using 'assert()' looks this: - - #include - - int myfunc(int a, double b) - { - assert(a <= 5 && b >= 17.1); - ... - } - - If the assertion fails, the program prints a message similar to this: - - prog.c:5: assertion failed: a <= 5 && b >= 17.1 - - The C language makes it possible to turn the condition into a string -for use in printing the diagnostic message. This is not possible in -'awk', so this 'assert()' function also requires a string version of the -condition that is being tested. Following is the function: - - # assert --- assert that a condition is true. Otherwise, exit. - - function assert(condition, string) - { - if (! condition) { - printf("%s:%d: assertion failed: %s\n", - FILENAME, FNR, string) > "/dev/stderr" - _assert_exit = 1 - exit 1 - } - } - - END { - if (_assert_exit) - exit 1 - } - - The 'assert()' function tests the 'condition' parameter. If it is -false, it prints a message to standard error, using the 'string' -parameter to describe the failed condition. It then sets the variable -'_assert_exit' to one and executes the 'exit' statement. The 'exit' -statement jumps to the 'END' rule. If the 'END' rule finds -'_assert_exit' to be true, it exits immediately. - - The purpose of the test in the 'END' rule is to keep any other 'END' -rules from running. When an assertion fails, the program should exit -immediately. If no assertions fail, then '_assert_exit' is still false -when the 'END' rule is run normally, and the rest of the program's 'END' -rules execute. For all of this to work correctly, 'assert.awk' must be -the first source file read by 'awk'. The function can be used in a -program in the following way: - - function myfunc(a, b) - { - assert(a <= 5 && b >= 17.1, "a <= 5 && b >= 17.1") - ... - } - -If the assertion fails, you see a message similar to the following: - - mydata:1357: assertion failed: a <= 5 && b >= 17.1 - - There is a small problem with this version of 'assert()'. An 'END' -rule is automatically added to the program calling 'assert()'. -Normally, if a program consists of just a 'BEGIN' rule, the input files -and/or standard input are not read. However, now that the program has -an 'END' rule, 'awk' attempts to read the input data files or standard -input (*note Using BEGIN/END::), most likely causing the program to hang -as it waits for input. - - There is a simple workaround to this: make sure that such a 'BEGIN' -rule always ends with an 'exit' statement. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Round Function, Next: Cliff Random Function, Prev: Assert Function, Up: General Functions - -10.2.3 Rounding Numbers ------------------------ - -The way 'printf' and 'sprintf()' (*note Printf::) perform rounding often -depends upon the system's C 'sprintf()' subroutine. On many machines, -'sprintf()' rounding is "unbiased", which means it doesn't always round -a trailing .5 up, contrary to naive expectations. In unbiased rounding, -.5 rounds to even, rather than always up, so 1.5 rounds to 2 but 4.5 -rounds to 4. This means that if you are using a format that does -rounding (e.g., '"%.0f"'), you should check what your system does. The -following function does traditional rounding; it might be useful if your -'awk''s 'printf' does unbiased rounding: - - # round.awk --- do normal rounding - - function round(x, ival, aval, fraction) - { - ival = int(x) # integer part, int() truncates - - # see if fractional part - if (ival == x) # no fraction - return ival # ensure no decimals - - if (x < 0) { - aval = -x # absolute value - ival = int(aval) - fraction = aval - ival - if (fraction >= .5) - return int(x) - 1 # -2.5 --> -3 - else - return int(x) # -2.3 --> -2 - } else { - fraction = x - ival - if (fraction >= .5) - return ival + 1 - else - return ival - } - } - - # test harness - # { print $0, round($0) } - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Cliff Random Function, Next: Ordinal Functions, Prev: Round Function, Up: General Functions - -10.2.4 The Cliff Random Number Generator ----------------------------------------- - -The Cliff random number generator -(http://mathworld.wolfram.com/CliffRandomNumberGenerator.html) is a very -simple random number generator that "passes the noise sphere test for -randomness by showing no structure." It is easily programmed, in less -than 10 lines of 'awk' code: - - # cliff_rand.awk --- generate Cliff random numbers - - BEGIN { _cliff_seed = 0.1 } - - function cliff_rand() - { - _cliff_seed = (100 * log(_cliff_seed)) % 1 - if (_cliff_seed < 0) - _cliff_seed = - _cliff_seed - return _cliff_seed - } - - This algorithm requires an initial "seed" of 0.1. Each new value -uses the current seed as input for the calculation. If the built-in -'rand()' function (*note Numeric Functions::) isn't random enough, you -might try using this function instead. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Ordinal Functions, Next: Join Function, Prev: Cliff Random Function, Up: General Functions - -10.2.5 Translating Between Characters and Numbers -------------------------------------------------- - -One commercial implementation of 'awk' supplies a built-in function, -'ord()', which takes a character and returns the numeric value for that -character in the machine's character set. If the string passed to -'ord()' has more than one character, only the first one is used. - - The inverse of this function is 'chr()' (from the function of the -same name in Pascal), which takes a number and returns the corresponding -character. Both functions are written very nicely in 'awk'; there is no -real reason to build them into the 'awk' interpreter: - - # ord.awk --- do ord and chr - - # Global identifiers: - # _ord_: numerical values indexed by characters - # _ord_init: function to initialize _ord_ - - BEGIN { _ord_init() } - - function _ord_init( low, high, i, t) - { - low = sprintf("%c", 7) # BEL is ascii 7 - if (low == "\a") { # regular ascii - low = 0 - high = 127 - } else if (sprintf("%c", 128 + 7) == "\a") { - # ascii, mark parity - low = 128 - high = 255 - } else { # ebcdic(!) - low = 0 - high = 255 - } - - for (i = low; i <= high; i++) { - t = sprintf("%c", i) - _ord_[t] = i - } - } - - Some explanation of the numbers used by '_ord_init()' is worthwhile. -The most prominent character set in use today is ASCII.(1) Although an -8-bit byte can hold 256 distinct values (from 0 to 255), ASCII only -defines characters that use the values from 0 to 127.(2) In the now -distant past, at least one minicomputer manufacturer used ASCII, but -with mark parity, meaning that the leftmost bit in the byte is always 1. -This means that on those systems, characters have numeric values from -128 to 255. Finally, large mainframe systems use the EBCDIC character -set, which uses all 256 values. There are other character sets in use -on some older systems, but they are not really worth worrying about: - - function ord(str, c) - { - # only first character is of interest - c = substr(str, 1, 1) - return _ord_[c] - } - - function chr(c) - { - # force c to be numeric by adding 0 - return sprintf("%c", c + 0) - } - - #### test code #### - # BEGIN { - # for (;;) { - # printf("enter a character: ") - # if (getline var <= 0) - # break - # printf("ord(%s) = %d\n", var, ord(var)) - # } - # } - - An obvious improvement to these functions is to move the code for the -'_ord_init' function into the body of the 'BEGIN' rule. It was written -this way initially for ease of development. There is a "test program" -in a 'BEGIN' rule, to test the function. It is commented out for -production use. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This is changing; many systems use Unicode, a very large -character set that includes ASCII as a subset. On systems with full -Unicode support, a character can occupy up to 32 bits, making simple -tests such as used here prohibitively expensive. - - (2) ASCII has been extended in many countries to use the values from -128 to 255 for country-specific characters. If your system uses these -extensions, you can simplify '_ord_init()' to loop from 0 to 255. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Join Function, Next: Getlocaltime Function, Prev: Ordinal Functions, Up: General Functions - -10.2.6 Merging an Array into a String -------------------------------------- - -When doing string processing, it is often useful to be able to join all -the strings in an array into one long string. The following function, -'join()', accomplishes this task. It is used later in several of the -application programs (*note Sample Programs::). - - Good function design is important; this function needs to be general, -but it should also have a reasonable default behavior. It is called -with an array as well as the beginning and ending indices of the -elements in the array to be merged. This assumes that the array indices -are numeric--a reasonable assumption, as the array was likely created -with 'split()' (*note String Functions::): - - # join.awk --- join an array into a string - - function join(array, start, end, sep, result, i) - { - if (sep == "") - sep = " " - else if (sep == SUBSEP) # magic value - sep = "" - result = array[start] - for (i = start + 1; i <= end; i++) - result = result sep array[i] - return result - } - - An optional additional argument is the separator to use when joining -the strings back together. If the caller supplies a nonempty value, -'join()' uses it; if it is not supplied, it has a null value. In this -case, 'join()' uses a single space as a default separator for the -strings. If the value is equal to 'SUBSEP', then 'join()' joins the -strings with no separator between them. 'SUBSEP' serves as a "magic" -value to indicate that there should be no separation between the -component strings.(1) - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) It would be nice if 'awk' had an assignment operator for -concatenation. The lack of an explicit operator for concatenation makes -string operations more difficult than they really need to be. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getlocaltime Function, Next: Readfile Function, Prev: Join Function, Up: General Functions - -10.2.7 Managing the Time of Day -------------------------------- - -The 'systime()' and 'strftime()' functions described in *note Time -Functions:: provide the minimum functionality necessary for dealing with -the time of day in human-readable form. Although 'strftime()' is -extensive, the control formats are not necessarily easy to remember or -intuitively obvious when reading a program. - - The following function, 'getlocaltime()', populates a user-supplied -array with preformatted time information. It returns a string with the -current time formatted in the same way as the 'date' utility: - - # getlocaltime.awk --- get the time of day in a usable format - - # Returns a string in the format of output of date(1) - # Populates the array argument time with individual values: - # time["second"] -- seconds (0 - 59) - # time["minute"] -- minutes (0 - 59) - # time["hour"] -- hours (0 - 23) - # time["althour"] -- hours (0 - 12) - # time["monthday"] -- day of month (1 - 31) - # time["month"] -- month of year (1 - 12) - # time["monthname"] -- name of the month - # time["shortmonth"] -- short name of the month - # time["year"] -- year modulo 100 (0 - 99) - # time["fullyear"] -- full year - # time["weekday"] -- day of week (Sunday = 0) - # time["altweekday"] -- day of week (Monday = 0) - # time["dayname"] -- name of weekday - # time["shortdayname"] -- short name of weekday - # time["yearday"] -- day of year (0 - 365) - # time["timezone"] -- abbreviation of timezone name - # time["ampm"] -- AM or PM designation - # time["weeknum"] -- week number, Sunday first day - # time["altweeknum"] -- week number, Monday first day - - function getlocaltime(time, ret, now, i) - { - # get time once, avoids unnecessary system calls - now = systime() - - # return date(1)-style output - ret = strftime("%a %b %e %H:%M:%S %Z %Y", now) - - # clear out target array - delete time - - # fill in values, force numeric values to be - # numeric by adding 0 - time["second"] = strftime("%S", now) + 0 - time["minute"] = strftime("%M", now) + 0 - time["hour"] = strftime("%H", now) + 0 - time["althour"] = strftime("%I", now) + 0 - time["monthday"] = strftime("%d", now) + 0 - time["month"] = strftime("%m", now) + 0 - time["monthname"] = strftime("%B", now) - time["shortmonth"] = strftime("%b", now) - time["year"] = strftime("%y", now) + 0 - time["fullyear"] = strftime("%Y", now) + 0 - time["weekday"] = strftime("%w", now) + 0 - time["altweekday"] = strftime("%u", now) + 0 - time["dayname"] = strftime("%A", now) - time["shortdayname"] = strftime("%a", now) - time["yearday"] = strftime("%j", now) + 0 - time["timezone"] = strftime("%Z", now) - time["ampm"] = strftime("%p", now) - time["weeknum"] = strftime("%U", now) + 0 - time["altweeknum"] = strftime("%W", now) + 0 - - return ret - } - - The string indices are easier to use and read than the various -formats required by 'strftime()'. The 'alarm' program presented in -*note Alarm Program:: uses this function. A more general design for the -'getlocaltime()' function would have allowed the user to supply an -optional timestamp value to use instead of the current time. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Readfile Function, Next: Shell Quoting, Prev: Getlocaltime Function, Up: General Functions - -10.2.8 Reading a Whole File at Once ------------------------------------ - -Often, it is convenient to have the entire contents of a file available -in memory as a single string. A straightforward but naive way to do -that might be as follows: - - function readfile(file, tmp, contents) - { - if ((getline tmp < file) < 0) - return - - contents = tmp - while (getline tmp < file) > 0) - contents = contents RT tmp - - close(file) - return contents - } - - This function reads from 'file' one record at a time, building up the -full contents of the file in the local variable 'contents'. It works, -but is not necessarily efficient. - - The following function, based on a suggestion by Denis Shirokov, -reads the entire contents of the named file in one shot: - - # readfile.awk --- read an entire file at once - - function readfile(file, tmp, save_rs) - { - save_rs = RS - RS = "^$" - getline tmp < file - close(file) - RS = save_rs - - return tmp - } - - It works by setting 'RS' to '^$', a regular expression that will -never match if the file has contents. 'gawk' reads data from the file -into 'tmp', attempting to match 'RS'. The match fails after each read, -but fails quickly, such that 'gawk' fills 'tmp' with the entire contents -of the file. (*Note Records:: for information on 'RT' and 'RS'.) - - In the case that 'file' is empty, the return value is the null -string. Thus, calling code may use something like: - - contents = readfile("/some/path") - if (length(contents) == 0) - # file was empty ... - - This tests the result to see if it is empty or not. An equivalent -test would be 'contents == ""'. - - *Note Extension Sample Readfile:: for an extension function that also -reads an entire file into memory. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Shell Quoting, Prev: Readfile Function, Up: General Functions - -10.2.9 Quoting Strings to Pass to the Shell -------------------------------------------- - -Michael Brennan offers the following programming pattern, which he uses -frequently: - - #! /bin/sh - - awkp=' - ... - ' - - INPUT_PROGRAM | awk "$awkp" | /bin/sh - - For example, a program of his named 'flac-edit' has this form: - - $ flac-edit -song="Whoope! That's Great" file.flac - - It generates the following output, which is to be piped to the shell -('/bin/sh'): - - chmod +w file.flac - metaflac --remove-tag=TITLE file.flac - LANG=en_US.88591 metaflac --set-tag=TITLE='Whoope! That'"'"'s Great' file.flac - chmod -w file.flac - - Note the need for shell quoting. The function 'shell_quote()' does -it. 'SINGLE' is the one-character string '"'"' and 'QSINGLE' is the -three-character string '"\"'\""': - - # shell_quote --- quote an argument for passing to the shell - - function shell_quote(s, # parameter - SINGLE, QSINGLE, i, X, n, ret) # locals - { - if (s == "") - return "\"\"" - - SINGLE = "\x27" # single quote - QSINGLE = "\"\x27\"" - n = split(s, X, SINGLE) - - ret = SINGLE X[1] SINGLE - for (i = 2; i <= n; i++) - ret = ret QSINGLE SINGLE X[i] SINGLE - - return ret - } - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Data File Management, Next: Getopt Function, Prev: General Functions, Up: Library Functions - -10.3 Data file Management -========================= - -This minor node presents functions that are useful for managing -command-line data files. - -* Menu: - -* Filetrans Function:: A function for handling data file transitions. -* Rewind Function:: A function for rereading the current file. -* File Checking:: Checking that data files are readable. -* Empty Files:: Checking for zero-length files. -* Ignoring Assigns:: Treating assignments as file names. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Filetrans Function, Next: Rewind Function, Up: Data File Management - -10.3.1 Noting Data file Boundaries ----------------------------------- - -The 'BEGIN' and 'END' rules are each executed exactly once, at the -beginning and end of your 'awk' program, respectively (*note -BEGIN/END::). We (the 'gawk' authors) once had a user who mistakenly -thought that the 'BEGIN' rules were executed at the beginning of each -data file and the 'END' rules were executed at the end of each data -file. - - When informed that this was not the case, the user requested that we -add new special patterns to 'gawk', named 'BEGIN_FILE' and 'END_FILE', -that would have the desired behavior. He even supplied us the code to -do so. - - Adding these special patterns to 'gawk' wasn't necessary; the job can -be done cleanly in 'awk' itself, as illustrated by the following library -program. It arranges to call two user-supplied functions, 'beginfile()' -and 'endfile()', at the beginning and end of each data file. Besides -solving the problem in only nine(!) lines of code, it does so -_portably_; this works with any implementation of 'awk': - - # transfile.awk - # - # Give the user a hook for filename transitions - # - # The user must supply functions beginfile() and endfile() - # that each take the name of the file being started or - # finished, respectively. - - FILENAME != _oldfilename { - if (_oldfilename != "") - endfile(_oldfilename) - _oldfilename = FILENAME - beginfile(FILENAME) - } - - END { endfile(FILENAME) } - - This file must be loaded before the user's "main" program, so that -the rule it supplies is executed first. - - This rule relies on 'awk''s 'FILENAME' variable, which automatically -changes for each new data file. The current file name is saved in a -private variable, '_oldfilename'. If 'FILENAME' does not equal -'_oldfilename', then a new data file is being processed and it is -necessary to call 'endfile()' for the old file. Because 'endfile()' -should only be called if a file has been processed, the program first -checks to make sure that '_oldfilename' is not the null string. The -program then assigns the current file name to '_oldfilename' and calls -'beginfile()' for the file. Because, like all 'awk' variables, -'_oldfilename' is initialized to the null string, this rule executes -correctly even for the first data file. - - The program also supplies an 'END' rule to do the final processing -for the last file. Because this 'END' rule comes before any 'END' rules -supplied in the "main" program, 'endfile()' is called first. Once -again, the value of multiple 'BEGIN' and 'END' rules should be clear. - - If the same data file occurs twice in a row on the command line, then -'endfile()' and 'beginfile()' are not executed at the end of the first -pass and at the beginning of the second pass. The following version -solves the problem: - - # ftrans.awk --- handle datafile transitions - # - # user supplies beginfile() and endfile() functions - - FNR == 1 { - if (_filename_ != "") - endfile(_filename_) - _filename_ = FILENAME - beginfile(FILENAME) - } - - END { endfile(_filename_) } - - *note Wc Program:: shows how this library function can be used and -how it simplifies writing the main program. - - So Why Does 'gawk' Have 'BEGINFILE' and 'ENDFILE'? - - You are probably wondering, if 'beginfile()' and 'endfile()' -functions can do the job, why does 'gawk' have 'BEGINFILE' and 'ENDFILE' -patterns? - - Good question. Normally, if 'awk' cannot open a file, this causes an -immediate fatal error. In this case, there is no way for a user-defined -function to deal with the problem, as the mechanism for calling it -relies on the file being open and at the first record. Thus, the main -reason for 'BEGINFILE' is to give you a "hook" to catch files that -cannot be processed. 'ENDFILE' exists for symmetry, and because it -provides an easy way to do per-file cleanup processing. For more -information, refer to *note BEGINFILE/ENDFILE::. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Rewind Function, Next: File Checking, Prev: Filetrans Function, Up: Data File Management - -10.3.2 Rereading the Current File ---------------------------------- - -Another request for a new built-in function was for a function that -would make it possible to reread the current file. The requesting user -didn't want to have to use 'getline' (*note Getline::) inside a loop. - - However, as long as you are not in the 'END' rule, it is quite easy -to arrange to immediately close the current input file and then start -over with it from the top. For lack of a better name, we'll call the -function 'rewind()': - - # rewind.awk --- rewind the current file and start over - - function rewind( i) - { - # shift remaining arguments up - for (i = ARGC; i > ARGIND; i--) - ARGV[i] = ARGV[i-1] - - # make sure gawk knows to keep going - ARGC++ - - # make current file next to get done - ARGV[ARGIND+1] = FILENAME - - # do it - nextfile - } - - The 'rewind()' function relies on the 'ARGIND' variable (*note -Auto-set::), which is specific to 'gawk'. It also relies on the -'nextfile' keyword (*note Nextfile Statement::). Because of this, you -should not call it from an 'ENDFILE' rule. (This isn't necessary -anyway, because 'gawk' goes to the next file as soon as an 'ENDFILE' -rule finishes!) - - You need to be careful calling 'rewind()'. You can end up causing -infinite recursion if you don't pay attention. Here is an example use: - - $ cat data - -| a - -| b - -| c - -| d - -| e - - $ cat test.awk - -| FNR == 3 && ! rewound { - -| rewound = 1 - -| rewind() - -| } - -| - -| { print FILENAME, FNR, $0 } - - $ gawk -f rewind.awk -f test.awk data - -| data 1 a - -| data 2 b - -| data 1 a - -| data 2 b - -| data 3 c - -| data 4 d - -| data 5 e - - -File: gawk.info, Node: File Checking, Next: Empty Files, Prev: Rewind Function, Up: Data File Management - -10.3.3 Checking for Readable Data files ---------------------------------------- - -Normally, if you give 'awk' a data file that isn't readable, it stops -with a fatal error. There are times when you might want to just ignore -such files and keep going.(1) You can do this by prepending the -following program to your 'awk' program: - - # readable.awk --- library file to skip over unreadable files - - BEGIN { - for (i = 1; i < ARGC; i++) { - if (ARGV[i] ~ /^[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*=.*/ \ - || ARGV[i] == "-" || ARGV[i] == "/dev/stdin") - continue # assignment or standard input - else if ((getline junk < ARGV[i]) < 0) # unreadable - delete ARGV[i] - else - close(ARGV[i]) - } - } - - This works, because the 'getline' won't be fatal. Removing the -element from 'ARGV' with 'delete' skips the file (because it's no longer -in the list). See also *note ARGC and ARGV::. - - Because 'awk' variable names only allow the English letters, the -regular expression check purposely does not use character classes such -as '[:alpha:]' and '[:alnum:]' (*note Bracket Expressions::). - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The 'BEGINFILE' special pattern (*note BEGINFILE/ENDFILE::) -provides an alternative mechanism for dealing with files that can't be -opened. However, the code here provides a portable solution. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Empty Files, Next: Ignoring Assigns, Prev: File Checking, Up: Data File Management - -10.3.4 Checking for Zero-Length Files -------------------------------------- - -All known 'awk' implementations silently skip over zero-length files. -This is a by-product of 'awk''s implicit -read-a-record-and-match-against-the-rules loop: when 'awk' tries to read -a record from an empty file, it immediately receives an end-of-file -indication, closes the file, and proceeds on to the next command-line -data file, _without_ executing any user-level 'awk' program code. - - Using 'gawk''s 'ARGIND' variable (*note Built-in Variables::), it is -possible to detect when an empty data file has been skipped. Similar to -the library file presented in *note Filetrans Function::, the following -library file calls a function named 'zerofile()' that the user must -provide. The arguments passed are the file name and the position in -'ARGV' where it was found: - - # zerofile.awk --- library file to process empty input files - - BEGIN { Argind = 0 } - - ARGIND > Argind + 1 { - for (Argind++; Argind < ARGIND; Argind++) - zerofile(ARGV[Argind], Argind) - } - - ARGIND != Argind { Argind = ARGIND } - - END { - if (ARGIND > Argind) - for (Argind++; Argind <= ARGIND; Argind++) - zerofile(ARGV[Argind], Argind) - } - - The user-level variable 'Argind' allows the 'awk' program to track -its progress through 'ARGV'. Whenever the program detects that 'ARGIND' -is greater than 'Argind + 1', it means that one or more empty files were -skipped. The action then calls 'zerofile()' for each such file, -incrementing 'Argind' along the way. - - The 'Argind != ARGIND' rule simply keeps 'Argind' up to date in the -normal case. - - Finally, the 'END' rule catches the case of any empty files at the -end of the command-line arguments. Note that the test in the condition -of the 'for' loop uses the '<=' operator, not '<'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Ignoring Assigns, Prev: Empty Files, Up: Data File Management - -10.3.5 Treating Assignments as File names ------------------------------------------ - -Occasionally, you might not want 'awk' to process command-line variable -assignments (*note Assignment Options::). In particular, if you have a -file name that contains an '=' character, 'awk' treats the file name as -an assignment and does not process it. - - Some users have suggested an additional command-line option for -'gawk' to disable command-line assignments. However, some simple -programming with a library file does the trick: - - # noassign.awk --- library file to avoid the need for a - # special option that disables command-line assignments - - function disable_assigns(argc, argv, i) - { - for (i = 1; i < argc; i++) - if (argv[i] ~ /^[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*=.*/) - argv[i] = ("./" argv[i]) - } - - BEGIN { - if (No_command_assign) - disable_assigns(ARGC, ARGV) - } - - You then run your program this way: - - awk -v No_command_assign=1 -f noassign.awk -f yourprog.awk * - - The function works by looping through the arguments. It prepends -'./' to any argument that matches the form of a variable assignment, -turning that argument into a file name. - - The use of 'No_command_assign' allows you to disable command-line -assignments at invocation time, by giving the variable a true value. -When not set, it is initially zero (i.e., false), so the command-line -arguments are left alone. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getopt Function, Next: Passwd Functions, Prev: Data File Management, Up: Library Functions - -10.4 Processing Command-Line Options -==================================== - -Most utilities on POSIX-compatible systems take options on the command -line that can be used to change the way a program behaves. 'awk' is an -example of such a program (*note Options::). Often, options take -"arguments" (i.e., data that the program needs to correctly obey the -command-line option). For example, 'awk''s '-F' option requires a -string to use as the field separator. The first occurrence on the -command line of either '--' or a string that does not begin with '-' -ends the options. - - Modern Unix systems provide a C function named 'getopt()' for -processing command-line arguments. The programmer provides a string -describing the one-letter options. If an option requires an argument, -it is followed in the string with a colon. 'getopt()' is also passed -the count and values of the command-line arguments and is called in a -loop. 'getopt()' processes the command-line arguments for option -letters. Each time around the loop, it returns a single character -representing the next option letter that it finds, or '?' if it finds an -invalid option. When it returns -1, there are no options left on the -command line. - - When using 'getopt()', options that do not take arguments can be -grouped together. Furthermore, options that take arguments require that -the argument be present. The argument can immediately follow the option -letter, or it can be a separate command-line argument. - - Given a hypothetical program that takes three command-line options, -'-a', '-b', and '-c', where '-b' requires an argument, all of the -following are valid ways of invoking the program: - - prog -a -b foo -c data1 data2 data3 - prog -ac -bfoo -- data1 data2 data3 - prog -acbfoo data1 data2 data3 - - Notice that when the argument is grouped with its option, the rest of -the argument is considered to be the option's argument. In this -example, '-acbfoo' indicates that all of the '-a', '-b', and '-c' -options were supplied, and that 'foo' is the argument to the '-b' -option. - - 'getopt()' provides four external variables that the programmer can -use: - -'optind' - The index in the argument value array ('argv') where the first - nonoption command-line argument can be found. - -'optarg' - The string value of the argument to an option. - -'opterr' - Usually 'getopt()' prints an error message when it finds an invalid - option. Setting 'opterr' to zero disables this feature. (An - application might want to print its own error message.) - -'optopt' - The letter representing the command-line option. - - The following C fragment shows how 'getopt()' might process -command-line arguments for 'awk': - - int - main(int argc, char *argv[]) - { - ... - /* print our own message */ - opterr = 0; - while ((c = getopt(argc, argv, "v:f:F:W:")) != -1) { - switch (c) { - case 'f': /* file */ - ... - break; - case 'F': /* field separator */ - ... - break; - case 'v': /* variable assignment */ - ... - break; - case 'W': /* extension */ - ... - break; - case '?': - default: - usage(); - break; - } - } - ... - } - - As a side point, 'gawk' actually uses the GNU 'getopt_long()' -function to process both normal and GNU-style long options (*note -Options::). - - The abstraction provided by 'getopt()' is very useful and is quite -handy in 'awk' programs as well. Following is an 'awk' version of -'getopt()'. This function highlights one of the greatest weaknesses in -'awk', which is that it is very poor at manipulating single characters. -Repeated calls to 'substr()' are necessary for accessing individual -characters (*note String Functions::).(1) - - The discussion that follows walks through the code a bit at a time: - - # getopt.awk --- Do C library getopt(3) function in awk - - # External variables: - # Optind -- index in ARGV of first nonoption argument - # Optarg -- string value of argument to current option - # Opterr -- if nonzero, print our own diagnostic - # Optopt -- current option letter - - # Returns: - # -1 at end of options - # "?" for unrecognized option - # a character representing the current option - - # Private Data: - # _opti -- index in multiflag option, e.g., -abc - - The function starts out with comments presenting a list of the global -variables it uses, what the return values are, what they mean, and any -global variables that are "private" to this library function. Such -documentation is essential for any program, and particularly for library -functions. - - The 'getopt()' function first checks that it was indeed called with a -string of options (the 'options' parameter). If 'options' has a zero -length, 'getopt()' immediately returns -1: - - function getopt(argc, argv, options, thisopt, i) - { - if (length(options) == 0) # no options given - return -1 - - if (argv[Optind] == "--") { # all done - Optind++ - _opti = 0 - return -1 - } else if (argv[Optind] !~ /^-[^:[:space:]]/) { - _opti = 0 - return -1 - } - - The next thing to check for is the end of the options. A '--' ends -the command-line options, as does any command-line argument that does -not begin with a '-'. 'Optind' is used to step through the array of -command-line arguments; it retains its value across calls to 'getopt()', -because it is a global variable. - - The regular expression that is used, '/^-[^:[:space:]/', checks for a -'-' followed by anything that is not whitespace and not a colon. If the -current command-line argument does not match this pattern, it is not an -option, and it ends option processing. Continuing on: - - if (_opti == 0) - _opti = 2 - thisopt = substr(argv[Optind], _opti, 1) - Optopt = thisopt - i = index(options, thisopt) - if (i == 0) { - if (Opterr) - printf("%c -- invalid option\n", thisopt) > "/dev/stderr" - if (_opti >= length(argv[Optind])) { - Optind++ - _opti = 0 - } else - _opti++ - return "?" - } - - The '_opti' variable tracks the position in the current command-line -argument ('argv[Optind]'). If multiple options are grouped together -with one '-' (e.g., '-abx'), it is necessary to return them to the user -one at a time. - - If '_opti' is equal to zero, it is set to two, which is the index in -the string of the next character to look at (we skip the '-', which is -at position one). The variable 'thisopt' holds the character, obtained -with 'substr()'. It is saved in 'Optopt' for the main program to use. - - If 'thisopt' is not in the 'options' string, then it is an invalid -option. If 'Opterr' is nonzero, 'getopt()' prints an error message on -the standard error that is similar to the message from the C version of -'getopt()'. - - Because the option is invalid, it is necessary to skip it and move on -to the next option character. If '_opti' is greater than or equal to -the length of the current command-line argument, it is necessary to move -on to the next argument, so 'Optind' is incremented and '_opti' is reset -to zero. Otherwise, 'Optind' is left alone and '_opti' is merely -incremented. - - In any case, because the option is invalid, 'getopt()' returns '"?"'. -The main program can examine 'Optopt' if it needs to know what the -invalid option letter actually is. Continuing on: - - if (substr(options, i + 1, 1) == ":") { - # get option argument - if (length(substr(argv[Optind], _opti + 1)) > 0) - Optarg = substr(argv[Optind], _opti + 1) - else - Optarg = argv[++Optind] - _opti = 0 - } else - Optarg = "" - - If the option requires an argument, the option letter is followed by -a colon in the 'options' string. If there are remaining characters in -the current command-line argument ('argv[Optind]'), then the rest of -that string is assigned to 'Optarg'. Otherwise, the next command-line -argument is used ('-xFOO' versus '-x FOO'). In either case, '_opti' is -reset to zero, because there are no more characters left to examine in -the current command-line argument. Continuing: - - if (_opti == 0 || _opti >= length(argv[Optind])) { - Optind++ - _opti = 0 - } else - _opti++ - return thisopt - } - - Finally, if '_opti' is either zero or greater than the length of the -current command-line argument, it means this element in 'argv' is -through being processed, so 'Optind' is incremented to point to the next -element in 'argv'. If neither condition is true, then only '_opti' is -incremented, so that the next option letter can be processed on the next -call to 'getopt()'. - - The 'BEGIN' rule initializes both 'Opterr' and 'Optind' to one. -'Opterr' is set to one, because the default behavior is for 'getopt()' -to print a diagnostic message upon seeing an invalid option. 'Optind' -is set to one, because there's no reason to look at the program name, -which is in 'ARGV[0]': - - BEGIN { - Opterr = 1 # default is to diagnose - Optind = 1 # skip ARGV[0] - - # test program - if (_getopt_test) { - while ((_go_c = getopt(ARGC, ARGV, "ab:cd")) != -1) - printf("c = <%c>, Optarg = <%s>\n", - _go_c, Optarg) - printf("non-option arguments:\n") - for (; Optind < ARGC; Optind++) - printf("\tARGV[%d] = <%s>\n", - Optind, ARGV[Optind]) - } - } - - The rest of the 'BEGIN' rule is a simple test program. Here are the -results of two sample runs of the test program: - - $ awk -f getopt.awk -v _getopt_test=1 -- -a -cbARG bax -x - -| c = , Optarg = <> - -| c = , Optarg = <> - -| c = , Optarg = - -| non-option arguments: - -| ARGV[3] = - -| ARGV[4] = <-x> - - $ awk -f getopt.awk -v _getopt_test=1 -- -a -x -- xyz abc - -| c = , Optarg = <> - error-> x -- invalid option - -| c = , Optarg = <> - -| non-option arguments: - -| ARGV[4] = - -| ARGV[5] = - - In both runs, the first '--' terminates the arguments to 'awk', so -that it does not try to interpret the '-a', etc., as its own options. - - NOTE: After 'getopt()' is through, user-level code must clear out - all the elements of 'ARGV' from 1 to 'Optind', so that 'awk' does - not try to process the command-line options as file names. - - Using '#!' with the '-E' option may help avoid conflicts between your -program's options and 'gawk''s options, as '-E' causes 'gawk' to abandon -processing of further options (*note Executable Scripts:: and *note -Options::). - - Several of the sample programs presented in *note Sample Programs::, -use 'getopt()' to process their arguments. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This function was written before 'gawk' acquired the ability to -split strings into single characters using '""' as the separator. We -have left it alone, as using 'substr()' is more portable. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Passwd Functions, Next: Group Functions, Prev: Getopt Function, Up: Library Functions - -10.5 Reading the User Database -============================== - -The 'PROCINFO' array (*note Built-in Variables::) provides access to the -current user's real and effective user and group ID numbers, and, if -available, the user's supplementary group set. However, because these -are numbers, they do not provide very useful information to the average -user. There needs to be some way to find the user information -associated with the user and group ID numbers. This minor node presents -a suite of functions for retrieving information from the user database. -*Note Group Functions:: for a similar suite that retrieves information -from the group database. - - The POSIX standard does not define the file where user information is -kept. Instead, it provides the '' header file and several C -language subroutines for obtaining user information. The primary -function is 'getpwent()', for "get password entry." The "password" -comes from the original user database file, '/etc/passwd', which stores -user information along with the encrypted passwords (hence the name). - - Although an 'awk' program could simply read '/etc/passwd' directly, -this file may not contain complete information about the system's set of -users.(1) To be sure you are able to produce a readable and complete -version of the user database, it is necessary to write a small C program -that calls 'getpwent()'. 'getpwent()' is defined as returning a pointer -to a 'struct passwd'. Each time it is called, it returns the next entry -in the database. When there are no more entries, it returns 'NULL', the -null pointer. When this happens, the C program should call 'endpwent()' -to close the database. Following is 'pwcat', a C program that "cats" -the password database: - - /* - * pwcat.c - * - * Generate a printable version of the password database. - */ - #include - #include - - int - main(int argc, char **argv) - { - struct passwd *p; - - while ((p = getpwent()) != NULL) - printf("%s:%s:%ld:%ld:%s:%s:%s\n", - p->pw_name, p->pw_passwd, (long) p->pw_uid, - (long) p->pw_gid, p->pw_gecos, p->pw_dir, p->pw_shell); - - endpwent(); - return 0; - } - - If you don't understand C, don't worry about it. The output from -'pwcat' is the user database, in the traditional '/etc/passwd' format of -colon-separated fields. The fields are: - -Login name - The user's login name. - -Encrypted password - The user's encrypted password. This may not be available on some - systems. - -User-ID - The user's numeric user ID number. (On some systems, it's a C - 'long', and not an 'int'. Thus, we cast it to 'long' for all - cases.) - -Group-ID - The user's numeric group ID number. (Similar comments about 'long' - versus 'int' apply here.) - -Full name - The user's full name, and perhaps other information associated with - the user. - -Home directory - The user's login (or "home") directory (familiar to shell - programmers as '$HOME'). - -Login shell - The program that is run when the user logs in. This is usually a - shell, such as Bash. - - A few lines representative of 'pwcat''s output are as follows: - - $ pwcat - -| root:x:0:1:Operator:/:/bin/sh - -| nobody:*:65534:65534::/: - -| daemon:*:1:1::/: - -| sys:*:2:2::/:/bin/csh - -| bin:*:3:3::/bin: - -| arnold:xyzzy:2076:10:Arnold Robbins:/home/arnold:/bin/sh - -| miriam:yxaay:112:10:Miriam Robbins:/home/miriam:/bin/sh - -| andy:abcca2:113:10:Andy Jacobs:/home/andy:/bin/sh - ... - - With that introduction, following is a group of functions for getting -user information. There are several functions here, corresponding to -the C functions of the same names: - - # passwd.awk --- access password file information - - BEGIN { - # tailor this to suit your system - _pw_awklib = "/usr/local/libexec/awk/" - } - - function _pw_init( oldfs, oldrs, olddol0, pwcat, using_fw, using_fpat) - { - if (_pw_inited) - return - - oldfs = FS - oldrs = RS - olddol0 = $0 - using_fw = (PROCINFO["FS"] == "FIELDWIDTHS") - using_fpat = (PROCINFO["FS"] == "FPAT") - FS = ":" - RS = "\n" - - pwcat = _pw_awklib "pwcat" - while ((pwcat | getline) > 0) { - _pw_byname[$1] = $0 - _pw_byuid[$3] = $0 - _pw_bycount[++_pw_total] = $0 - } - close(pwcat) - _pw_count = 0 - _pw_inited = 1 - FS = oldfs - if (using_fw) - FIELDWIDTHS = FIELDWIDTHS - else if (using_fpat) - FPAT = FPAT - RS = oldrs - $0 = olddol0 - } - - The 'BEGIN' rule sets a private variable to the directory where -'pwcat' is stored. Because it is used to help out an 'awk' library -routine, we have chosen to put it in '/usr/local/libexec/awk'; however, -you might want it to be in a different directory on your system. - - The function '_pw_init()' fills three copies of the user information -into three associative arrays. The arrays are indexed by username -('_pw_byname'), by user ID number ('_pw_byuid'), and by order of -occurrence ('_pw_bycount'). The variable '_pw_inited' is used for -efficiency, as '_pw_init()' needs to be called only once. - - Because this function uses 'getline' to read information from -'pwcat', it first saves the values of 'FS', 'RS', and '$0'. It notes in -the variable 'using_fw' whether field splitting with 'FIELDWIDTHS' is in -effect or not. Doing so is necessary, as these functions could be -called from anywhere within a user's program, and the user may have his -or her own way of splitting records and fields. This makes it possible -to restore the correct field-splitting mechanism later. The test can -only be true for 'gawk'. It is false if using 'FS' or 'FPAT', or on -some other 'awk' implementation. - - The code that checks for using 'FPAT', using 'using_fpat' and -'PROCINFO["FS"]', is similar. - - The main part of the function uses a loop to read database lines, -split the lines into fields, and then store the lines into each array as -necessary. When the loop is done, '_pw_init()' cleans up by closing the -pipeline, setting '_pw_inited' to one, and restoring 'FS' (and -'FIELDWIDTHS' or 'FPAT' if necessary), 'RS', and '$0'. The use of -'_pw_count' is explained shortly. - - The 'getpwnam()' function takes a username as a string argument. If -that user is in the database, it returns the appropriate line. -Otherwise, it relies on the array reference to a nonexistent element to -create the element with the null string as its value: - - function getpwnam(name) - { - _pw_init() - return _pw_byname[name] - } - - Similarly, the 'getpwuid()' function takes a user ID number argument. -If that user number is in the database, it returns the appropriate line. -Otherwise, it returns the null string: - - function getpwuid(uid) - { - _pw_init() - return _pw_byuid[uid] - } - - The 'getpwent()' function simply steps through the database, one -entry at a time. It uses '_pw_count' to track its current position in -the '_pw_bycount' array: - - function getpwent() - { - _pw_init() - if (_pw_count < _pw_total) - return _pw_bycount[++_pw_count] - return "" - } - - The 'endpwent()' function resets '_pw_count' to zero, so that -subsequent calls to 'getpwent()' start over again: - - function endpwent() - { - _pw_count = 0 - } - - A conscious design decision in this suite is that each subroutine -calls '_pw_init()' to initialize the database arrays. The overhead of -running a separate process to generate the user database, and the I/O to -scan it, are only incurred if the user's main program actually calls one -of these functions. If this library file is loaded along with a user's -program, but none of the routines are ever called, then there is no -extra runtime overhead. (The alternative is move the body of -'_pw_init()' into a 'BEGIN' rule, which always runs 'pwcat'. This -simplifies the code but runs an extra process that may never be needed.) - - In turn, calling '_pw_init()' is not too expensive, because the -'_pw_inited' variable keeps the program from reading the data more than -once. If you are worried about squeezing every last cycle out of your -'awk' program, the check of '_pw_inited' could be moved out of -'_pw_init()' and duplicated in all the other functions. In practice, -this is not necessary, as most 'awk' programs are I/O-bound, and such a -change would clutter up the code. - - The 'id' program in *note Id Program:: uses these functions. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) It is often the case that password information is stored in a -network database. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Group Functions, Next: Walking Arrays, Prev: Passwd Functions, Up: Library Functions - -10.6 Reading the Group Database -=============================== - -Much of the discussion presented in *note Passwd Functions:: applies to -the group database as well. Although there has traditionally been a -well-known file ('/etc/group') in a well-known format, the POSIX -standard only provides a set of C library routines ('' and -'getgrent()') for accessing the information. Even though this file may -exist, it may not have complete information. Therefore, as with the -user database, it is necessary to have a small C program that generates -the group database as its output. 'grcat', a C program that "cats" the -group database, is as follows: - - /* - * grcat.c - * - * Generate a printable version of the group database. - */ - #include - #include - - int - main(int argc, char **argv) - { - struct group *g; - int i; - - while ((g = getgrent()) != NULL) { - printf("%s:%s:%ld:", g->gr_name, g->gr_passwd, - (long) g->gr_gid); - for (i = 0; g->gr_mem[i] != NULL; i++) { - printf("%s", g->gr_mem[i]); - if (g->gr_mem[i+1] != NULL) - putchar(','); - } - putchar('\n'); - } - endgrent(); - return 0; - } - - Each line in the group database represents one group. The fields are -separated with colons and represent the following information: - -Group Name - The group's name. - -Group Password - The group's encrypted password. In practice, this field is never - used; it is usually empty or set to '*'. - -Group ID Number - The group's numeric group ID number; the association of name to - number must be unique within the file. (On some systems it's a C - 'long', and not an 'int'. Thus, we cast it to 'long' for all - cases.) - -Group Member List - A comma-separated list of usernames. These users are members of - the group. Modern Unix systems allow users to be members of - several groups simultaneously. If your system does, then there are - elements '"group1"' through '"groupN"' in 'PROCINFO' for those - group ID numbers. (Note that 'PROCINFO' is a 'gawk' extension; - *note Built-in Variables::.) - - Here is what running 'grcat' might produce: - - $ grcat - -| wheel:*:0:arnold - -| nogroup:*:65534: - -| daemon:*:1: - -| kmem:*:2: - -| staff:*:10:arnold,miriam,andy - -| other:*:20: - ... - - Here are the functions for obtaining information from the group -database. There are several, modeled after the C library functions of -the same names: - - # group.awk --- functions for dealing with the group file - - BEGIN { - # Change to suit your system - _gr_awklib = "/usr/local/libexec/awk/" - } - - function _gr_init( oldfs, oldrs, olddol0, grcat, - using_fw, using_fpat, n, a, i) - { - if (_gr_inited) - return - - oldfs = FS - oldrs = RS - olddol0 = $0 - using_fw = (PROCINFO["FS"] == "FIELDWIDTHS") - using_fpat = (PROCINFO["FS"] == "FPAT") - FS = ":" - RS = "\n" - - grcat = _gr_awklib "grcat" - while ((grcat | getline) > 0) { - if ($1 in _gr_byname) - _gr_byname[$1] = _gr_byname[$1] "," $4 - else - _gr_byname[$1] = $0 - if ($3 in _gr_bygid) - _gr_bygid[$3] = _gr_bygid[$3] "," $4 - else - _gr_bygid[$3] = $0 - - n = split($4, a, "[ \t]*,[ \t]*") - for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) - if (a[i] in _gr_groupsbyuser) - _gr_groupsbyuser[a[i]] = _gr_groupsbyuser[a[i]] " " $1 - else - _gr_groupsbyuser[a[i]] = $1 - - _gr_bycount[++_gr_count] = $0 - } - close(grcat) - _gr_count = 0 - _gr_inited++ - FS = oldfs - if (using_fw) - FIELDWIDTHS = FIELDWIDTHS - else if (using_fpat) - FPAT = FPAT - RS = oldrs - $0 = olddol0 - } - - The 'BEGIN' rule sets a private variable to the directory where -'grcat' is stored. Because it is used to help out an 'awk' library -routine, we have chosen to put it in '/usr/local/libexec/awk'. You -might want it to be in a different directory on your system. - - These routines follow the same general outline as the user database -routines (*note Passwd Functions::). The '_gr_inited' variable is used -to ensure that the database is scanned no more than once. The -'_gr_init()' function first saves 'FS', 'RS', and '$0', and then sets -'FS' and 'RS' to the correct values for scanning the group information. -It also takes care to note whether 'FIELDWIDTHS' or 'FPAT' is being -used, and to restore the appropriate field-splitting mechanism. - - The group information is stored in several associative arrays. The -arrays are indexed by group name ('_gr_byname'), by group ID number -('_gr_bygid'), and by position in the database ('_gr_bycount'). There -is an additional array indexed by username ('_gr_groupsbyuser'), which -is a space-separated list of groups to which each user belongs. - - Unlike in the user database, it is possible to have multiple records -in the database for the same group. This is common when a group has a -large number of members. A pair of such entries might look like the -following: - - tvpeople:*:101:johnny,jay,arsenio - tvpeople:*:101:david,conan,tom,joan - - For this reason, '_gr_init()' looks to see if a group name or group -ID number is already seen. If so, the usernames are simply concatenated -onto the previous list of users.(1) - - Finally, '_gr_init()' closes the pipeline to 'grcat', restores 'FS' -(and 'FIELDWIDTHS' or 'FPAT', if necessary), 'RS', and '$0', initializes -'_gr_count' to zero (it is used later), and makes '_gr_inited' nonzero. - - The 'getgrnam()' function takes a group name as its argument, and if -that group exists, it is returned. Otherwise, it relies on the array -reference to a nonexistent element to create the element with the null -string as its value: - - function getgrnam(group) - { - _gr_init() - return _gr_byname[group] - } - - The 'getgrgid()' function is similar; it takes a numeric group ID and -looks up the information associated with that group ID: - - function getgrgid(gid) - { - _gr_init() - return _gr_bygid[gid] - } - - The 'getgruser()' function does not have a C counterpart. It takes a -username and returns the list of groups that have the user as a member: - - function getgruser(user) - { - _gr_init() - return _gr_groupsbyuser[user] - } - - The 'getgrent()' function steps through the database one entry at a -time. It uses '_gr_count' to track its position in the list: - - function getgrent() - { - _gr_init() - if (++_gr_count in _gr_bycount) - return _gr_bycount[_gr_count] - return "" - } - - The 'endgrent()' function resets '_gr_count' to zero so that -'getgrent()' can start over again: - - function endgrent() - { - _gr_count = 0 - } - - As with the user database routines, each function calls '_gr_init()' -to initialize the arrays. Doing so only incurs the extra overhead of -running 'grcat' if these functions are used (as opposed to moving the -body of '_gr_init()' into a 'BEGIN' rule). - - Most of the work is in scanning the database and building the various -associative arrays. The functions that the user calls are themselves -very simple, relying on 'awk''s associative arrays to do work. - - The 'id' program in *note Id Program:: uses these functions. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) There is a subtle problem with the code just presented. Suppose -that the first time there were no names. This code adds the names with -a leading comma. It also doesn't check that there is a '$4'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Walking Arrays, Next: Library Functions Summary, Prev: Group Functions, Up: Library Functions - -10.7 Traversing Arrays of Arrays -================================ - -*note Arrays of Arrays:: described how 'gawk' provides arrays of arrays. -In particular, any element of an array may be either a scalar or another -array. The 'isarray()' function (*note Type Functions::) lets you -distinguish an array from a scalar. The following function, -'walk_array()', recursively traverses an array, printing the element -indices and values. You call it with the array and a string -representing the name of the array: - - function walk_array(arr, name, i) - { - for (i in arr) { - if (isarray(arr[i])) - walk_array(arr[i], (name "[" i "]")) - else - printf("%s[%s] = %s\n", name, i, arr[i]) - } - } - -It works by looping over each element of the array. If any given -element is itself an array, the function calls itself recursively, -passing the subarray and a new string representing the current index. -Otherwise, the function simply prints the element's name, index, and -value. Here is a main program to demonstrate: - - BEGIN { - a[1] = 1 - a[2][1] = 21 - a[2][2] = 22 - a[3] = 3 - a[4][1][1] = 411 - a[4][2] = 42 - - walk_array(a, "a") - } - - When run, the program produces the following output: - - $ gawk -f walk_array.awk - -| a[1] = 1 - -| a[2][1] = 21 - -| a[2][2] = 22 - -| a[3] = 3 - -| a[4][1][1] = 411 - -| a[4][2] = 42 - - The function just presented simply prints the name and value of each -scalar array element. However, it is easy to generalize it, by passing -in the name of a function to call when walking an array. The modified -function looks like this: - - function process_array(arr, name, process, do_arrays, i, new_name) - { - for (i in arr) { - new_name = (name "[" i "]") - if (isarray(arr[i])) { - if (do_arrays) - @process(new_name, arr[i]) - process_array(arr[i], new_name, process, do_arrays) - } else - @process(new_name, arr[i]) - } - } - - The arguments are as follows: - -'arr' - The array. - -'name' - The name of the array (a string). - -'process' - The name of the function to call. - -'do_arrays' - If this is true, the function can handle elements that are - subarrays. - - If subarrays are to be processed, that is done before walking them -further. - - When run with the following scaffolding, the function produces the -same results as does the earlier version of 'walk_array()': - - BEGIN { - a[1] = 1 - a[2][1] = 21 - a[2][2] = 22 - a[3] = 3 - a[4][1][1] = 411 - a[4][2] = 42 - - process_array(a, "a", "do_print", 0) - } - - function do_print(name, element) - { - printf "%s = %s\n", name, element - } - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Library Functions Summary, Next: Library Exercises, Prev: Walking Arrays, Up: Library Functions - -10.8 Summary -============ - - * Reading programs is an excellent way to learn Good Programming. - The functions and programs provided in this major node and the next - are intended to serve that purpose. - - * When writing general-purpose library functions, put some thought - into how to name any global variables so that they won't conflict - with variables from a user's program. - - * The functions presented here fit into the following categories: - - General problems - Number-to-string conversion, testing assertions, rounding, - random number generation, converting characters to numbers, - joining strings, getting easily usable time-of-day - information, and reading a whole file in one shot - - Managing data files - Noting data file boundaries, rereading the current file, - checking for readable files, checking for zero-length files, - and treating assignments as file names - - Processing command-line options - An 'awk' version of the standard C 'getopt()' function - - Reading the user and group databases - Two sets of routines that parallel the C library versions - - Traversing arrays of arrays - Two functions that traverse an array of arrays to any depth - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Library Exercises, Prev: Library Functions Summary, Up: Library Functions - -10.9 Exercises -============== - - 1. In *note Empty Files::, we presented the 'zerofile.awk' program, - which made use of 'gawk''s 'ARGIND' variable. Can this problem be - solved without relying on 'ARGIND'? If so, how? - - 2. As a related challenge, revise that code to handle the case where - an intervening value in 'ARGV' is a variable assignment. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Sample Programs, Next: Advanced Features, Prev: Library Functions, Up: Top - -11 Practical 'awk' Programs -*************************** - -*note Library Functions::, presents the idea that reading programs in a -language contributes to learning that language. This major node -continues that theme, presenting a potpourri of 'awk' programs for your -reading enjoyment. - - Many of these programs use library functions presented in *note -Library Functions::. - -* Menu: - -* Running Examples:: How to run these examples. -* Clones:: Clones of common utilities. -* Miscellaneous Programs:: Some interesting 'awk' programs. -* Programs Summary:: Summary of programs. -* Programs Exercises:: Exercises. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Running Examples, Next: Clones, Up: Sample Programs - -11.1 Running the Example Programs -================================= - -To run a given program, you would typically do something like this: - - awk -f PROGRAM -- OPTIONS FILES - -Here, PROGRAM is the name of the 'awk' program (such as 'cut.awk'), -OPTIONS are any command-line options for the program that start with a -'-', and FILES are the actual data files. - - If your system supports the '#!' executable interpreter mechanism -(*note Executable Scripts::), you can instead run your program directly: - - cut.awk -c1-8 myfiles > results - - If your 'awk' is not 'gawk', you may instead need to use this: - - cut.awk -- -c1-8 myfiles > results - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Clones, Next: Miscellaneous Programs, Prev: Running Examples, Up: Sample Programs - -11.2 Reinventing Wheels for Fun and Profit -========================================== - -This minor node presents a number of POSIX utilities implemented in -'awk'. Reinventing these programs in 'awk' is often enjoyable, because -the algorithms can be very clearly expressed, and the code is usually -very concise and simple. This is true because 'awk' does so much for -you. - - It should be noted that these programs are not necessarily intended -to replace the installed versions on your system. Nor may all of these -programs be fully compliant with the most recent POSIX standard. This -is not a problem; their purpose is to illustrate 'awk' language -programming for "real-world" tasks. - - The programs are presented in alphabetical order. - -* Menu: - -* Cut Program:: The 'cut' utility. -* Egrep Program:: The 'egrep' utility. -* Id Program:: The 'id' utility. -* Split Program:: The 'split' utility. -* Tee Program:: The 'tee' utility. -* Uniq Program:: The 'uniq' utility. -* Wc Program:: The 'wc' utility. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Cut Program, Next: Egrep Program, Up: Clones - -11.2.1 Cutting Out Fields and Columns -------------------------------------- - -The 'cut' utility selects, or "cuts," characters or fields from its -standard input and sends them to its standard output. Fields are -separated by TABs by default, but you may supply a command-line option -to change the field "delimiter" (i.e., the field-separator character). -'cut''s definition of fields is less general than 'awk''s. - - A common use of 'cut' might be to pull out just the login names of -logged-on users from the output of 'who'. For example, the following -pipeline generates a sorted, unique list of the logged-on users: - - who | cut -c1-8 | sort | uniq - - The options for 'cut' are: - -'-c LIST' - Use LIST as the list of characters to cut out. Items within the - list may be separated by commas, and ranges of characters can be - separated with dashes. The list '1-8,15,22-35' specifies - characters 1 through 8, 15, and 22 through 35. - -'-f LIST' - Use LIST as the list of fields to cut out. - -'-d DELIM' - Use DELIM as the field-separator character instead of the TAB - character. - -'-s' - Suppress printing of lines that do not contain the field delimiter. - - The 'awk' implementation of 'cut' uses the 'getopt()' library -function (*note Getopt Function::) and the 'join()' library function -(*note Join Function::). - - The program begins with a comment describing the options, the library -functions needed, and a 'usage()' function that prints out a usage -message and exits. 'usage()' is called if invalid arguments are -supplied: - - # cut.awk --- implement cut in awk - - # Options: - # -f list Cut fields - # -d c Field delimiter character - # -c list Cut characters - # - # -s Suppress lines without the delimiter - # - # Requires getopt() and join() library functions - - function usage() - { - print("usage: cut [-f list] [-d c] [-s] [files...]") > "/dev/stderr" - print("usage: cut [-c list] [files...]") > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - - Next comes a 'BEGIN' rule that parses the command-line options. It -sets 'FS' to a single TAB character, because that is 'cut''s default -field separator. The rule then sets the output field separator to be -the same as the input field separator. A loop using 'getopt()' steps -through the command-line options. Exactly one of the variables -'by_fields' or 'by_chars' is set to true, to indicate that processing -should be done by fields or by characters, respectively. When cutting -by characters, the output field separator is set to the null string: - - BEGIN { - FS = "\t" # default - OFS = FS - while ((c = getopt(ARGC, ARGV, "sf:c:d:")) != -1) { - if (c == "f") { - by_fields = 1 - fieldlist = Optarg - } else if (c == "c") { - by_chars = 1 - fieldlist = Optarg - OFS = "" - } else if (c == "d") { - if (length(Optarg) > 1) { - printf("cut: using first character of %s" \ - " for delimiter\n", Optarg) > "/dev/stderr" - Optarg = substr(Optarg, 1, 1) - } - fs = FS = Optarg - OFS = FS - if (FS == " ") # defeat awk semantics - FS = "[ ]" - } else if (c == "s") - suppress = 1 - else - usage() - } - - # Clear out options - for (i = 1; i < Optind; i++) - ARGV[i] = "" - - The code must take special care when the field delimiter is a space. -Using a single space ('" "') for the value of 'FS' is incorrect--'awk' -would separate fields with runs of spaces, TABs, and/or newlines, and we -want them to be separated with individual spaces. To this end, we save -the original space character in the variable 'fs' for later use; after -setting 'FS' to '"[ ]"' we can't use it directly to see if the field -delimiter character is in the string. - - Also remember that after 'getopt()' is through (as described in *note -Getopt Function::), we have to clear out all the elements of 'ARGV' from -1 to 'Optind', so that 'awk' does not try to process the command-line -options as file names. - - After dealing with the command-line options, the program verifies -that the options make sense. Only one or the other of '-c' and '-f' -should be used, and both require a field list. Then the program calls -either 'set_fieldlist()' or 'set_charlist()' to pull apart the list of -fields or characters: - - if (by_fields && by_chars) - usage() - - if (by_fields == 0 && by_chars == 0) - by_fields = 1 # default - - if (fieldlist == "") { - print "cut: needs list for -c or -f" > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - - if (by_fields) - set_fieldlist() - else - set_charlist() - } - - 'set_fieldlist()' splits the field list apart at the commas into an -array. Then, for each element of the array, it looks to see if the -element is actually a range, and if so, splits it apart. The function -checks the range to make sure that the first number is smaller than the -second. Each number in the list is added to the 'flist' array, which -simply lists the fields that will be printed. Normal field splitting is -used. The program lets 'awk' handle the job of doing the field -splitting: - - function set_fieldlist( n, m, i, j, k, f, g) - { - n = split(fieldlist, f, ",") - j = 1 # index in flist - for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) { - if (index(f[i], "-") != 0) { # a range - m = split(f[i], g, "-") - if (m != 2 || g[1] >= g[2]) { - printf("cut: bad field list: %s\n", - f[i]) > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - for (k = g[1]; k <= g[2]; k++) - flist[j++] = k - } else - flist[j++] = f[i] - } - nfields = j - 1 - } - - The 'set_charlist()' function is more complicated than -'set_fieldlist()'. The idea here is to use 'gawk''s 'FIELDWIDTHS' -variable (*note Constant Size::), which describes constant-width input. -When using a character list, that is exactly what we have. - - Setting up 'FIELDWIDTHS' is more complicated than simply listing the -fields that need to be printed. We have to keep track of the fields to -print and also the intervening characters that have to be skipped. For -example, suppose you wanted characters 1 through 8, 15, and 22 through -35. You would use '-c 1-8,15,22-35'. The necessary value for -'FIELDWIDTHS' is '"8 6 1 6 14"'. This yields five fields, and the -fields to print are '$1', '$3', and '$5'. The intermediate fields are -"filler", which is stuff in between the desired data. 'flist' lists the -fields to print, and 't' tracks the complete field list, including -filler fields: - - function set_charlist( field, i, j, f, g, n, m, t, - filler, last, len) - { - field = 1 # count total fields - n = split(fieldlist, f, ",") - j = 1 # index in flist - for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) { - if (index(f[i], "-") != 0) { # range - m = split(f[i], g, "-") - if (m != 2 || g[1] >= g[2]) { - printf("cut: bad character list: %s\n", - f[i]) > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - len = g[2] - g[1] + 1 - if (g[1] > 1) # compute length of filler - filler = g[1] - last - 1 - else - filler = 0 - if (filler) - t[field++] = filler - t[field++] = len # length of field - last = g[2] - flist[j++] = field - 1 - } else { - if (f[i] > 1) - filler = f[i] - last - 1 - else - filler = 0 - if (filler) - t[field++] = filler - t[field++] = 1 - last = f[i] - flist[j++] = field - 1 - } - } - FIELDWIDTHS = join(t, 1, field - 1) - nfields = j - 1 - } - - Next is the rule that processes the data. If the '-s' option is -given, then 'suppress' is true. The first 'if' statement makes sure -that the input record does have the field separator. If 'cut' is -processing fields, 'suppress' is true, and the field separator character -is not in the record, then the record is skipped. - - If the record is valid, then 'gawk' has split the data into fields, -either using the character in 'FS' or using fixed-length fields and -'FIELDWIDTHS'. The loop goes through the list of fields that should be -printed. The corresponding field is printed if it contains data. If -the next field also has data, then the separator character is written -out between the fields: - - { - if (by_fields && suppress && index($0, fs) == 0) - next - - for (i = 1; i <= nfields; i++) { - if ($flist[i] != "") { - printf "%s", $flist[i] - if (i < nfields && $flist[i+1] != "") - printf "%s", OFS - } - } - print "" - } - - This version of 'cut' relies on 'gawk''s 'FIELDWIDTHS' variable to do -the character-based cutting. It is possible in other 'awk' -implementations to use 'substr()' (*note String Functions::), but it is -also extremely painful. The 'FIELDWIDTHS' variable supplies an elegant -solution to the problem of picking the input line apart by characters. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Egrep Program, Next: Id Program, Prev: Cut Program, Up: Clones - -11.2.2 Searching for Regular Expressions in Files -------------------------------------------------- - -The 'egrep' utility searches files for patterns. It uses regular -expressions that are almost identical to those available in 'awk' (*note -Regexp::). You invoke it as follows: - - 'egrep' [OPTIONS] ''PATTERN'' FILES ... - - The PATTERN is a regular expression. In typical usage, the regular -expression is quoted to prevent the shell from expanding any of the -special characters as file name wildcards. Normally, 'egrep' prints the -lines that matched. If multiple file names are provided on the command -line, each output line is preceded by the name of the file and a colon. - - The options to 'egrep' are as follows: - -'-c' - Print out a count of the lines that matched the pattern, instead of - the lines themselves. - -'-s' - Be silent. No output is produced and the exit value indicates - whether the pattern was matched. - -'-v' - Invert the sense of the test. 'egrep' prints the lines that do - _not_ match the pattern and exits successfully if the pattern is - not matched. - -'-i' - Ignore case distinctions in both the pattern and the input data. - -'-l' - Only print (list) the names of the files that matched, not the - lines that matched. - -'-e PATTERN' - Use PATTERN as the regexp to match. The purpose of the '-e' option - is to allow patterns that start with a '-'. - - This version uses the 'getopt()' library function (*note Getopt -Function::) and the file transition library program (*note Filetrans -Function::). - - The program begins with a descriptive comment and then a 'BEGIN' rule -that processes the command-line arguments with 'getopt()'. The '-i' -(ignore case) option is particularly easy with 'gawk'; we just use the -'IGNORECASE' predefined variable (*note Built-in Variables::): - - # egrep.awk --- simulate egrep in awk - # - # Options: - # -c count of lines - # -s silent - use exit value - # -v invert test, success if no match - # -i ignore case - # -l print filenames only - # -e argument is pattern - # - # Requires getopt and file transition library functions - - BEGIN { - while ((c = getopt(ARGC, ARGV, "ce:svil")) != -1) { - if (c == "c") - count_only++ - else if (c == "s") - no_print++ - else if (c == "v") - invert++ - else if (c == "i") - IGNORECASE = 1 - else if (c == "l") - filenames_only++ - else if (c == "e") - pattern = Optarg - else - usage() - } - - Next comes the code that handles the 'egrep'-specific behavior. If -no pattern is supplied with '-e', the first nonoption on the command -line is used. The 'awk' command-line arguments up to 'ARGV[Optind]' are -cleared, so that 'awk' won't try to process them as files. If no files -are specified, the standard input is used, and if multiple files are -specified, we make sure to note this so that the file names can precede -the matched lines in the output: - - if (pattern == "") - pattern = ARGV[Optind++] - - for (i = 1; i < Optind; i++) - ARGV[i] = "" - if (Optind >= ARGC) { - ARGV[1] = "-" - ARGC = 2 - } else if (ARGC - Optind > 1) - do_filenames++ - - # if (IGNORECASE) - # pattern = tolower(pattern) - } - - The last two lines are commented out, as they are not needed in -'gawk'. They should be uncommented if you have to use another version -of 'awk'. - - The next set of lines should be uncommented if you are not using -'gawk'. This rule translates all the characters in the input line into -lowercase if the '-i' option is specified.(1) The rule is commented out -as it is not necessary with 'gawk': - - #{ - # if (IGNORECASE) - # $0 = tolower($0) - #} - - The 'beginfile()' function is called by the rule in 'ftrans.awk' when -each new file is processed. In this case, it is very simple; all it -does is initialize a variable 'fcount' to zero. 'fcount' tracks how -many lines in the current file matched the pattern. Naming the -parameter 'junk' shows we know that 'beginfile()' is called with a -parameter, but that we're not interested in its value: - - function beginfile(junk) - { - fcount = 0 - } - - The 'endfile()' function is called after each file has been -processed. It affects the output only when the user wants a count of -the number of lines that matched. 'no_print' is true only if the exit -status is desired. 'count_only' is true if line counts are desired. -'egrep' therefore only prints line counts if printing and counting are -enabled. The output format must be adjusted depending upon the number -of files to process. Finally, 'fcount' is added to 'total', so that we -know the total number of lines that matched the pattern: - - function endfile(file) - { - if (! no_print && count_only) { - if (do_filenames) - print file ":" fcount - else - print fcount - } - - total += fcount - } - - The 'BEGINFILE' and 'ENDFILE' special patterns (*note -BEGINFILE/ENDFILE::) could be used, but then the program would be -'gawk'-specific. Additionally, this example was written before 'gawk' -acquired 'BEGINFILE' and 'ENDFILE'. - - The following rule does most of the work of matching lines. The -variable 'matches' is true if the line matched the pattern. If the user -wants lines that did not match, the sense of 'matches' is inverted using -the '!' operator. 'fcount' is incremented with the value of 'matches', -which is either one or zero, depending upon a successful or unsuccessful -match. If the line does not match, the 'next' statement just moves on -to the next record. - - A number of additional tests are made, but they are only done if we -are not counting lines. First, if the user only wants the exit status -('no_print' is true), then it is enough to know that _one_ line in this -file matched, and we can skip on to the next file with 'nextfile'. -Similarly, if we are only printing file names, we can print the file -name, and then skip to the next file with 'nextfile'. Finally, each -line is printed, with a leading file name and colon if necessary: - - { - matches = ($0 ~ pattern) - if (invert) - matches = ! matches - - fcount += matches # 1 or 0 - - if (! matches) - next - - if (! count_only) { - if (no_print) - nextfile - - if (filenames_only) { - print FILENAME - nextfile - } - - if (do_filenames) - print FILENAME ":" $0 - else - print - } - } - - The 'END' rule takes care of producing the correct exit status. If -there are no matches, the exit status is one; otherwise, it is zero: - - END { - exit (total == 0) - } - - The 'usage()' function prints a usage message in case of invalid -options, and then exits: - - function usage() - { - print("Usage: egrep [-csvil] [-e pat] [files ...]") > "/dev/stderr" - print("\n\tegrep [-csvil] pat [files ...]") > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) It also introduces a subtle bug; if a match happens, we output -the translated line, not the original. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Id Program, Next: Split Program, Prev: Egrep Program, Up: Clones - -11.2.3 Printing Out User Information ------------------------------------- - -The 'id' utility lists a user's real and effective user ID numbers, real -and effective group ID numbers, and the user's group set, if any. 'id' -only prints the effective user ID and group ID if they are different -from the real ones. If possible, 'id' also supplies the corresponding -user and group names. The output might look like this: - - $ id - -| uid=1000(arnold) gid=1000(arnold) groups=1000(arnold),4(adm),7(lp),27(sudo) - - This information is part of what is provided by 'gawk''s 'PROCINFO' -array (*note Built-in Variables::). However, the 'id' utility provides -a more palatable output than just individual numbers. - - Here is a simple version of 'id' written in 'awk'. It uses the user -database library functions (*note Passwd Functions::) and the group -database library functions (*note Group Functions::) from *note Library -Functions::. - - The program is fairly straightforward. All the work is done in the -'BEGIN' rule. The user and group ID numbers are obtained from -'PROCINFO'. The code is repetitive. The entry in the user database for -the real user ID number is split into parts at the ':'. The name is the -first field. Similar code is used for the effective user ID number and -the group numbers: - - # id.awk --- implement id in awk - # - # Requires user and group library functions - # output is: - # uid=12(foo) euid=34(bar) gid=3(baz) \ - # egid=5(blat) groups=9(nine),2(two),1(one) - - BEGIN { - uid = PROCINFO["uid"] - euid = PROCINFO["euid"] - gid = PROCINFO["gid"] - egid = PROCINFO["egid"] - - printf("uid=%d", uid) - pw = getpwuid(uid) - pr_first_field(pw) - - if (euid != uid) { - printf(" euid=%d", euid) - pw = getpwuid(euid) - pr_first_field(pw) - } - - printf(" gid=%d", gid) - pw = getgrgid(gid) - pr_first_field(pw) - - if (egid != gid) { - printf(" egid=%d", egid) - pw = getgrgid(egid) - pr_first_field(pw) - } - - for (i = 1; ("group" i) in PROCINFO; i++) { - if (i == 1) - printf(" groups=") - group = PROCINFO["group" i] - printf("%d", group) - pw = getgrgid(group) - pr_first_field(pw) - if (("group" (i+1)) in PROCINFO) - printf(",") - } - - print "" - } - - function pr_first_field(str, a) - { - if (str != "") { - split(str, a, ":") - printf("(%s)", a[1]) - } - } - - The test in the 'for' loop is worth noting. Any supplementary groups -in the 'PROCINFO' array have the indices '"group1"' through '"groupN"' -for some N (i.e., the total number of supplementary groups). However, -we don't know in advance how many of these groups there are. - - This loop works by starting at one, concatenating the value with -'"group"', and then using 'in' to see if that value is in the array -(*note Reference to Elements::). Eventually, 'i' is incremented past -the last group in the array and the loop exits. - - The loop is also correct if there are _no_ supplementary groups; then -the condition is false the first time it's tested, and the loop body -never executes. - - The 'pr_first_field()' function simply isolates out some code that is -used repeatedly, making the whole program shorter and cleaner. In -particular, moving the check for the empty string into this function -saves several lines of code. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Split Program, Next: Tee Program, Prev: Id Program, Up: Clones - -11.2.4 Splitting a Large File into Pieces ------------------------------------------ - -The 'split' program splits large text files into smaller pieces. Usage -is as follows:(1) - - 'split' ['-COUNT'] [FILE] [PREFIX] - - By default, the output files are named 'xaa', 'xab', and so on. Each -file has 1,000 lines in it, with the likely exception of the last file. -To change the number of lines in each file, supply a number on the -command line preceded with a minus sign (e.g., '-500' for files with 500 -lines in them instead of 1,000). To change the names of the output -files to something like 'myfileaa', 'myfileab', and so on, supply an -additional argument that specifies the file name prefix. - - Here is a version of 'split' in 'awk'. It uses the 'ord()' and -'chr()' functions presented in *note Ordinal Functions::. - - The program first sets its defaults, and then tests to make sure -there are not too many arguments. It then looks at each argument in -turn. The first argument could be a minus sign followed by a number. -If it is, this happens to look like a negative number, so it is made -positive, and that is the count of lines. The data file name is skipped -over and the final argument is used as the prefix for the output file -names: - - # split.awk --- do split in awk - # - # Requires ord() and chr() library functions - # usage: split [-count] [file] [outname] - - BEGIN { - outfile = "x" # default - count = 1000 - if (ARGC > 4) - usage() - - i = 1 - if (i in ARGV && ARGV[i] ~ /^-[[:digit:]]+$/) { - count = -ARGV[i] - ARGV[i] = "" - i++ - } - # test argv in case reading from stdin instead of file - if (i in ARGV) - i++ # skip datafile name - if (i in ARGV) { - outfile = ARGV[i] - ARGV[i] = "" - } - - s1 = s2 = "a" - out = (outfile s1 s2) - } - - The next rule does most of the work. 'tcount' (temporary count) -tracks how many lines have been printed to the output file so far. If -it is greater than 'count', it is time to close the current file and -start a new one. 's1' and 's2' track the current suffixes for the file -name. If they are both 'z', the file is just too big. Otherwise, 's1' -moves to the next letter in the alphabet and 's2' starts over again at -'a': - - { - if (++tcount > count) { - close(out) - if (s2 == "z") { - if (s1 == "z") { - printf("split: %s is too large to split\n", - FILENAME) > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - s1 = chr(ord(s1) + 1) - s2 = "a" - } - else - s2 = chr(ord(s2) + 1) - out = (outfile s1 s2) - tcount = 1 - } - print > out - } - -The 'usage()' function simply prints an error message and exits: - - function usage() - { - print("usage: split [-num] [file] [outname]") > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - - This program is a bit sloppy; it relies on 'awk' to automatically -close the last file instead of doing it in an 'END' rule. It also -assumes that letters are contiguous in the character set, which isn't -true for EBCDIC systems. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This is the traditional usage. The POSIX usage is different, but -not relevant for what the program aims to demonstrate. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Tee Program, Next: Uniq Program, Prev: Split Program, Up: Clones - -11.2.5 Duplicating Output into Multiple Files ---------------------------------------------- - -The 'tee' program is known as a "pipe fitting." 'tee' copies its -standard input to its standard output and also duplicates it to the -files named on the command line. Its usage is as follows: - - 'tee' ['-a'] FILE ... - - The '-a' option tells 'tee' to append to the named files, instead of -truncating them and starting over. - - The 'BEGIN' rule first makes a copy of all the command-line arguments -into an array named 'copy'. 'ARGV[0]' is not needed, so it is not -copied. 'tee' cannot use 'ARGV' directly, because 'awk' attempts to -process each file name in 'ARGV' as input data. - - If the first argument is '-a', then the flag variable 'append' is set -to true, and both 'ARGV[1]' and 'copy[1]' are deleted. If 'ARGC' is -less than two, then no file names were supplied and 'tee' prints a usage -message and exits. Finally, 'awk' is forced to read the standard input -by setting 'ARGV[1]' to '"-"' and 'ARGC' to two: - - # tee.awk --- tee in awk - # - # Copy standard input to all named output files. - # Append content if -a option is supplied. - # - BEGIN { - for (i = 1; i < ARGC; i++) - copy[i] = ARGV[i] - - if (ARGV[1] == "-a") { - append = 1 - delete ARGV[1] - delete copy[1] - ARGC-- - } - if (ARGC < 2) { - print "usage: tee [-a] file ..." > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - ARGV[1] = "-" - ARGC = 2 - } - - The following single rule does all the work. Because there is no -pattern, it is executed for each line of input. The body of the rule -simply prints the line into each file on the command line, and then to -the standard output: - - { - # moving the if outside the loop makes it run faster - if (append) - for (i in copy) - print >> copy[i] - else - for (i in copy) - print > copy[i] - print - } - -It is also possible to write the loop this way: - - for (i in copy) - if (append) - print >> copy[i] - else - print > copy[i] - -This is more concise, but it is also less efficient. The 'if' is tested -for each record and for each output file. By duplicating the loop body, -the 'if' is only tested once for each input record. If there are N -input records and M output files, the first method only executes N 'if' -statements, while the second executes N'*'M 'if' statements. - - Finally, the 'END' rule cleans up by closing all the output files: - - END { - for (i in copy) - close(copy[i]) - } - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Uniq Program, Next: Wc Program, Prev: Tee Program, Up: Clones - -11.2.6 Printing Nonduplicated Lines of Text -------------------------------------------- - -The 'uniq' utility reads sorted lines of data on its standard input, and -by default removes duplicate lines. In other words, it only prints -unique lines--hence the name. 'uniq' has a number of options. The -usage is as follows: - - 'uniq' ['-udc' ['-N']] ['+N'] [INPUTFILE [OUTPUTFILE]] - - The options for 'uniq' are: - -'-d' - Print only repeated (duplicated) lines. - -'-u' - Print only nonrepeated (unique) lines. - -'-c' - Count lines. This option overrides '-d' and '-u'. Both repeated - and nonrepeated lines are counted. - -'-N' - Skip N fields before comparing lines. The definition of fields is - similar to 'awk''s default: nonwhitespace characters separated by - runs of spaces and/or TABs. - -'+N' - Skip N characters before comparing lines. Any fields specified - with '-N' are skipped first. - -'INPUTFILE' - Data is read from the input file named on the command line, instead - of from the standard input. - -'OUTPUTFILE' - The generated output is sent to the named output file, instead of - to the standard output. - - Normally 'uniq' behaves as if both the '-d' and '-u' options are -provided. - - 'uniq' uses the 'getopt()' library function (*note Getopt Function::) -and the 'join()' library function (*note Join Function::). - - The program begins with a 'usage()' function and then a brief outline -of the options and their meanings in comments. The 'BEGIN' rule deals -with the command-line arguments and options. It uses a trick to get -'getopt()' to handle options of the form '-25', treating such an option -as the option letter '2' with an argument of '5'. If indeed two or more -digits are supplied ('Optarg' looks like a number), 'Optarg' is -concatenated with the option digit and then the result is added to zero -to make it into a number. If there is only one digit in the option, -then 'Optarg' is not needed. In this case, 'Optind' must be decremented -so that 'getopt()' processes it next time. This code is admittedly a -bit tricky. - - If no options are supplied, then the default is taken, to print both -repeated and nonrepeated lines. The output file, if provided, is -assigned to 'outputfile'. Early on, 'outputfile' is initialized to the -standard output, '/dev/stdout': - - # uniq.awk --- do uniq in awk - # - # Requires getopt() and join() library functions - - function usage() - { - print("Usage: uniq [-udc [-n]] [+n] [ in [ out ]]") > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - - # -c count lines. overrides -d and -u - # -d only repeated lines - # -u only nonrepeated lines - # -n skip n fields - # +n skip n characters, skip fields first - - BEGIN { - count = 1 - outputfile = "/dev/stdout" - opts = "udc0:1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8:9:" - while ((c = getopt(ARGC, ARGV, opts)) != -1) { - if (c == "u") - non_repeated_only++ - else if (c == "d") - repeated_only++ - else if (c == "c") - do_count++ - else if (index("0123456789", c) != 0) { - # getopt() requires args to options - # this messes us up for things like -5 - if (Optarg ~ /^[[:digit:]]+$/) - fcount = (c Optarg) + 0 - else { - fcount = c + 0 - Optind-- - } - } else - usage() - } - - if (ARGV[Optind] ~ /^\+[[:digit:]]+$/) { - charcount = substr(ARGV[Optind], 2) + 0 - Optind++ - } - - for (i = 1; i < Optind; i++) - ARGV[i] = "" - - if (repeated_only == 0 && non_repeated_only == 0) - repeated_only = non_repeated_only = 1 - - if (ARGC - Optind == 2) { - outputfile = ARGV[ARGC - 1] - ARGV[ARGC - 1] = "" - } - } - - The following function, 'are_equal()', compares the current line, -'$0', to the previous line, 'last'. It handles skipping fields and -characters. If no field count and no character count are specified, -'are_equal()' returns one or zero depending upon the result of a simple -string comparison of 'last' and '$0'. - - Otherwise, things get more complicated. If fields have to be -skipped, each line is broken into an array using 'split()' (*note String -Functions::); the desired fields are then joined back into a line using -'join()'. The joined lines are stored in 'clast' and 'cline'. If no -fields are skipped, 'clast' and 'cline' are set to 'last' and '$0', -respectively. Finally, if characters are skipped, 'substr()' is used to -strip off the leading 'charcount' characters in 'clast' and 'cline'. -The two strings are then compared and 'are_equal()' returns the result: - - function are_equal( n, m, clast, cline, alast, aline) - { - if (fcount == 0 && charcount == 0) - return (last == $0) - - if (fcount > 0) { - n = split(last, alast) - m = split($0, aline) - clast = join(alast, fcount+1, n) - cline = join(aline, fcount+1, m) - } else { - clast = last - cline = $0 - } - if (charcount) { - clast = substr(clast, charcount + 1) - cline = substr(cline, charcount + 1) - } - - return (clast == cline) - } - - The following two rules are the body of the program. The first one -is executed only for the very first line of data. It sets 'last' equal -to '$0', so that subsequent lines of text have something to be compared -to. - - The second rule does the work. The variable 'equal' is one or zero, -depending upon the results of 'are_equal()''s comparison. If 'uniq' is -counting repeated lines, and the lines are equal, then it increments the -'count' variable. Otherwise, it prints the line and resets 'count', -because the two lines are not equal. - - If 'uniq' is not counting, and if the lines are equal, 'count' is -incremented. Nothing is printed, as the point is to remove duplicates. -Otherwise, if 'uniq' is counting repeated lines and more than one line -is seen, or if 'uniq' is counting nonrepeated lines and only one line is -seen, then the line is printed, and 'count' is reset. - - Finally, similar logic is used in the 'END' rule to print the final -line of input data: - - NR == 1 { - last = $0 - next - } - - { - equal = are_equal() - - if (do_count) { # overrides -d and -u - if (equal) - count++ - else { - printf("%4d %s\n", count, last) > outputfile - last = $0 - count = 1 # reset - } - next - } - - if (equal) - count++ - else { - if ((repeated_only && count > 1) || - (non_repeated_only && count == 1)) - print last > outputfile - last = $0 - count = 1 - } - } - - END { - if (do_count) - printf("%4d %s\n", count, last) > outputfile - else if ((repeated_only && count > 1) || - (non_repeated_only && count == 1)) - print last > outputfile - close(outputfile) - } - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Wc Program, Prev: Uniq Program, Up: Clones - -11.2.7 Counting Things ----------------------- - -The 'wc' (word count) utility counts lines, words, and characters in one -or more input files. Its usage is as follows: - - 'wc' ['-lwc'] [FILES ...] - - If no files are specified on the command line, 'wc' reads its -standard input. If there are multiple files, it also prints total -counts for all the files. The options and their meanings are as -follows: - -'-l' - Count only lines. - -'-w' - Count only words. A "word" is a contiguous sequence of - nonwhitespace characters, separated by spaces and/or TABs. - Luckily, this is the normal way 'awk' separates fields in its input - data. - -'-c' - Count only characters. - - Implementing 'wc' in 'awk' is particularly elegant, because 'awk' -does a lot of the work for us; it splits lines into words (i.e., fields) -and counts them, it counts lines (i.e., records), and it can easily tell -us how long a line is. - - This program uses the 'getopt()' library function (*note Getopt -Function::) and the file-transition functions (*note Filetrans -Function::). - - This version has one notable difference from traditional versions of -'wc': it always prints the counts in the order lines, words, and -characters. Traditional versions note the order of the '-l', '-w', and -'-c' options on the command line, and print the counts in that order. - - The 'BEGIN' rule does the argument processing. The variable -'print_total' is true if more than one file is named on the command -line: - - # wc.awk --- count lines, words, characters - - # Options: - # -l only count lines - # -w only count words - # -c only count characters - # - # Default is to count lines, words, characters - # - # Requires getopt() and file transition library functions - - BEGIN { - # let getopt() print a message about - # invalid options. we ignore them - while ((c = getopt(ARGC, ARGV, "lwc")) != -1) { - if (c == "l") - do_lines = 1 - else if (c == "w") - do_words = 1 - else if (c == "c") - do_chars = 1 - } - for (i = 1; i < Optind; i++) - ARGV[i] = "" - - # if no options, do all - if (! do_lines && ! do_words && ! do_chars) - do_lines = do_words = do_chars = 1 - - print_total = (ARGC - i > 1) - } - - The 'beginfile()' function is simple; it just resets the counts of -lines, words, and characters to zero, and saves the current file name in -'fname': - - function beginfile(file) - { - lines = words = chars = 0 - fname = FILENAME - } - - The 'endfile()' function adds the current file's numbers to the -running totals of lines, words, and characters. It then prints out -those numbers for the file that was just read. It relies on -'beginfile()' to reset the numbers for the following data file: - - function endfile(file) - { - tlines += lines - twords += words - tchars += chars - if (do_lines) - printf "\t%d", lines - if (do_words) - printf "\t%d", words - if (do_chars) - printf "\t%d", chars - printf "\t%s\n", fname - } - - There is one rule that is executed for each line. It adds the length -of the record, plus one, to 'chars'.(1) Adding one plus the record -length is needed because the newline character separating records (the -value of 'RS') is not part of the record itself, and thus not included -in its length. Next, 'lines' is incremented for each line read, and -'words' is incremented by the value of 'NF', which is the number of -"words" on this line: - - # do per line - { - chars += length($0) + 1 # get newline - lines++ - words += NF - } - - Finally, the 'END' rule simply prints the totals for all the files: - - END { - if (print_total) { - if (do_lines) - printf "\t%d", tlines - if (do_words) - printf "\t%d", twords - if (do_chars) - printf "\t%d", tchars - print "\ttotal" - } - } - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Because 'gawk' understands multibyte locales, this code counts -characters, not bytes. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Miscellaneous Programs, Next: Programs Summary, Prev: Clones, Up: Sample Programs - -11.3 A Grab Bag of 'awk' Programs -================================= - -This minor node is a large "grab bag" of miscellaneous programs. We -hope you find them both interesting and enjoyable. - -* Menu: - -* Dupword Program:: Finding duplicated words in a document. -* Alarm Program:: An alarm clock. -* Translate Program:: A program similar to the 'tr' utility. -* Labels Program:: Printing mailing labels. -* Word Sorting:: A program to produce a word usage count. -* History Sorting:: Eliminating duplicate entries from a history - file. -* Extract Program:: Pulling out programs from Texinfo source - files. -* Simple Sed:: A Simple Stream Editor. -* Igawk Program:: A wrapper for 'awk' that includes - files. -* Anagram Program:: Finding anagrams from a dictionary. -* Signature Program:: People do amazing things with too much time on - their hands. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Dupword Program, Next: Alarm Program, Up: Miscellaneous Programs - -11.3.1 Finding Duplicated Words in a Document ---------------------------------------------- - -A common error when writing large amounts of prose is to accidentally -duplicate words. Typically you will see this in text as something like -"the the program does the following..." When the text is online, often -the duplicated words occur at the end of one line and the beginning of -another, making them very difficult to spot. - - This program, 'dupword.awk', scans through a file one line at a time -and looks for adjacent occurrences of the same word. It also saves the -last word on a line (in the variable 'prev') for comparison with the -first word on the next line. - - The first two statements make sure that the line is all lowercase, so -that, for example, "The" and "the" compare equal to each other. The -next statement replaces nonalphanumeric and nonwhitespace characters -with spaces, so that punctuation does not affect the comparison either. -The characters are replaced with spaces so that formatting controls -don't create nonsense words (e.g., the Texinfo '@code{NF}' becomes -'codeNF' if punctuation is simply deleted). The record is then resplit -into fields, yielding just the actual words on the line, and ensuring -that there are no empty fields. - - If there are no fields left after removing all the punctuation, the -current record is skipped. Otherwise, the program loops through each -word, comparing it to the previous one: - - # dupword.awk --- find duplicate words in text - { - $0 = tolower($0) - gsub(/[^[:alnum:][:blank:]]/, " "); - $0 = $0 # re-split - if (NF == 0) - next - if ($1 == prev) - printf("%s:%d: duplicate %s\n", - FILENAME, FNR, $1) - for (i = 2; i <= NF; i++) - if ($i == $(i-1)) - printf("%s:%d: duplicate %s\n", - FILENAME, FNR, $i) - prev = $NF - } - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Alarm Program, Next: Translate Program, Prev: Dupword Program, Up: Miscellaneous Programs - -11.3.2 An Alarm Clock Program ------------------------------ - - Nothing cures insomnia like a ringing alarm clock. - -- _Arnold Robbins_ - Sleep is for web developers. - -- _Erik Quanstrom_ - - The following program is a simple "alarm clock" program. You give it -a time of day and an optional message. At the specified time, it prints -the message on the standard output. In addition, you can give it the -number of times to repeat the message as well as a delay between -repetitions. - - This program uses the 'getlocaltime()' function from *note -Getlocaltime Function::. - - All the work is done in the 'BEGIN' rule. The first part is argument -checking and setting of defaults: the delay, the count, and the message -to print. If the user supplied a message without the ASCII BEL -character (known as the "alert" character, '"\a"'), then it is added to -the message. (On many systems, printing the ASCII BEL generates an -audible alert. Thus, when the alarm goes off, the system calls -attention to itself in case the user is not looking at the computer.) -Just for a change, this program uses a 'switch' statement (*note Switch -Statement::), but the processing could be done with a series of -'if'-'else' statements instead. Here is the program: - - # alarm.awk --- set an alarm - # - # Requires getlocaltime() library function - # usage: alarm time [ "message" [ count [ delay ] ] ] - - BEGIN { - # Initial argument sanity checking - usage1 = "usage: alarm time ['message' [count [delay]]]" - usage2 = sprintf("\t(%s) time ::= hh:mm", ARGV[1]) - - if (ARGC < 2) { - print usage1 > "/dev/stderr" - print usage2 > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - switch (ARGC) { - case 5: - delay = ARGV[4] + 0 - # fall through - case 4: - count = ARGV[3] + 0 - # fall through - case 3: - message = ARGV[2] - break - default: - if (ARGV[1] !~ /[[:digit:]]?[[:digit:]]:[[:digit:]]{2}/) { - print usage1 > "/dev/stderr" - print usage2 > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - break - } - - # set defaults for once we reach the desired time - if (delay == 0) - delay = 180 # 3 minutes - if (count == 0) - count = 5 - if (message == "") - message = sprintf("\aIt is now %s!\a", ARGV[1]) - else if (index(message, "\a") == 0) - message = "\a" message "\a" - - The next minor node of code turns the alarm time into hours and -minutes, converts it (if necessary) to a 24-hour clock, and then turns -that time into a count of the seconds since midnight. Next it turns the -current time into a count of seconds since midnight. The difference -between the two is how long to wait before setting off the alarm: - - # split up alarm time - split(ARGV[1], atime, ":") - hour = atime[1] + 0 # force numeric - minute = atime[2] + 0 # force numeric - - # get current broken down time - getlocaltime(now) - - # if time given is 12-hour hours and it's after that - # hour, e.g., `alarm 5:30' at 9 a.m. means 5:30 p.m., - # then add 12 to real hour - if (hour < 12 && now["hour"] > hour) - hour += 12 - - # set target time in seconds since midnight - target = (hour * 60 * 60) + (minute * 60) - - # get current time in seconds since midnight - current = (now["hour"] * 60 * 60) + \ - (now["minute"] * 60) + now["second"] - - # how long to sleep for - naptime = target - current - if (naptime <= 0) { - print "alarm: time is in the past!" > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - - Finally, the program uses the 'system()' function (*note I/O -Functions::) to call the 'sleep' utility. The 'sleep' utility simply -pauses for the given number of seconds. If the exit status is not zero, -the program assumes that 'sleep' was interrupted and exits. If 'sleep' -exited with an OK status (zero), then the program prints the message in -a loop, again using 'sleep' to delay for however many seconds are -necessary: - - # zzzzzz..... go away if interrupted - if (system(sprintf("sleep %d", naptime)) != 0) - exit 1 - - # time to notify! - command = sprintf("sleep %d", delay) - for (i = 1; i <= count; i++) { - print message - # if sleep command interrupted, go away - if (system(command) != 0) - break - } - - exit 0 - } - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Translate Program, Next: Labels Program, Prev: Alarm Program, Up: Miscellaneous Programs - -11.3.3 Transliterating Characters ---------------------------------- - -The system 'tr' utility transliterates characters. For example, it is -often used to map uppercase letters into lowercase for further -processing: - - GENERATE DATA | tr 'A-Z' 'a-z' | PROCESS DATA ... - - 'tr' requires two lists of characters.(1) When processing the input, -the first character in the first list is replaced with the first -character in the second list, the second character in the first list is -replaced with the second character in the second list, and so on. If -there are more characters in the "from" list than in the "to" list, the -last character of the "to" list is used for the remaining characters in -the "from" list. - - Once upon a time, a user proposed adding a transliteration function -to 'gawk'. The following program was written to prove that character -transliteration could be done with a user-level function. This program -is not as complete as the system 'tr' utility, but it does most of the -job. - - The 'translate' program was written long before 'gawk' acquired the -ability to split each character in a string into separate array -elements. Thus, it makes repeated use of the 'substr()', 'index()', and -'gsub()' built-in functions (*note String Functions::). There are two -functions. The first, 'stranslate()', takes three arguments: - -'from' - A list of characters from which to translate - -'to' - A list of characters to which to translate - -'target' - The string on which to do the translation - - Associative arrays make the translation part fairly easy. 't_ar' -holds the "to" characters, indexed by the "from" characters. Then a -simple loop goes through 'from', one character at a time. For each -character in 'from', if the character appears in 'target', it is -replaced with the corresponding 'to' character. - - The 'translate()' function calls 'stranslate()', using '$0' as the -target. The main program sets two global variables, 'FROM' and 'TO', -from the command line, and then changes 'ARGV' so that 'awk' reads from -the standard input. - - Finally, the processing rule simply calls 'translate()' for each -record: - - # translate.awk --- do tr-like stuff - # Bugs: does not handle things like tr A-Z a-z; it has - # to be spelled out. However, if `to' is shorter than `from', - # the last character in `to' is used for the rest of `from'. - - function stranslate(from, to, target, lf, lt, ltarget, t_ar, i, c, - result) - { - lf = length(from) - lt = length(to) - ltarget = length(target) - for (i = 1; i <= lt; i++) - t_ar[substr(from, i, 1)] = substr(to, i, 1) - if (lt < lf) - for (; i <= lf; i++) - t_ar[substr(from, i, 1)] = substr(to, lt, 1) - for (i = 1; i <= ltarget; i++) { - c = substr(target, i, 1) - if (c in t_ar) - c = t_ar[c] - result = result c - } - return result - } - - function translate(from, to) - { - return $0 = stranslate(from, to, $0) - } - - # main program - BEGIN { - if (ARGC < 3) { - print "usage: translate from to" > "/dev/stderr" - exit - } - FROM = ARGV[1] - TO = ARGV[2] - ARGC = 2 - ARGV[1] = "-" - } - - { - translate(FROM, TO) - print - } - - It is possible to do character transliteration in a user-level -function, but it is not necessarily efficient, and we (the 'gawk' -developers) started to consider adding a built-in function. However, -shortly after writing this program, we learned that Brian Kernighan had -added the 'toupper()' and 'tolower()' functions to his 'awk' (*note -String Functions::). These functions handle the vast majority of the -cases where character transliteration is necessary, and so we chose to -simply add those functions to 'gawk' as well and then leave well enough -alone. - - An obvious improvement to this program would be to set up the 't_ar' -array only once, in a 'BEGIN' rule. However, this assumes that the -"from" and "to" lists will never change throughout the lifetime of the -program. - - Another obvious improvement is to enable the use of ranges, such as -'a-z', as allowed by the 'tr' utility. Look at the code for 'cut.awk' -(*note Cut Program::) for inspiration. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) On some older systems, including Solaris, the system version of -'tr' may require that the lists be written as range expressions enclosed -in square brackets ('[a-z]') and quoted, to prevent the shell from -attempting a file name expansion. This is not a feature. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Labels Program, Next: Word Sorting, Prev: Translate Program, Up: Miscellaneous Programs - -11.3.4 Printing Mailing Labels ------------------------------- - -Here is a "real-world"(1) program. This script reads lists of names and -addresses and generates mailing labels. Each page of labels has 20 -labels on it, two across and 10 down. The addresses are guaranteed to -be no more than five lines of data. Each address is separated from the -next by a blank line. - - The basic idea is to read 20 labels' worth of data. Each line of -each label is stored in the 'line' array. The single rule takes care of -filling the 'line' array and printing the page when 20 labels have been -read. - - The 'BEGIN' rule simply sets 'RS' to the empty string, so that 'awk' -splits records at blank lines (*note Records::). It sets 'MAXLINES' to -100, because 100 is the maximum number of lines on the page (20 * 5 = -100). - - Most of the work is done in the 'printpage()' function. The label -lines are stored sequentially in the 'line' array. But they have to -print horizontally: 'line[1]' next to 'line[6]', 'line[2]' next to -'line[7]', and so on. Two loops accomplish this. The outer loop, -controlled by 'i', steps through every 10 lines of data; this is each -row of labels. The inner loop, controlled by 'j', goes through the -lines within the row. As 'j' goes from 0 to 4, 'i+j' is the 'j'th line -in the row, and 'i+j+5' is the entry next to it. The output ends up -looking something like this: - - line 1 line 6 - line 2 line 7 - line 3 line 8 - line 4 line 9 - line 5 line 10 - ... - -The 'printf' format string '%-41s' left-aligns the data and prints it -within a fixed-width field. - - As a final note, an extra blank line is printed at lines 21 and 61, -to keep the output lined up on the labels. This is dependent on the -particular brand of labels in use when the program was written. You -will also note that there are two blank lines at the top and two blank -lines at the bottom. - - The 'END' rule arranges to flush the final page of labels; there may -not have been an even multiple of 20 labels in the data: - - # labels.awk --- print mailing labels - - # Each label is 5 lines of data that may have blank lines. - # The label sheets have 2 blank lines at the top and 2 at - # the bottom. - - BEGIN { RS = "" ; MAXLINES = 100 } - - function printpage( i, j) - { - if (Nlines <= 0) - return - - printf "\n\n" # header - - for (i = 1; i <= Nlines; i += 10) { - if (i == 21 || i == 61) - print "" - for (j = 0; j < 5; j++) { - if (i + j > MAXLINES) - break - printf " %-41s %s\n", line[i+j], line[i+j+5] - } - print "" - } - - printf "\n\n" # footer - - delete line - } - - # main rule - { - if (Count >= 20) { - printpage() - Count = 0 - Nlines = 0 - } - n = split($0, a, "\n") - for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) - line[++Nlines] = a[i] - for (; i <= 5; i++) - line[++Nlines] = "" - Count++ - } - - END { - printpage() - } - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) "Real world" is defined as "a program actually used to get -something done." - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Word Sorting, Next: History Sorting, Prev: Labels Program, Up: Miscellaneous Programs - -11.3.5 Generating Word-Usage Counts ------------------------------------ - -When working with large amounts of text, it can be interesting to know -how often different words appear. For example, an author may overuse -certain words, in which case he or she might wish to find synonyms to -substitute for words that appear too often. This node develops a -program for counting words and presenting the frequency information in a -useful format. - - At first glance, a program like this would seem to do the job: - - # wordfreq-first-try.awk --- print list of word frequencies - - { - for (i = 1; i <= NF; i++) - freq[$i]++ - } - - END { - for (word in freq) - printf "%s\t%d\n", word, freq[word] - } - - The program relies on 'awk''s default field-splitting mechanism to -break each line up into "words" and uses an associative array named -'freq', indexed by each word, to count the number of times the word -occurs. In the 'END' rule, it prints the counts. - - This program has several problems that prevent it from being useful -on real text files: - - * The 'awk' language considers upper- and lowercase characters to be - distinct. Therefore, "bartender" and "Bartender" are not treated - as the same word. This is undesirable, because words are - capitalized if they begin sentences in normal text, and a frequency - analyzer should not be sensitive to capitalization. - - * Words are detected using the 'awk' convention that fields are - separated just by whitespace. Other characters in the input - (except newlines) don't have any special meaning to 'awk'. This - means that punctuation characters count as part of words. - - * The output does not come out in any useful order. You're more - likely to be interested in which words occur most frequently or in - having an alphabetized table of how frequently each word occurs. - - The first problem can be solved by using 'tolower()' to remove case -distinctions. The second problem can be solved by using 'gsub()' to -remove punctuation characters. Finally, we solve the third problem by -using the system 'sort' utility to process the output of the 'awk' -script. Here is the new version of the program: - - # wordfreq.awk --- print list of word frequencies - - { - $0 = tolower($0) # remove case distinctions - # remove punctuation - gsub(/[^[:alnum:]_[:blank:]]/, "", $0) - for (i = 1; i <= NF; i++) - freq[$i]++ - } - - END { - for (word in freq) - printf "%s\t%d\n", word, freq[word] - } - - The regexp '/[^[:alnum:]_[:blank:]]/' might have been written -'/[[:punct:]]/', but then underscores would also be removed, and we want -to keep them. - - Assuming we have saved this program in a file named 'wordfreq.awk', -and that the data is in 'file1', the following pipeline: - - awk -f wordfreq.awk file1 | sort -k 2nr - -produces a table of the words appearing in 'file1' in order of -decreasing frequency. - - The 'awk' program suitably massages the data and produces a word -frequency table, which is not ordered. The 'awk' script's output is -then sorted by the 'sort' utility and printed on the screen. - - The options given to 'sort' specify a sort that uses the second field -of each input line (skipping one field), that the sort keys should be -treated as numeric quantities (otherwise '15' would come before '5'), -and that the sorting should be done in descending (reverse) order. - - The 'sort' could even be done from within the program, by changing -the 'END' action to: - - END { - sort = "sort -k 2nr" - for (word in freq) - printf "%s\t%d\n", word, freq[word] | sort - close(sort) - } - - This way of sorting must be used on systems that do not have true -pipes at the command-line (or batch-file) level. See the general -operating system documentation for more information on how to use the -'sort' program. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: History Sorting, Next: Extract Program, Prev: Word Sorting, Up: Miscellaneous Programs - -11.3.6 Removing Duplicates from Unsorted Text ---------------------------------------------- - -The 'uniq' program (*note Uniq Program::) removes duplicate lines from -_sorted_ data. - - Suppose, however, you need to remove duplicate lines from a data file -but that you want to preserve the order the lines are in. A good -example of this might be a shell history file. The history file keeps a -copy of all the commands you have entered, and it is not unusual to -repeat a command several times in a row. Occasionally you might want to -compact the history by removing duplicate entries. Yet it is desirable -to maintain the order of the original commands. - - This simple program does the job. It uses two arrays. The 'data' -array is indexed by the text of each line. For each line, 'data[$0]' is -incremented. If a particular line has not been seen before, then -'data[$0]' is zero. In this case, the text of the line is stored in -'lines[count]'. Each element of 'lines' is a unique command, and the -indices of 'lines' indicate the order in which those lines are -encountered. The 'END' rule simply prints out the lines, in order: - - # histsort.awk --- compact a shell history file - # Thanks to Byron Rakitzis for the general idea - - { - if (data[$0]++ == 0) - lines[++count] = $0 - } - - END { - for (i = 1; i <= count; i++) - print lines[i] - } - - This program also provides a foundation for generating other useful -information. For example, using the following 'print' statement in the -'END' rule indicates how often a particular command is used: - - print data[lines[i]], lines[i] - -This works because 'data[$0]' is incremented each time a line is seen. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extract Program, Next: Simple Sed, Prev: History Sorting, Up: Miscellaneous Programs - -11.3.7 Extracting Programs from Texinfo Source Files ----------------------------------------------------- - -The nodes *note Library Functions::, and *note Sample Programs::, are -the top level nodes for a large number of 'awk' programs. If you want -to experiment with these programs, it is tedious to type them in by -hand. Here we present a program that can extract parts of a Texinfo -input file into separate files. - - This Info file is written in Texinfo -(http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/), the GNU Project's document -formatting language. A single Texinfo source file can be used to -produce both printed documentation, with TeX, and online documentation. -(The Texinfo language is described fully, starting with *note (Texinfo, -texinfo,Texinfo---The GNU Documentation Format)Top::.) - - For our purposes, it is enough to know three things about Texinfo -input files: - - * The "at" symbol ('@') is special in Texinfo, much as the backslash - ('\') is in C or 'awk'. Literal '@' symbols are represented in - Texinfo source files as '@@'. - - * Comments start with either '@c' or '@comment'. The file-extraction - program works by using special comments that start at the beginning - of a line. - - * Lines containing '@group' and '@end group' commands bracket example - text that should not be split across a page boundary. - (Unfortunately, TeX isn't always smart enough to do things exactly - right, so we have to give it some help.) - - The following program, 'extract.awk', reads through a Texinfo source -file and does two things, based on the special comments. Upon seeing -'@c system ...', it runs a command, by extracting the command text from -the control line and passing it on to the 'system()' function (*note I/O -Functions::). Upon seeing '@c file FILENAME', each subsequent line is -sent to the file FILENAME, until '@c endfile' is encountered. The rules -in 'extract.awk' match either '@c' or '@comment' by letting the 'omment' -part be optional. Lines containing '@group' and '@end group' are simply -removed. 'extract.awk' uses the 'join()' library function (*note Join -Function::). - - The example programs in the online Texinfo source for 'GAWK: -Effective AWK Programming' ('gawktexi.in') have all been bracketed -inside 'file' and 'endfile' lines. The 'gawk' distribution uses a copy -of 'extract.awk' to extract the sample programs and install many of them -in a standard directory where 'gawk' can find them. The Texinfo file -looks something like this: - - ... - This program has a @code{BEGIN} rule - that prints a nice message: - - @example - @c file examples/messages.awk - BEGIN @{ print "Don't panic!" @} - @c endfile - @end example - - It also prints some final advice: - - @example - @c file examples/messages.awk - END @{ print "Always avoid bored archaeologists!" @} - @c endfile - @end example - ... - - 'extract.awk' begins by setting 'IGNORECASE' to one, so that mixed -upper- and lowercase letters in the directives won't matter. - - The first rule handles calling 'system()', checking that a command is -given ('NF' is at least three) and also checking that the command exits -with a zero exit status, signifying OK: - - # extract.awk --- extract files and run programs from Texinfo files - - BEGIN { IGNORECASE = 1 } - - /^@c(omment)?[ \t]+system/ { - if (NF < 3) { - e = ("extract: " FILENAME ":" FNR) - e = (e ": badly formed `system' line") - print e > "/dev/stderr" - next - } - $1 = "" - $2 = "" - stat = system($0) - if (stat != 0) { - e = ("extract: " FILENAME ":" FNR) - e = (e ": warning: system returned " stat) - print e > "/dev/stderr" - } - } - -The variable 'e' is used so that the rule fits nicely on the screen. - - The second rule handles moving data into files. It verifies that a -file name is given in the directive. If the file named is not the -current file, then the current file is closed. Keeping the current file -open until a new file is encountered allows the use of the '>' -redirection for printing the contents, keeping open-file management -simple. - - The 'for' loop does the work. It reads lines using 'getline' (*note -Getline::). For an unexpected end-of-file, it calls the -'unexpected_eof()' function. If the line is an "endfile" line, then it -breaks out of the loop. If the line is an '@group' or '@end group' -line, then it ignores it and goes on to the next line. Similarly, -comments within examples are also ignored. - - Most of the work is in the following few lines. If the line has no -'@' symbols, the program can print it directly. Otherwise, each leading -'@' must be stripped off. To remove the '@' symbols, the line is split -into separate elements of the array 'a', using the 'split()' function -(*note String Functions::). The '@' symbol is used as the separator -character. Each element of 'a' that is empty indicates two successive -'@' symbols in the original line. For each two empty elements ('@@' in -the original file), we have to add a single '@' symbol back in. - - When the processing of the array is finished, 'join()' is called with -the value of 'SUBSEP' (*note Multidimensional::), to rejoin the pieces -back into a single line. That line is then printed to the output file: - - /^@c(omment)?[ \t]+file/ { - if (NF != 3) { - e = ("extract: " FILENAME ":" FNR ": badly formed `file' line") - print e > "/dev/stderr" - next - } - if ($3 != curfile) { - if (curfile != "") - close(curfile) - curfile = $3 - } - - for (;;) { - if ((getline line) <= 0) - unexpected_eof() - if (line ~ /^@c(omment)?[ \t]+endfile/) - break - else if (line ~ /^@(end[ \t]+)?group/) - continue - else if (line ~ /^@c(omment+)?[ \t]+/) - continue - if (index(line, "@") == 0) { - print line > curfile - continue - } - n = split(line, a, "@") - # if a[1] == "", means leading @, - # don't add one back in. - for (i = 2; i <= n; i++) { - if (a[i] == "") { # was an @@ - a[i] = "@" - if (a[i+1] == "") - i++ - } - } - print join(a, 1, n, SUBSEP) > curfile - } - } - - An important thing to note is the use of the '>' redirection. Output -done with '>' only opens the file once; it stays open and subsequent -output is appended to the file (*note Redirection::). This makes it -easy to mix program text and explanatory prose for the same sample -source file (as has been done here!) without any hassle. The file is -only closed when a new data file name is encountered or at the end of -the input file. - - Finally, the function 'unexpected_eof()' prints an appropriate error -message and then exits. The 'END' rule handles the final cleanup, -closing the open file: - - function unexpected_eof() - { - printf("extract: %s:%d: unexpected EOF or error\n", - FILENAME, FNR) > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - - END { - if (curfile) - close(curfile) - } - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Simple Sed, Next: Igawk Program, Prev: Extract Program, Up: Miscellaneous Programs - -11.3.8 A Simple Stream Editor ------------------------------ - -The 'sed' utility is a "stream editor", a program that reads a stream of -data, makes changes to it, and passes it on. It is often used to make -global changes to a large file or to a stream of data generated by a -pipeline of commands. Although 'sed' is a complicated program in its -own right, its most common use is to perform global substitutions in the -middle of a pipeline: - - COMMAND1 < orig.data | sed 's/old/new/g' | COMMAND2 > result - - Here, 's/old/new/g' tells 'sed' to look for the regexp 'old' on each -input line and globally replace it with the text 'new' (i.e., all the -occurrences on a line). This is similar to 'awk''s 'gsub()' function -(*note String Functions::). - - The following program, 'awksed.awk', accepts at least two -command-line arguments: the pattern to look for and the text to replace -it with. Any additional arguments are treated as data file names to -process. If none are provided, the standard input is used: - - # awksed.awk --- do s/foo/bar/g using just print - # Thanks to Michael Brennan for the idea - - function usage() - { - print "usage: awksed pat repl [files...]" > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - - BEGIN { - # validate arguments - if (ARGC < 3) - usage() - - RS = ARGV[1] - ORS = ARGV[2] - - # don't use arguments as files - ARGV[1] = ARGV[2] = "" - } - - # look ma, no hands! - { - if (RT == "") - printf "%s", $0 - else - print - } - - The program relies on 'gawk''s ability to have 'RS' be a regexp, as -well as on the setting of 'RT' to the actual text that terminates the -record (*note Records::). - - The idea is to have 'RS' be the pattern to look for. 'gawk' -automatically sets '$0' to the text between matches of the pattern. -This is text that we want to keep, unmodified. Then, by setting 'ORS' -to the replacement text, a simple 'print' statement outputs the text we -want to keep, followed by the replacement text. - - There is one wrinkle to this scheme, which is what to do if the last -record doesn't end with text that matches 'RS'. Using a 'print' -statement unconditionally prints the replacement text, which is not -correct. However, if the file did not end in text that matches 'RS', -'RT' is set to the null string. In this case, we can print '$0' using -'printf' (*note Printf::). - - The 'BEGIN' rule handles the setup, checking for the right number of -arguments and calling 'usage()' if there is a problem. Then it sets -'RS' and 'ORS' from the command-line arguments and sets 'ARGV[1]' and -'ARGV[2]' to the null string, so that they are not treated as file names -(*note ARGC and ARGV::). - - The 'usage()' function prints an error message and exits. Finally, -the single rule handles the printing scheme outlined earlier, using -'print' or 'printf' as appropriate, depending upon the value of 'RT'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Igawk Program, Next: Anagram Program, Prev: Simple Sed, Up: Miscellaneous Programs - -11.3.9 An Easy Way to Use Library Functions -------------------------------------------- - -In *note Include Files::, we saw how 'gawk' provides a built-in -file-inclusion capability. However, this is a 'gawk' extension. This -minor node provides the motivation for making file inclusion available -for standard 'awk', and shows how to do it using a combination of shell -and 'awk' programming. - - Using library functions in 'awk' can be very beneficial. It -encourages code reuse and the writing of general functions. Programs -are smaller and therefore clearer. However, using library functions is -only easy when writing 'awk' programs; it is painful when running them, -requiring multiple '-f' options. If 'gawk' is unavailable, then so too -is the 'AWKPATH' environment variable and the ability to put 'awk' -functions into a library directory (*note Options::). It would be nice -to be able to write programs in the following manner: - - # library functions - @include getopt.awk - @include join.awk - ... - - # main program - BEGIN { - while ((c = getopt(ARGC, ARGV, "a:b:cde")) != -1) - ... - ... - } - - The following program, 'igawk.sh', provides this service. It -simulates 'gawk''s searching of the 'AWKPATH' variable and also allows -"nested" includes (i.e., a file that is included with '@include' can -contain further '@include' statements). 'igawk' makes an effort to only -include files once, so that nested includes don't accidentally include a -library function twice. - - 'igawk' should behave just like 'gawk' externally. This means it -should accept all of 'gawk''s command-line arguments, including the -ability to have multiple source files specified via '-f' and the ability -to mix command-line and library source files. - - The program is written using the POSIX Shell ('sh') command -language.(1) It works as follows: - - 1. Loop through the arguments, saving anything that doesn't represent - 'awk' source code for later, when the expanded program is run. - - 2. For any arguments that do represent 'awk' text, put the arguments - into a shell variable that will be expanded. There are two cases: - - a. Literal text, provided with '-e' or '--source'. This text is - just appended directly. - - b. Source file names, provided with '-f'. We use a neat trick - and append '@include FILENAME' to the shell variable's - contents. Because the file-inclusion program works the way - 'gawk' does, this gets the text of the file included in the - program at the correct point. - - 3. Run an 'awk' program (naturally) over the shell variable's contents - to expand '@include' statements. The expanded program is placed in - a second shell variable. - - 4. Run the expanded program with 'gawk' and any other original - command-line arguments that the user supplied (such as the data - file names). - - This program uses shell variables extensively: for storing -command-line arguments and the text of the 'awk' program that will -expand the user's program, for the user's original program, and for the -expanded program. Doing so removes some potential problems that might -arise were we to use temporary files instead, at the cost of making the -script somewhat more complicated. - - The initial part of the program turns on shell tracing if the first -argument is 'debug'. - - The next part loops through all the command-line arguments. There -are several cases of interest: - -'--' - This ends the arguments to 'igawk'. Anything else should be passed - on to the user's 'awk' program without being evaluated. - -'-W' - This indicates that the next option is specific to 'gawk'. To make - argument processing easier, the '-W' is appended to the front of - the remaining arguments and the loop continues. (This is an 'sh' - programming trick. Don't worry about it if you are not familiar - with 'sh'.) - -'-v', '-F' - These are saved and passed on to 'gawk'. - -'-f', '--file', '--file=', '-Wfile=' - The file name is appended to the shell variable 'program' with an - '@include' statement. The 'expr' utility is used to remove the - leading option part of the argument (e.g., '--file='). (Typical - 'sh' usage would be to use the 'echo' and 'sed' utilities to do - this work. Unfortunately, some versions of 'echo' evaluate escape - sequences in their arguments, possibly mangling the program text. - Using 'expr' avoids this problem.) - -'--source', '--source=', '-Wsource=' - The source text is appended to 'program'. - -'--version', '-Wversion' - 'igawk' prints its version number, runs 'gawk --version' to get the - 'gawk' version information, and then exits. - - If none of the '-f', '--file', '-Wfile', '--source', or '-Wsource' -arguments are supplied, then the first nonoption argument should be the -'awk' program. If there are no command-line arguments left, 'igawk' -prints an error message and exits. Otherwise, the first argument is -appended to 'program'. In any case, after the arguments have been -processed, the shell variable 'program' contains the complete text of -the original 'awk' program. - - The program is as follows: - - #! /bin/sh - # igawk --- like gawk but do @include processing - - if [ "$1" = debug ] - then - set -x - shift - fi - - # A literal newline, so that program text is formatted correctly - n=' - ' - - # Initialize variables to empty - program= - opts= - - while [ $# -ne 0 ] # loop over arguments - do - case $1 in - --) shift - break ;; - - -W) shift - # The ${x?'message here'} construct prints a - # diagnostic if $x is the null string - set -- -W"${@?'missing operand'}" - continue ;; - - -[vF]) opts="$opts $1 '${2?'missing operand'}'" - shift ;; - - -[vF]*) opts="$opts '$1'" ;; - - -f) program="$program$n@include ${2?'missing operand'}" - shift ;; - - -f*) f=$(expr "$1" : '-f\(.*\)') - program="$program$n@include $f" ;; - - -[W-]file=*) - f=$(expr "$1" : '-.file=\(.*\)') - program="$program$n@include $f" ;; - - -[W-]file) - program="$program$n@include ${2?'missing operand'}" - shift ;; - - -[W-]source=*) - t=$(expr "$1" : '-.source=\(.*\)') - program="$program$n$t" ;; - - -[W-]source) - program="$program$n${2?'missing operand'}" - shift ;; - - -[W-]version) - echo igawk: version 3.0 1>&2 - gawk --version - exit 0 ;; - - -[W-]*) opts="$opts '$1'" ;; - - *) break ;; - esac - shift - done - - if [ -z "$program" ] - then - program=${1?'missing program'} - shift - fi - - # At this point, `program' has the program. - - The 'awk' program to process '@include' directives is stored in the -shell variable 'expand_prog'. Doing this keeps the shell script -readable. The 'awk' program reads through the user's program, one line -at a time, using 'getline' (*note Getline::). The input file names and -'@include' statements are managed using a stack. As each '@include' is -encountered, the current file name is "pushed" onto the stack and the -file named in the '@include' directive becomes the current file name. -As each file is finished, the stack is "popped," and the previous input -file becomes the current input file again. The process is started by -making the original file the first one on the stack. - - The 'pathto()' function does the work of finding the full path to a -file. It simulates 'gawk''s behavior when searching the 'AWKPATH' -environment variable (*note AWKPATH Variable::). If a file name has a -'/' in it, no path search is done. Similarly, if the file name is -'"-"', then that string is used as-is. Otherwise, the file name is -concatenated with the name of each directory in the path, and an attempt -is made to open the generated file name. The only way to test if a file -can be read in 'awk' is to go ahead and try to read it with 'getline'; -this is what 'pathto()' does.(2) If the file can be read, it is closed -and the file name is returned: - - expand_prog=' - - function pathto(file, i, t, junk) - { - if (index(file, "/") != 0) - return file - - if (file == "-") - return file - - for (i = 1; i <= ndirs; i++) { - t = (pathlist[i] "/" file) - if ((getline junk < t) > 0) { - # found it - close(t) - return t - } - } - return "" - } - - The main program is contained inside one 'BEGIN' rule. The first -thing it does is set up the 'pathlist' array that 'pathto()' uses. -After splitting the path on ':', null elements are replaced with '"."', -which represents the current directory: - - BEGIN { - path = ENVIRON["AWKPATH"] - ndirs = split(path, pathlist, ":") - for (i = 1; i <= ndirs; i++) { - if (pathlist[i] == "") - pathlist[i] = "." - } - - The stack is initialized with 'ARGV[1]', which will be -'"/dev/stdin"'. The main loop comes next. Input lines are read in -succession. Lines that do not start with '@include' are printed -verbatim. If the line does start with '@include', the file name is in -'$2'. 'pathto()' is called to generate the full path. If it cannot, -then the program prints an error message and continues. - - The next thing to check is if the file is included already. The -'processed' array is indexed by the full file name of each included file -and it tracks this information for us. If the file is seen again, a -warning message is printed. Otherwise, the new file name is pushed onto -the stack and processing continues. - - Finally, when 'getline' encounters the end of the input file, the -file is closed and the stack is popped. When 'stackptr' is less than -zero, the program is done: - - stackptr = 0 - input[stackptr] = ARGV[1] # ARGV[1] is first file - - for (; stackptr >= 0; stackptr--) { - while ((getline < input[stackptr]) > 0) { - if (tolower($1) != "@include") { - print - continue - } - fpath = pathto($2) - if (fpath == "") { - printf("igawk: %s:%d: cannot find %s\n", - input[stackptr], FNR, $2) > "/dev/stderr" - continue - } - if (! (fpath in processed)) { - processed[fpath] = input[stackptr] - input[++stackptr] = fpath # push onto stack - } else - print $2, "included in", input[stackptr], - "already included in", - processed[fpath] > "/dev/stderr" - } - close(input[stackptr]) - } - }' # close quote ends `expand_prog' variable - - processed_program=$(gawk -- "$expand_prog" /dev/stdin << EOF - $program - EOF - ) - - The shell construct 'COMMAND << MARKER' is called a "here document". -Everything in the shell script up to the MARKER is fed to COMMAND as -input. The shell processes the contents of the here document for -variable and command substitution (and possibly other things as well, -depending upon the shell). - - The shell construct '$(...)' is called "command substitution". The -output of the command inside the parentheses is substituted into the -command line. Because the result is used in a variable assignment, it -is saved as a single string, even if the results contain whitespace. - - The expanded program is saved in the variable 'processed_program'. -It's done in these steps: - - 1. Run 'gawk' with the '@include'-processing program (the value of the - 'expand_prog' shell variable) reading standard input. - - 2. Standard input is the contents of the user's program, from the - shell variable 'program'. Feed its contents to 'gawk' via a here - document. - - 3. Save the results of this processing in the shell variable - 'processed_program' by using command substitution. - - The last step is to call 'gawk' with the expanded program, along with -the original options and command-line arguments that the user supplied: - - eval gawk $opts -- '"$processed_program"' '"$@"' - - The 'eval' command is a shell construct that reruns the shell's -parsing process. This keeps things properly quoted. - - This version of 'igawk' represents the fifth version of this program. -There are four key simplifications that make the program work better: - - * Using '@include' even for the files named with '-f' makes building - the initial collected 'awk' program much simpler; all the - '@include' processing can be done once. - - * Not trying to save the line read with 'getline' in the 'pathto()' - function when testing for the file's accessibility for use with the - main program simplifies things considerably. - - * Using a 'getline' loop in the 'BEGIN' rule does it all in one - place. It is not necessary to call out to a separate loop for - processing nested '@include' statements. - - * Instead of saving the expanded program in a temporary file, putting - it in a shell variable avoids some potential security problems. - This has the disadvantage that the script relies upon more features - of the 'sh' language, making it harder to follow for those who - aren't familiar with 'sh'. - - Also, this program illustrates that it is often worthwhile to combine -'sh' and 'awk' programming together. You can usually accomplish quite a -lot, without having to resort to low-level programming in C or C++, and -it is frequently easier to do certain kinds of string and argument -manipulation using the shell than it is in 'awk'. - - Finally, 'igawk' shows that it is not always necessary to add new -features to a program; they can often be layered on top.(3) - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Fully explaining the 'sh' language is beyond the scope of this -book. We provide some minimal explanations, but see a good shell -programming book if you wish to understand things in more depth. - - (2) On some very old versions of 'awk', the test 'getline junk < t' -can loop forever if the file exists but is empty. - - (3) 'gawk' does '@include' processing itself in order to support the -use of 'awk' programs as Web CGI scripts. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Anagram Program, Next: Signature Program, Prev: Igawk Program, Up: Miscellaneous Programs - -11.3.10 Finding Anagrams from a Dictionary ------------------------------------------- - -An interesting programming challenge is to search for "anagrams" in a -word list (such as '/usr/share/dict/words' on many GNU/Linux systems). -One word is an anagram of another if both words contain the same letters -(e.g., "babbling" and "blabbing"). - - Column 2, Problem C, of Jon Bentley's 'Programming Pearls', Second -Edition, presents an elegant algorithm. The idea is to give words that -are anagrams a common signature, sort all the words together by their -signatures, and then print them. Dr. Bentley observes that taking the -letters in each word and sorting them produces those common signatures. - - The following program uses arrays of arrays to bring together words -with the same signature and array sorting to print the words in sorted -order: - - # anagram.awk --- An implementation of the anagram-finding algorithm - # from Jon Bentley's "Programming Pearls," 2nd edition. - # Addison Wesley, 2000, ISBN 0-201-65788-0. - # Column 2, Problem C, section 2.8, pp 18-20. - - /'s$/ { next } # Skip possessives - - The program starts with a header, and then a rule to skip possessives -in the dictionary file. The next rule builds up the data structure. -The first dimension of the array is indexed by the signature; the second -dimension is the word itself: - - { - key = word2key($1) # Build signature - data[key][$1] = $1 # Store word with signature - } - - The 'word2key()' function creates the signature. It splits the word -apart into individual letters, sorts the letters, and then joins them -back together: - - # word2key --- split word apart into letters, sort, and join back together - - function word2key(word, a, i, n, result) - { - n = split(word, a, "") - asort(a) - - for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) - result = result a[i] - - return result - } - - Finally, the 'END' rule traverses the array and prints out the -anagram lists. It sends the output to the system 'sort' command because -otherwise the anagrams would appear in arbitrary order: - - END { - sort = "sort" - for (key in data) { - # Sort words with same key - nwords = asorti(data[key], words) - if (nwords == 1) - continue - - # And print. Minor glitch: trailing space at end of each line - for (j = 1; j <= nwords; j++) - printf("%s ", words[j]) | sort - print "" | sort - } - close(sort) - } - - Here is some partial output when the program is run: - - $ gawk -f anagram.awk /usr/share/dict/words | grep '^b' - ... - babbled blabbed - babbler blabber brabble - babblers blabbers brabbles - babbling blabbing - babbly blabby - babel bable - babels beslab - babery yabber - ... - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Signature Program, Prev: Anagram Program, Up: Miscellaneous Programs - -11.3.11 And Now for Something Completely Different --------------------------------------------------- - -The following program was written by Davide Brini and is published on -his website (http://backreference.org/2011/02/03/obfuscated-awk/). It -serves as his signature in the Usenet group 'comp.lang.awk'. He -supplies the following copyright terms: - - Copyright (C) 2008 Davide Brini - - Copying and distribution of the code published in this page, with - or without modification, are permitted in any medium without - royalty provided the copyright notice and this notice are - preserved. - - Here is the program: - - awk 'BEGIN{O="~"~"~";o="=="=="==";o+=+o;x=O""O;while(X++<=x+o+o)c=c"%c"; - printf c,(x-O)*(x-O),x*(x-o)-o,x*(x-O)+x-O-o,+x*(x-O)-x+o,X*(o*o+O)+x-O, - X*(X-x)-o*o,(x+X)*o*o+o,x*(X-x)-O-O,x-O+(O+o+X+x)*(o+O),X*X-X*(x-O)-x+O, - O+X*(o*(o+O)+O),+x+O+X*o,x*(x-o),(o+X+x)*o*o-(x-O-O),O+(X-x)*(X+O),x-O}' - - We leave it to you to determine what the program does. (If you are -truly desperate to understand it, see Chris Johansen's explanation, -which is embedded in the Texinfo source file for this Info file.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Programs Summary, Next: Programs Exercises, Prev: Miscellaneous Programs, Up: Sample Programs - -11.4 Summary -============ - - * The programs provided in this major node continue on the theme that - reading programs is an excellent way to learn Good Programming. - - * Using '#!' to make 'awk' programs directly runnable makes them - easier to use. Otherwise, invoke the program using 'awk -f ...'. - - * Reimplementing standard POSIX programs in 'awk' is a pleasant - exercise; 'awk''s expressive power lets you write such programs in - relatively few lines of code, yet they are functionally complete - and usable. - - * One of standard 'awk''s weaknesses is working with individual - characters. The ability to use 'split()' with the empty string as - the separator can considerably simplify such tasks. - - * The examples here demonstrate the usefulness of the library - functions from *note Library Functions:: for a number of real (if - small) programs. - - * Besides reinventing POSIX wheels, other programs solved a selection - of interesting problems, such as finding duplicate words in text, - printing mailing labels, and finding anagrams. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Programs Exercises, Prev: Programs Summary, Up: Sample Programs - -11.5 Exercises -============== - - 1. Rewrite 'cut.awk' (*note Cut Program::) using 'split()' with '""' - as the separator. - - 2. In *note Egrep Program::, we mentioned that 'egrep -i' could be - simulated in versions of 'awk' without 'IGNORECASE' by using - 'tolower()' on the line and the pattern. In a footnote there, we - also mentioned that this solution has a bug: the translated line is - output, and not the original one. Fix this problem. - - 3. The POSIX version of 'id' takes options that control which - information is printed. Modify the 'awk' version (*note Id - Program::) to accept the same arguments and perform in the same - way. - - 4. The 'split.awk' program (*note Split Program::) assumes that - letters are contiguous in the character set, which isn't true for - EBCDIC systems. Fix this problem. (Hint: Consider a different way - to work through the alphabet, without relying on 'ord()' and - 'chr()'.) - - 5. In 'uniq.awk' (*note Uniq Program::, the logic for choosing which - lines to print represents a "state machine", which is "a device - that can be in one of a set number of stable conditions depending - on its previous condition and on the present values of its - inputs."(1) Brian Kernighan suggests that "an alternative approach - to state machines is to just read the input into an array, then use - indexing. It's almost always easier code, and for most inputs - where you would use this, just as fast." Rewrite the logic to - follow this suggestion. - - 6. Why can't the 'wc.awk' program (*note Wc Program::) just use the - value of 'FNR' in 'endfile()'? Hint: Examine the code in *note - Filetrans Function::. - - 7. Manipulation of individual characters in the 'translate' program - (*note Translate Program::) is painful using standard 'awk' - functions. Given that 'gawk' can split strings into individual - characters using '""' as the separator, how might you use this - feature to simplify the program? - - 8. The 'extract.awk' program (*note Extract Program::) was written - before 'gawk' had the 'gensub()' function. Use it to simplify the - code. - - 9. Compare the performance of the 'awksed.awk' program (*note Simple - Sed::) with the more straightforward: - - BEGIN { - pat = ARGV[1] - repl = ARGV[2] - ARGV[1] = ARGV[2] = "" - } - - { gsub(pat, repl); print } - - 10. What are the advantages and disadvantages of 'awksed.awk' versus - the real 'sed' utility? - - 11. In *note Igawk Program::, we mentioned that not trying to save the - line read with 'getline' in the 'pathto()' function when testing - for the file's accessibility for use with the main program - simplifies things considerably. What problem does this engender - though? - - 12. As an additional example of the idea that it is not always - necessary to add new features to a program, consider the idea of - having two files in a directory in the search path: - - 'default.awk' - This file contains a set of default library functions, such as - 'getopt()' and 'assert()'. - - 'site.awk' - This file contains library functions that are specific to a - site or installation; i.e., locally developed functions. - Having a separate file allows 'default.awk' to change with new - 'gawk' releases, without requiring the system administrator to - update it each time by adding the local functions. - - One user suggested that 'gawk' be modified to automatically read - these files upon startup. Instead, it would be very simple to - modify 'igawk' to do this. Since 'igawk' can process nested - '@include' directives, 'default.awk' could simply contain - '@include' statements for the desired library functions. Make this - change. - - 13. Modify 'anagram.awk' (*note Anagram Program::), to avoid the use - of the external 'sort' utility. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This is the definition returned from entering 'define: state -machine' into Google. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Advanced Features, Next: Internationalization, Prev: Sample Programs, Up: Top - -12 Advanced Features of 'gawk' -****************************** - - Write documentation as if whoever reads it is a violent psychopath - who knows where you live. - -- _Steve English, as quoted by Peter Langston_ - - This major node discusses advanced features in 'gawk'. It's a bit of -a "grab bag" of items that are otherwise unrelated to each other. -First, we look at a command-line option that allows 'gawk' to recognize -nondecimal numbers in input data, not just in 'awk' programs. Then, -'gawk''s special features for sorting arrays are presented. Next, -two-way I/O, discussed briefly in earlier parts of this Info file, is -described in full detail, along with the basics of TCP/IP networking. -Finally, we see how 'gawk' can "profile" an 'awk' program, making it -possible to tune it for performance. - - Additional advanced features are discussed in separate major nodes of -their own: - - * *note Internationalization::, discusses how to internationalize - your 'awk' programs, so that they can speak multiple national - languages. - - * *note Debugger::, describes 'gawk''s built-in command-line debugger - for debugging 'awk' programs. - - * *note Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic::, describes how you can use - 'gawk' to perform arbitrary-precision arithmetic. - - * *note Dynamic Extensions::, discusses the ability to dynamically - add new built-in functions to 'gawk'. - -* Menu: - -* Nondecimal Data:: Allowing nondecimal input data. -* Array Sorting:: Facilities for controlling array traversal and - sorting arrays. -* Two-way I/O:: Two-way communications with another process. -* TCP/IP Networking:: Using 'gawk' for network programming. -* Profiling:: Profiling your 'awk' programs. -* Advanced Features Summary:: Summary of advanced features. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Nondecimal Data, Next: Array Sorting, Up: Advanced Features - -12.1 Allowing Nondecimal Input Data -=================================== - -If you run 'gawk' with the '--non-decimal-data' option, you can have -nondecimal values in your input data: - - $ echo 0123 123 0x123 | - > gawk --non-decimal-data '{ printf "%d, %d, %d\n", $1, $2, $3 }' - -| 83, 123, 291 - - For this feature to work, write your program so that 'gawk' treats -your data as numeric: - - $ echo 0123 123 0x123 | gawk '{ print $1, $2, $3 }' - -| 0123 123 0x123 - -The 'print' statement treats its expressions as strings. Although the -fields can act as numbers when necessary, they are still strings, so -'print' does not try to treat them numerically. You need to add zero to -a field to force it to be treated as a number. For example: - - $ echo 0123 123 0x123 | gawk --non-decimal-data ' - > { print $1, $2, $3 - > print $1 + 0, $2 + 0, $3 + 0 }' - -| 0123 123 0x123 - -| 83 123 291 - - Because it is common to have decimal data with leading zeros, and -because using this facility could lead to surprising results, the -default is to leave it disabled. If you want it, you must explicitly -request it. - - CAUTION: _Use of this option is not recommended._ It can break old - programs very badly. Instead, use the 'strtonum()' function to - convert your data (*note String Functions::). This makes your - programs easier to write and easier to read, and leads to less - surprising results. - - This option may disappear in a future version of 'gawk'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Array Sorting, Next: Two-way I/O, Prev: Nondecimal Data, Up: Advanced Features - -12.2 Controlling Array Traversal and Array Sorting -================================================== - -'gawk' lets you control the order in which a 'for (INDX in ARRAY)' loop -traverses an array. - - In addition, two built-in functions, 'asort()' and 'asorti()', let -you sort arrays based on the array values and indices, respectively. -These two functions also provide control over the sorting criteria used -to order the elements during sorting. - -* Menu: - -* Controlling Array Traversal:: How to use PROCINFO["sorted_in"]. -* Array Sorting Functions:: How to use 'asort()' and 'asorti()'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Controlling Array Traversal, Next: Array Sorting Functions, Up: Array Sorting - -12.2.1 Controlling Array Traversal ----------------------------------- - -By default, the order in which a 'for (INDX in ARRAY)' loop scans an -array is not defined; it is generally based upon the internal -implementation of arrays inside 'awk'. - - Often, though, it is desirable to be able to loop over the elements -in a particular order that you, the programmer, choose. 'gawk' lets you -do this. - - *note Controlling Scanning:: describes how you can assign special, -predefined values to 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]' in order to control the -order in which 'gawk' traverses an array during a 'for' loop. - - In addition, the value of 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]' can be a function -name.(1) This lets you traverse an array based on any custom criterion. -The array elements are ordered according to the return value of this -function. The comparison function should be defined with at least four -arguments: - - function comp_func(i1, v1, i2, v2) - { - COMPARE ELEMENTS 1 AND 2 IN SOME FASHION - RETURN < 0; 0; OR > 0 - } - - Here, 'i1' and 'i2' are the indices, and 'v1' and 'v2' are the -corresponding values of the two elements being compared. Either 'v1' or -'v2', or both, can be arrays if the array being traversed contains -subarrays as values. (*Note Arrays of Arrays:: for more information -about subarrays.) The three possible return values are interpreted as -follows: - -'comp_func(i1, v1, i2, v2) < 0' - Index 'i1' comes before index 'i2' during loop traversal. - -'comp_func(i1, v1, i2, v2) == 0' - Indices 'i1' and 'i2' come together, but the relative order with - respect to each other is undefined. - -'comp_func(i1, v1, i2, v2) > 0' - Index 'i1' comes after index 'i2' during loop traversal. - - Our first comparison function can be used to scan an array in -numerical order of the indices: - - function cmp_num_idx(i1, v1, i2, v2) - { - # numerical index comparison, ascending order - return (i1 - i2) - } - - Our second function traverses an array based on the string order of -the element values rather than by indices: - - function cmp_str_val(i1, v1, i2, v2) - { - # string value comparison, ascending order - v1 = v1 "" - v2 = v2 "" - if (v1 < v2) - return -1 - return (v1 != v2) - } - - The third comparison function makes all numbers, and numeric strings -without any leading or trailing spaces, come out first during loop -traversal: - - function cmp_num_str_val(i1, v1, i2, v2, n1, n2) - { - # numbers before string value comparison, ascending order - n1 = v1 + 0 - n2 = v2 + 0 - if (n1 == v1) - return (n2 == v2) ? (n1 - n2) : -1 - else if (n2 == v2) - return 1 - return (v1 < v2) ? -1 : (v1 != v2) - } - - Here is a main program to demonstrate how 'gawk' behaves using each -of the previous functions: - - BEGIN { - data["one"] = 10 - data["two"] = 20 - data[10] = "one" - data[100] = 100 - data[20] = "two" - - f[1] = "cmp_num_idx" - f[2] = "cmp_str_val" - f[3] = "cmp_num_str_val" - for (i = 1; i <= 3; i++) { - printf("Sort function: %s\n", f[i]) - PROCINFO["sorted_in"] = f[i] - for (j in data) - printf("\tdata[%s] = %s\n", j, data[j]) - print "" - } - } - - Here are the results when the program is run: - - $ gawk -f compdemo.awk - -| Sort function: cmp_num_idx Sort by numeric index - -| data[two] = 20 - -| data[one] = 10 Both strings are numerically zero - -| data[10] = one - -| data[20] = two - -| data[100] = 100 - -| - -| Sort function: cmp_str_val Sort by element values as strings - -| data[one] = 10 - -| data[100] = 100 String 100 is less than string 20 - -| data[two] = 20 - -| data[10] = one - -| data[20] = two - -| - -| Sort function: cmp_num_str_val Sort all numeric values before all strings - -| data[one] = 10 - -| data[two] = 20 - -| data[100] = 100 - -| data[10] = one - -| data[20] = two - - Consider sorting the entries of a GNU/Linux system password file -according to login name. The following program sorts records by a -specific field position and can be used for this purpose: - - # passwd-sort.awk --- simple program to sort by field position - # field position is specified by the global variable POS - - function cmp_field(i1, v1, i2, v2) - { - # comparison by value, as string, and ascending order - return v1[POS] < v2[POS] ? -1 : (v1[POS] != v2[POS]) - } - - { - for (i = 1; i <= NF; i++) - a[NR][i] = $i - } - - END { - PROCINFO["sorted_in"] = "cmp_field" - if (POS < 1 || POS > NF) - POS = 1 - for (i in a) { - for (j = 1; j <= NF; j++) - printf("%s%c", a[i][j], j < NF ? ":" : "") - print "" - } - } - - The first field in each entry of the password file is the user's -login name, and the fields are separated by colons. Each record defines -a subarray, with each field as an element in the subarray. Running the -program produces the following output: - - $ gawk -v POS=1 -F: -f sort.awk /etc/passwd - -| adm:x:3:4:adm:/var/adm:/sbin/nologin - -| apache:x:48:48:Apache:/var/www:/sbin/nologin - -| avahi:x:70:70:Avahi daemon:/:/sbin/nologin - ... - - The comparison should normally always return the same value when -given a specific pair of array elements as its arguments. If -inconsistent results are returned, then the order is undefined. This -behavior can be exploited to introduce random order into otherwise -seemingly ordered data: - - function cmp_randomize(i1, v1, i2, v2) - { - # random order (caution: this may never terminate!) - return (2 - 4 * rand()) - } - - As already mentioned, the order of the indices is arbitrary if two -elements compare equal. This is usually not a problem, but letting the -tied elements come out in arbitrary order can be an issue, especially -when comparing item values. The partial ordering of the equal elements -may change the next time the array is traversed, if other elements are -added to or removed from the array. One way to resolve ties when -comparing elements with otherwise equal values is to include the indices -in the comparison rules. Note that doing this may make the loop -traversal less efficient, so consider it only if necessary. The -following comparison functions force a deterministic order, and are -based on the fact that the (string) indices of two elements are never -equal: - - function cmp_numeric(i1, v1, i2, v2) - { - # numerical value (and index) comparison, descending order - return (v1 != v2) ? (v2 - v1) : (i2 - i1) - } - - function cmp_string(i1, v1, i2, v2) - { - # string value (and index) comparison, descending order - v1 = v1 i1 - v2 = v2 i2 - return (v1 > v2) ? -1 : (v1 != v2) - } - - A custom comparison function can often simplify ordered loop -traversal, and the sky is really the limit when it comes to designing -such a function. - - When string comparisons are made during a sort, either for element -values where one or both aren't numbers, or for element indices handled -as strings, the value of 'IGNORECASE' (*note Built-in Variables::) -controls whether the comparisons treat corresponding upper- and -lowercase letters as equivalent or distinct. - - Another point to keep in mind is that in the case of subarrays, the -element values can themselves be arrays; a production comparison -function should use the 'isarray()' function (*note Type Functions::) to -check for this, and choose a defined sorting order for subarrays. - - All sorting based on 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]' is disabled in POSIX -mode, because the 'PROCINFO' array is not special in that case. - - As a side note, sorting the array indices before traversing the array -has been reported to add a 15% to 20% overhead to the execution time of -'awk' programs. For this reason, sorted array traversal is not the -default. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This is why the predefined sorting orders start with an '@' -character, which cannot be part of an identifier. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Array Sorting Functions, Prev: Controlling Array Traversal, Up: Array Sorting - -12.2.2 Sorting Array Values and Indices with 'gawk' ---------------------------------------------------- - -In most 'awk' implementations, sorting an array requires writing a -'sort()' function. This can be educational for exploring different -sorting algorithms, but usually that's not the point of the program. -'gawk' provides the built-in 'asort()' and 'asorti()' functions (*note -String Functions::) for sorting arrays. For example: - - POPULATE THE ARRAY data - n = asort(data) - for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) - DO SOMETHING WITH data[i] - - After the call to 'asort()', the array 'data' is indexed from 1 to -some number N, the total number of elements in 'data'. (This count is -'asort()''s return value.) 'data[1]' <= 'data[2]' <= 'data[3]', and so -on. The default comparison is based on the type of the elements (*note -Typing and Comparison::). All numeric values come before all string -values, which in turn come before all subarrays. - - An important side effect of calling 'asort()' is that _the array's -original indices are irrevocably lost_. As this isn't always desirable, -'asort()' accepts a second argument: - - POPULATE THE ARRAY source - n = asort(source, dest) - for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) - DO SOMETHING WITH dest[i] - - In this case, 'gawk' copies the 'source' array into the 'dest' array -and then sorts 'dest', destroying its indices. However, the 'source' -array is not affected. - - Often, what's needed is to sort on the values of the _indices_ -instead of the values of the elements. To do that, use the 'asorti()' -function. The interface and behavior are identical to that of -'asort()', except that the index values are used for sorting and become -the values of the result array: - - { source[$0] = some_func($0) } - - END { - n = asorti(source, dest) - for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) { - Work with sorted indices directly: - DO SOMETHING WITH dest[i] - ... - Access original array via sorted indices: - DO SOMETHING WITH source[dest[i]] - } - } - - So far, so good. Now it starts to get interesting. Both 'asort()' -and 'asorti()' accept a third string argument to control comparison of -array elements. When we introduced 'asort()' and 'asorti()' in *note -String Functions::, we ignored this third argument; however, now is the -time to describe how this argument affects these two functions. - - Basically, the third argument specifies how the array is to be -sorted. There are two possibilities. As with 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]', -this argument may be one of the predefined names that 'gawk' provides -(*note Controlling Scanning::), or it may be the name of a user-defined -function (*note Controlling Array Traversal::). - - In the latter case, _the function can compare elements in any way it -chooses_, taking into account just the indices, just the values, or -both. This is extremely powerful. - - Once the array is sorted, 'asort()' takes the _values_ in their final -order and uses them to fill in the result array, whereas 'asorti()' -takes the _indices_ in their final order and uses them to fill in the -result array. - - NOTE: Copying array indices and elements isn't expensive in terms - of memory. Internally, 'gawk' maintains "reference counts" to - data. For example, when 'asort()' copies the first array to the - second one, there is only one copy of the original array elements' - data, even though both arrays use the values. - - Because 'IGNORECASE' affects string comparisons, the value of -'IGNORECASE' also affects sorting for both 'asort()' and 'asorti()'. -Note also that the locale's sorting order does _not_ come into play; -comparisons are based on character values only.(1) - - The following example demonstrates the use of a comparison function -with 'asort()'. The comparison function, 'case_fold_compare()', maps -both values to lowercase in order to compare them ignoring case. - - # case_fold_compare --- compare as strings, ignoring case - - function case_fold_compare(i1, v1, i2, v2, l, r) - { - l = tolower(v1) - r = tolower(v2) - - if (l < r) - return -1 - else if (l == r) - return 0 - else - return 1 - } - - And here is the test program for it: - - # Test program - - BEGIN { - Letters = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz" \ - "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ" - split(Letters, data, "") - - asort(data, result, "case_fold_compare") - - j = length(result) - for (i = 1; i <= j; i++) { - printf("%s", result[i]) - if (i % (j/2) == 0) - printf("\n") - else - printf(" ") - } - } - - When run, we get the following: - - $ gawk -f case_fold_compare.awk - -| A a B b c C D d e E F f g G H h i I J j k K l L M m - -| n N O o p P Q q r R S s t T u U V v w W X x y Y z Z - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This is true because locale-based comparison occurs only when in -POSIX-compatibility mode, and because 'asort()' and 'asorti()' are -'gawk' extensions, they are not available in that case. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Two-way I/O, Next: TCP/IP Networking, Prev: Array Sorting, Up: Advanced Features - -12.3 Two-Way Communications with Another Process -================================================ - -It is often useful to be able to send data to a separate program for -processing and then read the result. This can always be done with -temporary files: - - # Write the data for processing - tempfile = ("mydata." PROCINFO["pid"]) - while (NOT DONE WITH DATA) - print DATA | ("subprogram > " tempfile) - close("subprogram > " tempfile) - - # Read the results, remove tempfile when done - while ((getline newdata < tempfile) > 0) - PROCESS newdata APPROPRIATELY - close(tempfile) - system("rm " tempfile) - -This works, but not elegantly. Among other things, it requires that the -program be run in a directory that cannot be shared among users; for -example, '/tmp' will not do, as another user might happen to be using a -temporary file with the same name.(1) - - However, with 'gawk', it is possible to open a _two-way_ pipe to -another process. The second process is termed a "coprocess", as it runs -in parallel with 'gawk'. The two-way connection is created using the -'|&' operator (borrowed from the Korn shell, 'ksh'):(2) - - do { - print DATA |& "subprogram" - "subprogram" |& getline results - } while (DATA LEFT TO PROCESS) - close("subprogram") - - The first time an I/O operation is executed using the '|&' operator, -'gawk' creates a two-way pipeline to a child process that runs the other -program. Output created with 'print' or 'printf' is written to the -program's standard input, and output from the program's standard output -can be read by the 'gawk' program using 'getline'. As is the case with -processes started by '|', the subprogram can be any program, or pipeline -of programs, that can be started by the shell. - - There are some cautionary items to be aware of: - - * As the code inside 'gawk' currently stands, the coprocess's - standard error goes to the same place that the parent 'gawk''s - standard error goes. It is not possible to read the child's - standard error separately. - - * I/O buffering may be a problem. 'gawk' automatically flushes all - output down the pipe to the coprocess. However, if the coprocess - does not flush its output, 'gawk' may hang when doing a 'getline' - in order to read the coprocess's results. This could lead to a - situation known as "deadlock", where each process is waiting for - the other one to do something. - - It is possible to close just one end of the two-way pipe to a -coprocess, by supplying a second argument to the 'close()' function of -either '"to"' or '"from"' (*note Close Files And Pipes::). These -strings tell 'gawk' to close the end of the pipe that sends data to the -coprocess or the end that reads from it, respectively. - - This is particularly necessary in order to use the system 'sort' -utility as part of a coprocess; 'sort' must read _all_ of its input data -before it can produce any output. The 'sort' program does not receive -an end-of-file indication until 'gawk' closes the write end of the pipe. - - When you have finished writing data to the 'sort' utility, you can -close the '"to"' end of the pipe, and then start reading sorted data via -'getline'. For example: - - BEGIN { - command = "LC_ALL=C sort" - n = split("abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz", a, "") - - for (i = n; i > 0; i--) - print a[i] |& command - close(command, "to") - - while ((command |& getline line) > 0) - print "got", line - close(command) - } - - This program writes the letters of the alphabet in reverse order, one -per line, down the two-way pipe to 'sort'. It then closes the write end -of the pipe, so that 'sort' receives an end-of-file indication. This -causes 'sort' to sort the data and write the sorted data back to the -'gawk' program. Once all of the data has been read, 'gawk' terminates -the coprocess and exits. - - As a side note, the assignment 'LC_ALL=C' in the 'sort' command -ensures traditional Unix (ASCII) sorting from 'sort'. This is not -strictly necessary here, but it's good to know how to do this. - - Be careful when closing the '"from"' end of a two-way pipe; in this -case 'gawk' waits for the child process to exit, which may cause your -program to hang. (Thus, this particular feature is of much less use in -practice than being able to close the '"to"' end.) - - CAUTION: Normally, it is a fatal error to write to the '"to"' end - of a two-way pipe which has been closed, and it is also a fatal - error to read from the '"from"' end of a two-way pipe that has been - closed. - - You may set 'PROCINFO["COMMAND", "NONFATAL"]' to make such - operations become nonfatal, in which case you then need to check - 'ERRNO' after each 'print', 'printf', or 'getline'. *Note - Nonfatal::, for more information. - - You may also use pseudo-ttys (ptys) for two-way communication instead -of pipes, if your system supports them. This is done on a per-command -basis, by setting a special element in the 'PROCINFO' array (*note -Auto-set::), like so: - - command = "sort -nr" # command, save in convenience variable - PROCINFO[command, "pty"] = 1 # update PROCINFO - print ... |& command # start two-way pipe - ... - -If your system does not have ptys, or if all the system's ptys are in -use, 'gawk' automatically falls back to using regular pipes. - - Using ptys usually avoids the buffer deadlock issues described -earlier, at some loss in performance. This is because the tty driver -buffers and sends data line-by-line. On systems with the 'stdbuf' (part -of the GNU Coreutils package -(http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/coreutils.html)), you can use -that program instead of ptys. - - Note also that ptys are not fully transparent. Certain binary -control codes, such 'Ctrl-d' for end-of-file, are interpreted by the tty -driver and not passed through. - - CAUTION: Finally, coprocesses open up the possibility of "deadlock" - between 'gawk' and the program running in the coprocess. This can - occur if you send "too much" data to the coprocess before reading - any back; each process is blocked writing data with noone available - to read what they've already written. There is no workaround for - deadlock; careful programming and knowledge of the behavior of the - coprocess are required. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Michael Brennan suggests the use of 'rand()' to generate unique -file names. This is a valid point; nevertheless, temporary files remain -more difficult to use than two-way pipes. - - (2) This is very different from the same operator in the C shell and -in Bash. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: TCP/IP Networking, Next: Profiling, Prev: Two-way I/O, Up: Advanced Features - -12.4 Using 'gawk' for Network Programming -========================================= - - 'EMRED': - A host is a host from coast to coast, - and nobody talks to a host that's close, - unless the host that isn't close - is busy, hung, or dead. - -- _Mike O'Brien (aka Mr. Protocol)_ - - In addition to being able to open a two-way pipeline to a coprocess -on the same system (*note Two-way I/O::), it is possible to make a -two-way connection to another process on another system across an IP -network connection. - - You can think of this as just a _very long_ two-way pipeline to a -coprocess. The way 'gawk' decides that you want to use TCP/IP -networking is by recognizing special file names that begin with one of -'/inet/', '/inet4/', or '/inet6/'. - - The full syntax of the special file name is -'/NET-TYPE/PROTOCOL/LOCAL-PORT/REMOTE-HOST/REMOTE-PORT'. The components -are: - -NET-TYPE - Specifies the kind of Internet connection to make. Use '/inet4/' - to force IPv4, and '/inet6/' to force IPv6. Plain '/inet/' (which - used to be the only option) uses the system default, most likely - IPv4. - -PROTOCOL - The protocol to use over IP. This must be either 'tcp', or 'udp', - for a TCP or UDP IP connection, respectively. TCP should be used - for most applications. - -LOCAL-PORT - The local TCP or UDP port number to use. Use a port number of '0' - when you want the system to pick a port. This is what you should - do when writing a TCP or UDP client. You may also use a well-known - service name, such as 'smtp' or 'http', in which case 'gawk' - attempts to determine the predefined port number using the C - 'getaddrinfo()' function. - -REMOTE-HOST - The IP address or fully qualified domain name of the Internet host - to which you want to connect. - -REMOTE-PORT - The TCP or UDP port number to use on the given REMOTE-HOST. Again, - use '0' if you don't care, or else a well-known service name. - - NOTE: Failure in opening a two-way socket will result in a nonfatal - error being returned to the calling code. The value of 'ERRNO' - indicates the error (*note Auto-set::). - - Consider the following very simple example: - - BEGIN { - Service = "/inet/tcp/0/localhost/daytime" - Service |& getline - print $0 - close(Service) - } - - This program reads the current date and time from the local system's -TCP 'daytime' server. It then prints the results and closes the -connection. - - Because this topic is extensive, the use of 'gawk' for TCP/IP -programming is documented separately. See *note (General Introduction, -gawkinet, TCP/IP Internetworking with 'gawk')Top::, for a much more -complete introduction and discussion, as well as extensive examples. - - NOTE: 'gawk' can only open direct sockets. There is currently no - way to access services available over Secure Socket Layer (SSL); - this includes any web service whose URL starts with 'https://'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Profiling, Next: Advanced Features Summary, Prev: TCP/IP Networking, Up: Advanced Features - -12.5 Profiling Your 'awk' Programs -================================== - -You may produce execution traces of your 'awk' programs. This is done -by passing the option '--profile' to 'gawk'. When 'gawk' has finished -running, it creates a profile of your program in a file named -'awkprof.out'. Because it is profiling, it also executes up to 45% -slower than 'gawk' normally does. - - As shown in the following example, the '--profile' option can be used -to change the name of the file where 'gawk' will write the profile: - - gawk --profile=myprog.prof -f myprog.awk data1 data2 - -In the preceding example, 'gawk' places the profile in 'myprog.prof' -instead of in 'awkprof.out'. - - Here is a sample session showing a simple 'awk' program, its input -data, and the results from running 'gawk' with the '--profile' option. -First, the 'awk' program: - - BEGIN { print "First BEGIN rule" } - - END { print "First END rule" } - - /foo/ { - print "matched /foo/, gosh" - for (i = 1; i <= 3; i++) - sing() - } - - { - if (/foo/) - print "if is true" - else - print "else is true" - } - - BEGIN { print "Second BEGIN rule" } - - END { print "Second END rule" } - - function sing( dummy) - { - print "I gotta be me!" - } - - Following is the input data: - - foo - bar - baz - foo - junk - - Here is the 'awkprof.out' that results from running the 'gawk' -profiler on this program and data (this example also illustrates that -'awk' programmers sometimes get up very early in the morning to work): - - # gawk profile, created Mon Sep 29 05:16:21 2014 - - # BEGIN rule(s) - - BEGIN { - 1 print "First BEGIN rule" - } - - BEGIN { - 1 print "Second BEGIN rule" - } - - # Rule(s) - - 5 /foo/ { # 2 - 2 print "matched /foo/, gosh" - 6 for (i = 1; i <= 3; i++) { - 6 sing() - } - } - - 5 { - 5 if (/foo/) { # 2 - 2 print "if is true" - 3 } else { - 3 print "else is true" - } - } - - # END rule(s) - - END { - 1 print "First END rule" - } - - END { - 1 print "Second END rule" - } - - - # Functions, listed alphabetically - - 6 function sing(dummy) - { - 6 print "I gotta be me!" - } - - This example illustrates many of the basic features of profiling -output. They are as follows: - - * The program is printed in the order 'BEGIN' rules, 'BEGINFILE' - rules, pattern-action rules, 'ENDFILE' rules, 'END' rules, and - functions, listed alphabetically. Multiple 'BEGIN' and 'END' rules - retain their separate identities, as do multiple 'BEGINFILE' and - 'ENDFILE' rules. - - * Pattern-action rules have two counts. The first count, to the left - of the rule, shows how many times the rule's pattern was _tested_. - The second count, to the right of the rule's opening left brace in - a comment, shows how many times the rule's action was _executed_. - The difference between the two indicates how many times the rule's - pattern evaluated to false. - - * Similarly, the count for an 'if'-'else' statement shows how many - times the condition was tested. To the right of the opening left - brace for the 'if''s body is a count showing how many times the - condition was true. The count for the 'else' indicates how many - times the test failed. - - * The count for a loop header (such as 'for' or 'while') shows how - many times the loop test was executed. (Because of this, you can't - just look at the count on the first statement in a rule to - determine how many times the rule was executed. If the first - statement is a loop, the count is misleading.) - - * For user-defined functions, the count next to the 'function' - keyword indicates how many times the function was called. The - counts next to the statements in the body show how many times those - statements were executed. - - * The layout uses "K&R" style with TABs. Braces are used everywhere, - even when the body of an 'if', 'else', or loop is only a single - statement. - - * Parentheses are used only where needed, as indicated by the - structure of the program and the precedence rules. For example, - '(3 + 5) * 4' means add three and five, then multiply the total by - four. However, '3 + 5 * 4' has no parentheses, and means '3 + (5 * - 4)'. - - * Parentheses are used around the arguments to 'print' and 'printf' - only when the 'print' or 'printf' statement is followed by a - redirection. Similarly, if the target of a redirection isn't a - scalar, it gets parenthesized. - - * 'gawk' supplies leading comments in front of the 'BEGIN' and 'END' - rules, the 'BEGINFILE' and 'ENDFILE' rules, the pattern-action - rules, and the functions. - - The profiled version of your program may not look exactly like what -you typed when you wrote it. This is because 'gawk' creates the -profiled version by "pretty-printing" its internal representation of the -program. The advantage to this is that 'gawk' can produce a standard -representation. Also, things such as: - - /foo/ - -come out as: - - /foo/ { - print $0 - } - -which is correct, but possibly unexpected. - - Besides creating profiles when a program has completed, 'gawk' can -produce a profile while it is running. This is useful if your 'awk' -program goes into an infinite loop and you want to see what has been -executed. To use this feature, run 'gawk' with the '--profile' option -in the background: - - $ gawk --profile -f myprog & - [1] 13992 - -The shell prints a job number and process ID number; in this case, -13992. Use the 'kill' command to send the 'USR1' signal to 'gawk': - - $ kill -USR1 13992 - -As usual, the profiled version of the program is written to -'awkprof.out', or to a different file if one was specified with the -'--profile' option. - - Along with the regular profile, as shown earlier, the profile file -includes a trace of any active functions: - - # Function Call Stack: - - # 3. baz - # 2. bar - # 1. foo - # -- main -- - - You may send 'gawk' the 'USR1' signal as many times as you like. -Each time, the profile and function call trace are appended to the -output profile file. - - If you use the 'HUP' signal instead of the 'USR1' signal, 'gawk' -produces the profile and the function call trace and then exits. - - When 'gawk' runs on MS-Windows systems, it uses the 'INT' and 'QUIT' -signals for producing the profile, and in the case of the 'INT' signal, -'gawk' exits. This is because these systems don't support the 'kill' -command, so the only signals you can deliver to a program are those -generated by the keyboard. The 'INT' signal is generated by the -'Ctrl-c' or 'Ctrl-BREAK' key, while the 'QUIT' signal is generated by -the 'Ctrl-\' key. - - Finally, 'gawk' also accepts another option, '--pretty-print'. When -called this way, 'gawk' "pretty-prints" the program into 'awkprof.out', -without any execution counts. - - NOTE: Once upon a time, the '--pretty-print' option would also run - your program. This is is no longer the case. - - There is a significant difference between the output created when -profiling, and that created when pretty-printing. Pretty-printed output -preserves the original comments that were in the program, although their -placement may not correspond exactly to their original locations in the -source code.(1) - - However, as a deliberate design decision, profiling output _omits_ -the original program's comments. This allows you to focus on the -execution count data and helps you avoid the temptation to use the -profiler for pretty-printing. - - Additionally, pretty-printed output does not have the leading -indentation that the profiling output does. This makes it easy to -pretty-print your code once development is completed, and then use the -result as the final version of your program. - - Because the internal representation of your program is formatted to -recreate an 'awk' program, profiling and pretty-printing automatically -disable 'gawk''s default optimizations. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) 'gawk' does the best it can to preserve the distinction between -comments at the end of a statement and comments on lines by themselves. -Due to implementation constraints, it does not always do so correctly, -particularly for 'switch' statements. The 'gawk' maintainers hope to -improve this in a subsequent release. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Advanced Features Summary, Prev: Profiling, Up: Advanced Features - -12.6 Summary -============ - - * The '--non-decimal-data' option causes 'gawk' to treat octal- and - hexadecimal-looking input data as octal and hexadecimal. This - option should be used with caution or not at all; use of - 'strtonum()' is preferable. Note that this option may disappear in - a future version of 'gawk'. - - * You can take over complete control of sorting in 'for (INDX in - ARRAY)' array traversal by setting 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]' to the - name of a user-defined function that does the comparison of array - elements based on index and value. - - * Similarly, you can supply the name of a user-defined comparison - function as the third argument to either 'asort()' or 'asorti()' to - control how those functions sort arrays. Or you may provide one of - the predefined control strings that work for - 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]'. - - * You can use the '|&' operator to create a two-way pipe to a - coprocess. You read from the coprocess with 'getline' and write to - it with 'print' or 'printf'. Use 'close()' to close off the - coprocess completely, or optionally, close off one side of the - two-way communications. - - * By using special file names with the '|&' operator, you can open a - TCP/IP (or UDP/IP) connection to remote hosts on the Internet. - 'gawk' supports both IPv4 and IPv6. - - * You can generate statement count profiles of your program. This - can help you determine which parts of your program may be taking - the most time and let you tune them more easily. Sending the - 'USR1' signal while profiling causes 'gawk' to dump the profile and - keep going, including a function call stack. - - * You can also just "pretty-print" the program. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Internationalization, Next: Debugger, Prev: Advanced Features, Up: Top - -13 Internationalization with 'gawk' -*********************************** - -Once upon a time, computer makers wrote software that worked only in -English. Eventually, hardware and software vendors noticed that if -their systems worked in the native languages of non-English-speaking -countries, they were able to sell more systems. As a result, -internationalization and localization of programs and software systems -became a common practice. - - For many years, the ability to provide internationalization was -largely restricted to programs written in C and C++. This major node -describes the underlying library 'gawk' uses for internationalization, -as well as how 'gawk' makes internationalization features available at -the 'awk' program level. Having internationalization available at the -'awk' level gives software developers additional flexibility--they are -no longer forced to write in C or C++ when internationalization is a -requirement. - -* Menu: - -* I18N and L10N:: Internationalization and Localization. -* Explaining gettext:: How GNU 'gettext' works. -* Programmer i18n:: Features for the programmer. -* Translator i18n:: Features for the translator. -* I18N Example:: A simple i18n example. -* Gawk I18N:: 'gawk' is also internationalized. -* I18N Summary:: Summary of I18N stuff. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: I18N and L10N, Next: Explaining gettext, Up: Internationalization - -13.1 Internationalization and Localization -========================================== - -"Internationalization" means writing (or modifying) a program once, in -such a way that it can use multiple languages without requiring further -source code changes. "Localization" means providing the data necessary -for an internationalized program to work in a particular language. Most -typically, these terms refer to features such as the language used for -printing error messages, the language used to read responses, and -information related to how numerical and monetary values are printed and -read. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Explaining gettext, Next: Programmer i18n, Prev: I18N and L10N, Up: Internationalization - -13.2 GNU 'gettext' -================== - -'gawk' uses GNU 'gettext' to provide its internationalization features. -The facilities in GNU 'gettext' focus on messages: strings printed by a -program, either directly or via formatting with 'printf' or -'sprintf()'.(1) - - When using GNU 'gettext', each application has its own "text domain". -This is a unique name, such as 'kpilot' or 'gawk', that identifies the -application. A complete application may have multiple -components--programs written in C or C++, as well as scripts written in -'sh' or 'awk'. All of the components use the same text domain. - - To make the discussion concrete, assume we're writing an application -named 'guide'. Internationalization consists of the following steps, in -this order: - - 1. The programmer reviews the source for all of 'guide''s components - and marks each string that is a candidate for translation. For - example, '"`-F': option required"' is a good candidate for - translation. A table with strings of option names is not (e.g., - 'gawk''s '--profile' option should remain the same, no matter what - the local language). - - 2. The programmer indicates the application's text domain ('"guide"') - to the 'gettext' library, by calling the 'textdomain()' function. - - 3. Messages from the application are extracted from the source code - and collected into a portable object template file ('guide.pot'), - which lists the strings and their translations. The translations - are initially empty. The original (usually English) messages serve - as the key for lookup of the translations. - - 4. For each language with a translator, 'guide.pot' is copied to a - portable object file ('.po') and translations are created and - shipped with the application. For example, there might be a - 'fr.po' for a French translation. - - 5. Each language's '.po' file is converted into a binary message - object ('.gmo') file. A message object file contains the original - messages and their translations in a binary format that allows fast - lookup of translations at runtime. - - 6. When 'guide' is built and installed, the binary translation files - are installed in a standard place. - - 7. For testing and development, it is possible to tell 'gettext' to - use '.gmo' files in a different directory than the standard one by - using the 'bindtextdomain()' function. - - 8. At runtime, 'guide' looks up each string via a call to 'gettext()'. - The returned string is the translated string if available, or the - original string if not. - - 9. If necessary, it is possible to access messages from a different - text domain than the one belonging to the application, without - having to switch the application's default text domain back and - forth. - - In C (or C++), the string marking and dynamic translation lookup are -accomplished by wrapping each string in a call to 'gettext()': - - printf("%s", gettext("Don't Panic!\n")); - - The tools that extract messages from source code pull out all strings -enclosed in calls to 'gettext()'. - - The GNU 'gettext' developers, recognizing that typing 'gettext(...)' -over and over again is both painful and ugly to look at, use the macro -'_' (an underscore) to make things easier: - - /* In the standard header file: */ - #define _(str) gettext(str) - - /* In the program text: */ - printf("%s", _("Don't Panic!\n")); - -This reduces the typing overhead to just three extra characters per -string and is considerably easier to read as well. - - There are locale "categories" for different types of locale-related -information. The defined locale categories that 'gettext' knows about -are: - -'LC_MESSAGES' - Text messages. This is the default category for 'gettext' - operations, but it is possible to supply a different one - explicitly, if necessary. (It is almost never necessary to supply - a different category.) - -'LC_COLLATE' - Text-collation information (i.e., how different characters and/or - groups of characters sort in a given language). - -'LC_CTYPE' - Character-type information (alphabetic, digit, upper- or lowercase, - and so on) as well as character encoding. This information is - accessed via the POSIX character classes in regular expressions, - such as '/[[:alnum:]]/' (*note Bracket Expressions::). - -'LC_MONETARY' - Monetary information, such as the currency symbol, and whether the - symbol goes before or after a number. - -'LC_NUMERIC' - Numeric information, such as which characters to use for the - decimal point and the thousands separator.(2) - -'LC_TIME' - Time- and date-related information, such as 12- or 24-hour clock, - month printed before or after the day in a date, local month - abbreviations, and so on. - -'LC_ALL' - All of the above. (Not too useful in the context of 'gettext'.) - - NOTE: As described in *note Locales::, environment variables with - the same name as the locale categories ('LC_CTYPE', 'LC_ALL', etc.) - influence 'gawk''s behavior (and that of other utilities). - - Normally, these variables also affect how the 'gettext' library - finds translations. However, the 'LANGUAGE' environment variable - overrides the 'LC_XXX' variables. Many GNU/Linux systems may - define this variable without your knowledge, causing 'gawk' to not - find the correct translations. If this happens to you, look to see - if 'LANGUAGE' is defined, and if so, use the shell's 'unset' - command to remove it. - - For testing translations of 'gawk' itself, you can set the -'GAWK_LOCALE_DIR' environment variable. See the documentation for the C -'bindtextdomain()' function and also see *note Other Environment -Variables::. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) For some operating systems, the 'gawk' port doesn't support GNU -'gettext'. Therefore, these features are not available if you are using -one of those operating systems. Sorry. - - (2) Americans use a comma every three decimal places and a period for -the decimal point, while many Europeans do exactly the opposite: -1,234.56 versus 1.234,56. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Programmer i18n, Next: Translator i18n, Prev: Explaining gettext, Up: Internationalization - -13.3 Internationalizing 'awk' Programs -====================================== - -'gawk' provides the following variables for internationalization: - -'TEXTDOMAIN' - This variable indicates the application's text domain. For - compatibility with GNU 'gettext', the default value is - '"messages"'. - -'_"your message here"' - String constants marked with a leading underscore are candidates - for translation at runtime. String constants without a leading - underscore are not translated. - - 'gawk' provides the following functions for internationalization: - -'dcgettext(STRING [, DOMAIN [, CATEGORY]])' - Return the translation of STRING in text domain DOMAIN for locale - category CATEGORY. The default value for DOMAIN is the current - value of 'TEXTDOMAIN'. The default value for CATEGORY is - '"LC_MESSAGES"'. - - If you supply a value for CATEGORY, it must be a string equal to - one of the known locale categories described in *note Explaining - gettext::. You must also supply a text domain. Use 'TEXTDOMAIN' - if you want to use the current domain. - - CAUTION: The order of arguments to the 'awk' version of the - 'dcgettext()' function is purposely different from the order - for the C version. The 'awk' version's order was chosen to be - simple and to allow for reasonable 'awk'-style default - arguments. - -'dcngettext(STRING1, STRING2, NUMBER [, DOMAIN [, CATEGORY]])' - Return the plural form used for NUMBER of the translation of - STRING1 and STRING2 in text domain DOMAIN for locale category - CATEGORY. STRING1 is the English singular variant of a message, - and STRING2 is the English plural variant of the same message. The - default value for DOMAIN is the current value of 'TEXTDOMAIN'. The - default value for CATEGORY is '"LC_MESSAGES"'. - - The same remarks about argument order as for the 'dcgettext()' - function apply. - -'bindtextdomain(DIRECTORY [, DOMAIN ])' - Change the directory in which 'gettext' looks for '.gmo' files, in - case they will not or cannot be placed in the standard locations - (e.g., during testing). Return the directory in which DOMAIN is - "bound." - - The default DOMAIN is the value of 'TEXTDOMAIN'. If DIRECTORY is - the null string ('""'), then 'bindtextdomain()' returns the current - binding for the given DOMAIN. - - To use these facilities in your 'awk' program, follow these steps: - - 1. Set the variable 'TEXTDOMAIN' to the text domain of your program. - This is best done in a 'BEGIN' rule (*note BEGIN/END::), or it can - also be done via the '-v' command-line option (*note Options::): - - BEGIN { - TEXTDOMAIN = "guide" - ... - } - - 2. Mark all translatable strings with a leading underscore ('_') - character. It _must_ be adjacent to the opening quote of the - string. For example: - - print _"hello, world" - x = _"you goofed" - printf(_"Number of users is %d\n", nusers) - - 3. If you are creating strings dynamically, you can still translate - them, using the 'dcgettext()' built-in function:(1) - - if (groggy) - message = dcgettext("%d customers disturbing me\n", "adminprog") - else - message = dcgettext("enjoying %d customers\n", "adminprog") - printf(message, ncustomers) - - Here, the call to 'dcgettext()' supplies a different text domain - ('"adminprog"') in which to find the message, but it uses the - default '"LC_MESSAGES"' category. - - The previous example only works if 'ncustomers' is greater than - one. This example would be better done with 'dcngettext()': - - if (groggy) - message = dcngettext("%d customer disturbing me\n", - "%d customers disturbing me\n", "adminprog") - else - message = dcngettext("enjoying %d customer\n", - "enjoying %d customers\n", "adminprog") - printf(message, ncustomers) - - 4. During development, you might want to put the '.gmo' file in a - private directory for testing. This is done with the - 'bindtextdomain()' built-in function: - - BEGIN { - TEXTDOMAIN = "guide" # our text domain - if (Testing) { - # where to find our files - bindtextdomain("testdir") - # joe is in charge of adminprog - bindtextdomain("../joe/testdir", "adminprog") - } - ... - } - - *Note I18N Example:: for an example program showing the steps to -create and use translations from 'awk'. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Thanks to Bruno Haible for this example. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Translator i18n, Next: I18N Example, Prev: Programmer i18n, Up: Internationalization - -13.4 Translating 'awk' Programs -=============================== - -Once a program's translatable strings have been marked, they must be -extracted to create the initial '.pot' file. As part of translation, it -is often helpful to rearrange the order in which arguments to 'printf' -are output. - - 'gawk''s '--gen-pot' command-line option extracts the messages and is -discussed next. After that, 'printf''s ability to rearrange the order -for 'printf' arguments at runtime is covered. - -* Menu: - -* String Extraction:: Extracting marked strings. -* Printf Ordering:: Rearranging 'printf' arguments. -* I18N Portability:: 'awk'-level portability issues. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: String Extraction, Next: Printf Ordering, Up: Translator i18n - -13.4.1 Extracting Marked Strings --------------------------------- - -Once your 'awk' program is working, and all the strings have been marked -and you've set (and perhaps bound) the text domain, it is time to -produce translations. First, use the '--gen-pot' command-line option to -create the initial '.pot' file: - - gawk --gen-pot -f guide.awk > guide.pot - - When run with '--gen-pot', 'gawk' does not execute your program. -Instead, it parses it as usual and prints all marked strings to standard -output in the format of a GNU 'gettext' Portable Object file. Also -included in the output are any constant strings that appear as the first -argument to 'dcgettext()' or as the first and second argument to -'dcngettext()'.(1) You should distribute the generated '.pot' file with -your 'awk' program; translators will eventually use it to provide you -translations that you can also then distribute. *Note I18N Example:: -for the full list of steps to go through to create and test translations -for 'guide'. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The 'xgettext' utility that comes with GNU 'gettext' can handle -'.awk' files. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Printf Ordering, Next: I18N Portability, Prev: String Extraction, Up: Translator i18n - -13.4.2 Rearranging 'printf' Arguments -------------------------------------- - -Format strings for 'printf' and 'sprintf()' (*note Printf::) present a -special problem for translation. Consider the following:(1) - - printf(_"String `%s' has %d characters\n", - string, length(string))) - - A possible German translation for this might be: - - "%d Zeichen lang ist die Zeichenkette `%s'\n" - - The problem should be obvious: the order of the format specifications -is different from the original! Even though 'gettext()' can return the -translated string at runtime, it cannot change the argument order in the -call to 'printf'. - - To solve this problem, 'printf' format specifiers may have an -additional optional element, which we call a "positional specifier". -For example: - - "%2$d Zeichen lang ist die Zeichenkette `%1$s'\n" - - Here, the positional specifier consists of an integer count, which -indicates which argument to use, and a '$'. Counts are one-based, and -the format string itself is _not_ included. Thus, in the following -example, 'string' is the first argument and 'length(string)' is the -second: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { - > string = "Don\47t Panic" - > printf "%2$d characters live in \"%1$s\"\n", - > string, length(string) - > }' - -| 11 characters live in "Don't Panic" - - If present, positional specifiers come first in the format -specification, before the flags, the field width, and/or the precision. - - Positional specifiers can be used with the dynamic field width and -precision capability: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { - > printf("%*.*s\n", 10, 20, "hello") - > printf("%3$*2$.*1$s\n", 20, 10, "hello") - > }' - -| hello - -| hello - - NOTE: When using '*' with a positional specifier, the '*' comes - first, then the integer position, and then the '$'. This is - somewhat counterintuitive. - - 'gawk' does not allow you to mix regular format specifiers and those -with positional specifiers in the same string: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { printf "%d %3$s\n", 1, 2, "hi" }' - error-> gawk: cmd. line:1: fatal: must use `count$' on all formats or none - - NOTE: There are some pathological cases that 'gawk' may fail to - diagnose. In such cases, the output may not be what you expect. - It's still a bad idea to try mixing them, even if 'gawk' doesn't - detect it. - - Although positional specifiers can be used directly in 'awk' -programs, their primary purpose is to help in producing correct -translations of format strings into languages different from the one in -which the program is first written. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This example is borrowed from the GNU 'gettext' manual. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: I18N Portability, Prev: Printf Ordering, Up: Translator i18n - -13.4.3 'awk' Portability Issues -------------------------------- - -'gawk''s internationalization features were purposely chosen to have as -little impact as possible on the portability of 'awk' programs that use -them to other versions of 'awk'. Consider this program: - - BEGIN { - TEXTDOMAIN = "guide" - if (Test_Guide) # set with -v - bindtextdomain("/test/guide/messages") - print _"don't panic!" - } - -As written, it won't work on other versions of 'awk'. However, it is -actually almost portable, requiring very little change: - - * Assignments to 'TEXTDOMAIN' won't have any effect, because - 'TEXTDOMAIN' is not special in other 'awk' implementations. - - * Non-GNU versions of 'awk' treat marked strings as the concatenation - of a variable named '_' with the string following it.(1) - Typically, the variable '_' has the null string ('""') as its - value, leaving the original string constant as the result. - - * By defining "dummy" functions to replace 'dcgettext()', - 'dcngettext()', and 'bindtextdomain()', the 'awk' program can be - made to run, but all the messages are output in the original - language. For example: - - function bindtextdomain(dir, domain) - { - return dir - } - - function dcgettext(string, domain, category) - { - return string - } - - function dcngettext(string1, string2, number, domain, category) - { - return (number == 1 ? string1 : string2) - } - - * The use of positional specifications in 'printf' or 'sprintf()' is - _not_ portable. To support 'gettext()' at the C level, many - systems' C versions of 'sprintf()' do support positional - specifiers. But it works only if enough arguments are supplied in - the function call. Many versions of 'awk' pass 'printf' formats - and arguments unchanged to the underlying C library version of - 'sprintf()', but only one format and argument at a time. What - happens if a positional specification is used is anybody's guess. - However, because the positional specifications are primarily for - use in _translated_ format strings, and because non-GNU 'awk's - never retrieve the translated string, this should not be a problem - in practice. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This is good fodder for an "Obfuscated 'awk'" contest. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: I18N Example, Next: Gawk I18N, Prev: Translator i18n, Up: Internationalization - -13.5 A Simple Internationalization Example -========================================== - -Now let's look at a step-by-step example of how to internationalize and -localize a simple 'awk' program, using 'guide.awk' as our original -source: - - BEGIN { - TEXTDOMAIN = "guide" - bindtextdomain(".") # for testing - print _"Don't Panic" - print _"The Answer Is", 42 - print "Pardon me, Zaphod who?" - } - -Run 'gawk --gen-pot' to create the '.pot' file: - - $ gawk --gen-pot -f guide.awk > guide.pot - -This produces: - - #: guide.awk:4 - msgid "Don't Panic" - msgstr "" - - #: guide.awk:5 - msgid "The Answer Is" - msgstr "" - - - This original portable object template file is saved and reused for -each language into which the application is translated. The 'msgid' is -the original string and the 'msgstr' is the translation. - - NOTE: Strings not marked with a leading underscore do not appear in - the 'guide.pot' file. - - Next, the messages must be translated. Here is a translation to a -hypothetical dialect of English, called "Mellow":(1) - - $ cp guide.pot guide-mellow.po - ADD TRANSLATIONS TO guide-mellow.po ... - -Following are the translations: - - #: guide.awk:4 - msgid "Don't Panic" - msgstr "Hey man, relax!" - - #: guide.awk:5 - msgid "The Answer Is" - msgstr "Like, the scoop is" - - - The next step is to make the directory to hold the binary message -object file and then to create the 'guide.mo' file. We pretend that our -file is to be used in the 'en_US.UTF-8' locale, because we have to use a -locale name known to the C 'gettext' routines. The directory layout -shown here is standard for GNU 'gettext' on GNU/Linux systems. Other -versions of 'gettext' may use a different layout: - - $ mkdir en_US.UTF-8 en_US.UTF-8/LC_MESSAGES - - The 'msgfmt' utility does the conversion from human-readable '.po' -file to machine-readable '.mo' file. By default, 'msgfmt' creates a -file named 'messages'. This file must be renamed and placed in the -proper directory (using the '-o' option) so that 'gawk' can find it: - - $ msgfmt guide-mellow.po -o en_US.UTF-8/LC_MESSAGES/guide.mo - - Finally, we run the program to test it: - - $ gawk -f guide.awk - -| Hey man, relax! - -| Like, the scoop is 42 - -| Pardon me, Zaphod who? - - If the three replacement functions for 'dcgettext()', 'dcngettext()', -and 'bindtextdomain()' (*note I18N Portability::) are in a file named -'libintl.awk', then we can run 'guide.awk' unchanged as follows: - - $ gawk --posix -f guide.awk -f libintl.awk - -| Don't Panic - -| The Answer Is 42 - -| Pardon me, Zaphod who? - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Perhaps it would be better if it were called "Hippy." Ah, well. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Gawk I18N, Next: I18N Summary, Prev: I18N Example, Up: Internationalization - -13.6 'gawk' Can Speak Your Language -=================================== - -'gawk' itself has been internationalized using the GNU 'gettext' -package. (GNU 'gettext' is described in complete detail in *note (GNU -'gettext' utilities, gettext, GNU 'gettext' utilities)Top::.) As of -this writing, the latest version of GNU 'gettext' is version 0.19.4 -(ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gettext/gettext-0.19.4.tar.gz). - - If a translation of 'gawk''s messages exists, then 'gawk' produces -usage messages, warnings, and fatal errors in the local language. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: I18N Summary, Prev: Gawk I18N, Up: Internationalization - -13.7 Summary -============ - - * Internationalization means writing a program such that it can use - multiple languages without requiring source code changes. - Localization means providing the data necessary for an - internationalized program to work in a particular language. - - * 'gawk' uses GNU 'gettext' to let you internationalize and localize - 'awk' programs. A program's text domain identifies the program for - grouping all messages and other data together. - - * You mark a program's strings for translation by preceding them with - an underscore. Once that is done, the strings are extracted into a - '.pot' file. This file is copied for each language into a '.po' - file, and the '.po' files are compiled into '.gmo' files for use at - runtime. - - * You can use positional specifications with 'sprintf()' and 'printf' - to rearrange the placement of argument values in formatted strings - and output. This is useful for the translation of format control - strings. - - * The internationalization features have been designed so that they - can be easily worked around in a standard 'awk'. - - * 'gawk' itself has been internationalized and ships with a number of - translations for its messages. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Debugger, Next: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic, Prev: Internationalization, Up: Top - -14 Debugging 'awk' Programs -*************************** - -It would be nice if computer programs worked perfectly the first time -they were run, but in real life, this rarely happens for programs of any -complexity. Thus, most programming languages have facilities available -for "debugging" programs, and now 'awk' is no exception. - - The 'gawk' debugger is purposely modeled after the GNU Debugger (GDB) -(http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/) command-line debugger. If you are -familiar with GDB, learning how to use 'gawk' for debugging your program -is easy. - -* Menu: - -* Debugging:: Introduction to 'gawk' debugger. -* Sample Debugging Session:: Sample debugging session. -* List of Debugger Commands:: Main debugger commands. -* Readline Support:: Readline support. -* Limitations:: Limitations and future plans. -* Debugging Summary:: Debugging summary. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Debugging, Next: Sample Debugging Session, Up: Debugger - -14.1 Introduction to the 'gawk' Debugger -======================================== - -This minor node introduces debugging in general and begins the -discussion of debugging in 'gawk'. - -* Menu: - -* Debugging Concepts:: Debugging in General. -* Debugging Terms:: Additional Debugging Concepts. -* Awk Debugging:: Awk Debugging. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Debugging Concepts, Next: Debugging Terms, Up: Debugging - -14.1.1 Debugging in General ---------------------------- - -(If you have used debuggers in other languages, you may want to skip -ahead to *note Awk Debugging::.) - - Of course, a debugging program cannot remove bugs for you, because it -has no way of knowing what you or your users consider a "bug" versus a -"feature." (Sometimes, we humans have a hard time with this ourselves.) -In that case, what can you expect from such a tool? The answer to that -depends on the language being debugged, but in general, you can expect -at least the following: - - * The ability to watch a program execute its instructions one by one, - giving you, the programmer, the opportunity to think about what is - happening on a time scale of seconds, minutes, or hours, rather - than the nanosecond time scale at which the code usually runs. - - * The opportunity to not only passively observe the operation of your - program, but to control it and try different paths of execution, - without having to change your source files. - - * The chance to see the values of data in the program at any point in - execution, and also to change that data on the fly, to see how that - affects what happens afterward. (This often includes the ability - to look at internal data structures besides the variables you - actually defined in your code.) - - * The ability to obtain additional information about your program's - state or even its internal structure. - - All of these tools provide a great amount of help in using your own -skills and understanding of the goals of your program to find where it -is going wrong (or, for that matter, to better comprehend a perfectly -functional program that you or someone else wrote). - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Debugging Terms, Next: Awk Debugging, Prev: Debugging Concepts, Up: Debugging - -14.1.2 Debugging Concepts -------------------------- - -Before diving in to the details, we need to introduce several important -concepts that apply to just about all debuggers. The following list -defines terms used throughout the rest of this major node: - -"Stack frame" - Programs generally call functions during the course of their - execution. One function can call another, or a function can call - itself (recursion). You can view the chain of called functions - (main program calls A, which calls B, which calls C), as a stack of - executing functions: the currently running function is the topmost - one on the stack, and when it finishes (returns), the next one down - then becomes the active function. Such a stack is termed a "call - stack". - - For each function on the call stack, the system maintains a data - area that contains the function's parameters, local variables, and - return value, as well as any other "bookkeeping" information needed - to manage the call stack. This data area is termed a "stack - frame". - - 'gawk' also follows this model, and gives you access to the call - stack and to each stack frame. You can see the call stack, as well - as from where each function on the stack was invoked. Commands - that print the call stack print information about each stack frame - (as detailed later on). - -"Breakpoint" - During debugging, you often wish to let the program run until it - reaches a certain point, and then continue execution from there one - statement (or instruction) at a time. The way to do this is to set - a "breakpoint" within the program. A breakpoint is where the - execution of the program should break off (stop), so that you can - take over control of the program's execution. You can add and - remove as many breakpoints as you like. - -"Watchpoint" - A watchpoint is similar to a breakpoint. The difference is that - breakpoints are oriented around the code: stop when a certain point - in the code is reached. A watchpoint, however, specifies that - program execution should stop when a _data value_ is changed. This - is useful, as sometimes it happens that a variable receives an - erroneous value, and it's hard to track down where this happens - just by looking at the code. By using a watchpoint, you can stop - whenever a variable is assigned to, and usually find the errant - code quite quickly. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Awk Debugging, Prev: Debugging Terms, Up: Debugging - -14.1.3 'awk' Debugging ----------------------- - -Debugging an 'awk' program has some specific aspects that are not shared -with programs written in other languages. - - First of all, the fact that 'awk' programs usually take input line by -line from a file or files and operate on those lines using specific -rules makes it especially useful to organize viewing the execution of -the program in terms of these rules. As we will see, each 'awk' rule is -treated almost like a function call, with its own specific block of -instructions. - - In addition, because 'awk' is by design a very concise language, it -is easy to lose sight of everything that is going on "inside" each line -of 'awk' code. The debugger provides the opportunity to look at the -individual primitive instructions carried out by the higher-level 'awk' -commands. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Sample Debugging Session, Next: List of Debugger Commands, Prev: Debugging, Up: Debugger - -14.2 Sample 'gawk' Debugging Session -==================================== - -In order to illustrate the use of 'gawk' as a debugger, let's look at a -sample debugging session. We will use the 'awk' implementation of the -POSIX 'uniq' command described earlier (*note Uniq Program::) as our -example. - -* Menu: - -* Debugger Invocation:: How to Start the Debugger. -* Finding The Bug:: Finding the Bug. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Debugger Invocation, Next: Finding The Bug, Up: Sample Debugging Session - -14.2.1 How to Start the Debugger --------------------------------- - -Starting the debugger is almost exactly like running 'gawk' normally, -except you have to pass an additional option, '--debug', or the -corresponding short option, '-D'. The file(s) containing the program -and any supporting code are given on the command line as arguments to -one or more '-f' options. ('gawk' is not designed to debug command-line -programs, only programs contained in files.) In our case, we invoke the -debugger like this: - - $ gawk -D -f getopt.awk -f join.awk -f uniq.awk -1 inputfile - -where both 'getopt.awk' and 'uniq.awk' are in '$AWKPATH'. (Experienced -users of GDB or similar debuggers should note that this syntax is -slightly different from what you are used to. With the 'gawk' debugger, -you give the arguments for running the program in the command line to -the debugger rather than as part of the 'run' command at the debugger -prompt.) The '-1' is an option to 'uniq.awk'. - - Instead of immediately running the program on 'inputfile', as 'gawk' -would ordinarily do, the debugger merely loads all the program source -files, compiles them internally, and then gives us a prompt: - - gawk> - -from which we can issue commands to the debugger. At this point, no -code has been executed. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Finding The Bug, Prev: Debugger Invocation, Up: Sample Debugging Session - -14.2.2 Finding the Bug ----------------------- - -Let's say that we are having a problem using (a faulty version of) -'uniq.awk' in the "field-skipping" mode, and it doesn't seem to be -catching lines which should be identical when skipping the first field, -such as: - - awk is a wonderful program! - gawk is a wonderful program! - - This could happen if we were thinking (C-like) of the fields in a -record as being numbered in a zero-based fashion, so instead of the -lines: - - clast = join(alast, fcount+1, n) - cline = join(aline, fcount+1, m) - -we wrote: - - clast = join(alast, fcount, n) - cline = join(aline, fcount, m) - - The first thing we usually want to do when trying to investigate a -problem like this is to put a breakpoint in the program so that we can -watch it at work and catch what it is doing wrong. A reasonable spot -for a breakpoint in 'uniq.awk' is at the beginning of the function -'are_equal()', which compares the current line with the previous one. -To set the breakpoint, use the 'b' (breakpoint) command: - - gawk> b are_equal - -| Breakpoint 1 set at file `awklib/eg/prog/uniq.awk', line 63 - - The debugger tells us the file and line number where the breakpoint -is. Now type 'r' or 'run' and the program runs until it hits the -breakpoint for the first time: - - gawk> r - -| Starting program: - -| Stopping in Rule ... - -| Breakpoint 1, are_equal(n, m, clast, cline, alast, aline) - at `awklib/eg/prog/uniq.awk':63 - -| 63 if (fcount == 0 && charcount == 0) - gawk> - - Now we can look at what's going on inside our program. First of all, -let's see how we got to where we are. At the prompt, we type 'bt' -(short for "backtrace"), and the debugger responds with a listing of the -current stack frames: - - gawk> bt - -| #0 are_equal(n, m, clast, cline, alast, aline) - at `awklib/eg/prog/uniq.awk':68 - -| #1 in main() at `awklib/eg/prog/uniq.awk':88 - - This tells us that 'are_equal()' was called by the main program at -line 88 of 'uniq.awk'. (This is not a big surprise, because this is the -only call to 'are_equal()' in the program, but in more complex programs, -knowing who called a function and with what parameters can be the key to -finding the source of the problem.) - - Now that we're in 'are_equal()', we can start looking at the values -of some variables. Let's say we type 'p n' ('p' is short for "print"). -We would expect to see the value of 'n', a parameter to 'are_equal()'. -Actually, the debugger gives us: - - gawk> p n - -| n = untyped variable - -In this case, 'n' is an uninitialized local variable, because the -function was called without arguments (*note Function Calls::). - - A more useful variable to display might be the current record: - - gawk> p $0 - -| $0 = "gawk is a wonderful program!" - -This might be a bit puzzling at first, as this is the second line of our -test input. Let's look at 'NR': - - gawk> p NR - -| NR = 2 - -So we can see that 'are_equal()' was only called for the second record -of the file. Of course, this is because our program contains a rule for -'NR == 1': - - NR == 1 { - last = $0 - next - } - - OK, let's just check that that rule worked correctly: - - gawk> p last - -| last = "awk is a wonderful program!" - - Everything we have done so far has verified that the program has -worked as planned, up to and including the call to 'are_equal()', so the -problem must be inside this function. To investigate further, we must -begin "stepping through" the lines of 'are_equal()'. We start by typing -'n' (for "next"): - - gawk> n - -| 66 if (fcount > 0) { - - This tells us that 'gawk' is now ready to execute line 66, which -decides whether to give the lines the special "field-skipping" treatment -indicated by the '-1' command-line option. (Notice that we skipped from -where we were before, at line 63, to here, because the condition in line -63, 'if (fcount == 0 && charcount == 0)', was false.) - - Continuing to step, we now get to the splitting of the current and -last records: - - gawk> n - -| 67 n = split(last, alast) - gawk> n - -| 68 m = split($0, aline) - - At this point, we should be curious to see what our records were -split into, so we try to look: - - gawk> p n m alast aline - -| n = 5 - -| m = untyped variable - -| alast = array, 5 elements - -| aline = untyped variable - -(The 'p' command can take more than one argument, similar to 'awk''s -'print' statement.) - - This is kind of disappointing, though. All we found out is that -there are five elements in 'alast'; 'm' and 'aline' don't have values -because we are at line 68 but haven't executed it yet. This information -is useful enough (we now know that none of the words were accidentally -left out), but what if we want to see inside the array? - - The first choice would be to use subscripts: - - gawk> p alast[0] - -| "0" not in array `alast' - -Oops! - - gawk> p alast[1] - -| alast["1"] = "awk" - - This would be kind of slow for a 100-member array, though, so 'gawk' -provides a shortcut (reminiscent of another language not to be -mentioned): - - gawk> p @alast - -| alast["1"] = "awk" - -| alast["2"] = "is" - -| alast["3"] = "a" - -| alast["4"] = "wonderful" - -| alast["5"] = "program!" - - It looks like we got this far OK. Let's take another step or two: - - gawk> n - -| 69 clast = join(alast, fcount, n) - gawk> n - -| 70 cline = join(aline, fcount, m) - - Well, here we are at our error (sorry to spoil the suspense). What -we had in mind was to join the fields starting from the second one to -make the virtual record to compare, and if the first field were numbered -zero, this would work. Let's look at what we've got: - - gawk> p cline clast - -| cline = "gawk is a wonderful program!" - -| clast = "awk is a wonderful program!" - - Hey, those look pretty familiar! They're just our original, -unaltered input records. A little thinking (the human brain is still -the best debugging tool), and we realize that we were off by one! - - We get out of the debugger: - - gawk> q - -| The program is running. Exit anyway (y/n)? y - -Then we get into an editor: - - clast = join(alast, fcount+1, n) - cline = join(aline, fcount+1, m) - -and problem solved! - - -File: gawk.info, Node: List of Debugger Commands, Next: Readline Support, Prev: Sample Debugging Session, Up: Debugger - -14.3 Main Debugger Commands -=========================== - -The 'gawk' debugger command set can be divided into the following -categories: - - * Breakpoint control - - * Execution control - - * Viewing and changing data - - * Working with the stack - - * Getting information - - * Miscellaneous - - Each of these are discussed in the following subsections. In the -following descriptions, commands that may be abbreviated show the -abbreviation on a second description line. A debugger command name may -also be truncated if that partial name is unambiguous. The debugger has -the built-in capability to automatically repeat the previous command -just by hitting 'Enter'. This works for the commands 'list', 'next', -'nexti', 'step', 'stepi', and 'continue' executed without any argument. - -* Menu: - -* Breakpoint Control:: Control of Breakpoints. -* Debugger Execution Control:: Control of Execution. -* Viewing And Changing Data:: Viewing and Changing Data. -* Execution Stack:: Dealing with the Stack. -* Debugger Info:: Obtaining Information about the Program and - the Debugger State. -* Miscellaneous Debugger Commands:: Miscellaneous Commands. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Breakpoint Control, Next: Debugger Execution Control, Up: List of Debugger Commands - -14.3.1 Control of Breakpoints ------------------------------ - -As we saw earlier, the first thing you probably want to do in a -debugging session is to get your breakpoints set up, because your -program will otherwise just run as if it was not under the debugger. -The commands for controlling breakpoints are: - -'break' [[FILENAME':']N | FUNCTION] ['"EXPRESSION"'] -'b' [[FILENAME':']N | FUNCTION] ['"EXPRESSION"'] - Without any argument, set a breakpoint at the next instruction to - be executed in the selected stack frame. Arguments can be one of - the following: - - N - Set a breakpoint at line number N in the current source file. - - FILENAME':'N - Set a breakpoint at line number N in source file FILENAME. - - FUNCTION - Set a breakpoint at entry to (the first instruction of) - function FUNCTION. - - Each breakpoint is assigned a number that can be used to delete it - from the breakpoint list using the 'delete' command. - - With a breakpoint, you may also supply a condition. This is an - 'awk' expression (enclosed in double quotes) that the debugger - evaluates whenever the breakpoint is reached. If the condition is - true, then the debugger stops execution and prompts for a command. - Otherwise, it continues executing the program. - -'clear' [[FILENAME':']N | FUNCTION] - Without any argument, delete any breakpoint at the next instruction - to be executed in the selected stack frame. If the program stops - at a breakpoint, this deletes that breakpoint so that the program - does not stop at that location again. Arguments can be one of the - following: - - N - Delete breakpoint(s) set at line number N in the current - source file. - - FILENAME':'N - Delete breakpoint(s) set at line number N in source file - FILENAME. - - FUNCTION - Delete breakpoint(s) set at entry to function FUNCTION. - -'condition' N '"EXPRESSION"' - Add a condition to existing breakpoint or watchpoint N. The - condition is an 'awk' expression _enclosed in double quotes_ that - the debugger evaluates whenever the breakpoint or watchpoint is - reached. If the condition is true, then the debugger stops - execution and prompts for a command. Otherwise, the debugger - continues executing the program. If the condition expression is - not specified, any existing condition is removed (i.e., the - breakpoint or watchpoint is made unconditional). - -'delete' [N1 N2 ...] [N-M] -'d' [N1 N2 ...] [N-M] - Delete specified breakpoints or a range of breakpoints. Delete all - defined breakpoints if no argument is supplied. - -'disable' [N1 N2 ... | N-M] - Disable specified breakpoints or a range of breakpoints. Without - any argument, disable all breakpoints. - -'enable' ['del' | 'once'] [N1 N2 ...] [N-M] -'e' ['del' | 'once'] [N1 N2 ...] [N-M] - Enable specified breakpoints or a range of breakpoints. Without - any argument, enable all breakpoints. Optionally, you can specify - how to enable the breakpoints: - - 'del' - Enable the breakpoints temporarily, then delete each one when - the program stops at it. - - 'once' - Enable the breakpoints temporarily, then disable each one when - the program stops at it. - -'ignore' N COUNT - Ignore breakpoint number N the next COUNT times it is hit. - -'tbreak' [[FILENAME':']N | FUNCTION] -'t' [[FILENAME':']N | FUNCTION] - Set a temporary breakpoint (enabled for only one stop). The - arguments are the same as for 'break'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Debugger Execution Control, Next: Viewing And Changing Data, Prev: Breakpoint Control, Up: List of Debugger Commands - -14.3.2 Control of Execution ---------------------------- - -Now that your breakpoints are ready, you can start running the program -and observing its behavior. There are more commands for controlling -execution of the program than we saw in our earlier example: - -'commands' [N] -'silent' -... -'end' - Set a list of commands to be executed upon stopping at a breakpoint - or watchpoint. N is the breakpoint or watchpoint number. Without - a number, the last one set is used. The actual commands follow, - starting on the next line, and terminated by the 'end' command. If - the command 'silent' is in the list, the usual messages about - stopping at a breakpoint and the source line are not printed. Any - command in the list that resumes execution (e.g., 'continue') - terminates the list (an implicit 'end'), and subsequent commands - are ignored. For example: - - gawk> commands - > silent - > printf "A silent breakpoint; i = %d\n", i - > info locals - > set i = 10 - > continue - > end - gawk> - -'continue' [COUNT] -'c' [COUNT] - Resume program execution. If continued from a breakpoint and COUNT - is specified, ignore the breakpoint at that location the next COUNT - times before stopping. - -'finish' - Execute until the selected stack frame returns. Print the returned - value. - -'next' [COUNT] -'n' [COUNT] - Continue execution to the next source line, stepping over function - calls. The argument COUNT controls how many times to repeat the - action, as in 'step'. - -'nexti' [COUNT] -'ni' [COUNT] - Execute one (or COUNT) instruction(s), stepping over function - calls. - -'return' [VALUE] - Cancel execution of a function call. If VALUE (either a string or - a number) is specified, it is used as the function's return value. - If used in a frame other than the innermost one (the currently - executing function; i.e., frame number 0), discard all inner frames - in addition to the selected one, and the caller of that frame - becomes the innermost frame. - -'run' -'r' - Start/restart execution of the program. When restarting, the - debugger retains the current breakpoints, watchpoints, command - history, automatic display variables, and debugger options. - -'step' [COUNT] -'s' [COUNT] - Continue execution until control reaches a different source line in - the current stack frame, stepping inside any function called within - the line. If the argument COUNT is supplied, steps that many times - before stopping, unless it encounters a breakpoint or watchpoint. - -'stepi' [COUNT] -'si' [COUNT] - Execute one (or COUNT) instruction(s), stepping inside function - calls. (For illustration of what is meant by an "instruction" in - 'gawk', see the output shown under 'dump' in *note Miscellaneous - Debugger Commands::.) - -'until' [[FILENAME':']N | FUNCTION] -'u' [[FILENAME':']N | FUNCTION] - Without any argument, continue execution until a line past the - current line in the current stack frame is reached. With an - argument, continue execution until the specified location is - reached, or the current stack frame returns. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Viewing And Changing Data, Next: Execution Stack, Prev: Debugger Execution Control, Up: List of Debugger Commands - -14.3.3 Viewing and Changing Data --------------------------------- - -The commands for viewing and changing variables inside of 'gawk' are: - -'display' [VAR | '$'N] - Add variable VAR (or field '$N') to the display list. The value of - the variable or field is displayed each time the program stops. - Each variable added to the list is identified by a unique number: - - gawk> display x - -| 10: x = 1 - - This displays the assigned item number, the variable name, and its - current value. If the display variable refers to a function - parameter, it is silently deleted from the list as soon as the - execution reaches a context where no such variable of the given - name exists. Without argument, 'display' displays the current - values of items on the list. - -'eval "AWK STATEMENTS"' - Evaluate AWK STATEMENTS in the context of the running program. You - can do anything that an 'awk' program would do: assign values to - variables, call functions, and so on. - -'eval' PARAM, ... -AWK STATEMENTS -'end' - This form of 'eval' is similar, but it allows you to define "local - variables" that exist in the context of the AWK STATEMENTS, instead - of using variables or function parameters defined by the program. - -'print' VAR1[',' VAR2 ...] -'p' VAR1[',' VAR2 ...] - Print the value of a 'gawk' variable or field. Fields must be - referenced by constants: - - gawk> print $3 - - This prints the third field in the input record (if the specified - field does not exist, it prints 'Null field'). A variable can be - an array element, with the subscripts being constant string values. - To print the contents of an array, prefix the name of the array - with the '@' symbol: - - gawk> print @a - - This prints the indices and the corresponding values for all - elements in the array 'a'. - -'printf' FORMAT [',' ARG ...] - Print formatted text. The FORMAT may include escape sequences, - such as '\n' (*note Escape Sequences::). No newline is printed - unless one is specified. - -'set' VAR'='VALUE - Assign a constant (number or string) value to an 'awk' variable or - field. String values must be enclosed between double quotes - ('"'...'"'). - - You can also set special 'awk' variables, such as 'FS', 'NF', 'NR', - and so on. - -'watch' VAR | '$'N ['"EXPRESSION"'] -'w' VAR | '$'N ['"EXPRESSION"'] - Add variable VAR (or field '$N') to the watch list. The debugger - then stops whenever the value of the variable or field changes. - Each watched item is assigned a number that can be used to delete - it from the watch list using the 'unwatch' command. - - With a watchpoint, you may also supply a condition. This is an - 'awk' expression (enclosed in double quotes) that the debugger - evaluates whenever the watchpoint is reached. If the condition is - true, then the debugger stops execution and prompts for a command. - Otherwise, 'gawk' continues executing the program. - -'undisplay' [N] - Remove item number N (or all items, if no argument) from the - automatic display list. - -'unwatch' [N] - Remove item number N (or all items, if no argument) from the watch - list. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Execution Stack, Next: Debugger Info, Prev: Viewing And Changing Data, Up: List of Debugger Commands - -14.3.4 Working with the Stack ------------------------------ - -Whenever you run a program that contains any function calls, 'gawk' -maintains a stack of all of the function calls leading up to where the -program is right now. You can see how you got to where you are, and -also move around in the stack to see what the state of things was in the -functions that called the one you are in. The commands for doing this -are: - -'backtrace' [COUNT] -'bt' [COUNT] -'where' [COUNT] - Print a backtrace of all function calls (stack frames), or - innermost COUNT frames if COUNT > 0. Print the outermost COUNT - frames if COUNT < 0. The backtrace displays the name and arguments - to each function, the source file name, and the line number. The - alias 'where' for 'backtrace' is provided for longtime GDB users - who may be used to that command. - -'down' [COUNT] - Move COUNT (default 1) frames down the stack toward the innermost - frame. Then select and print the frame. - -'frame' [N] -'f' [N] - Select and print stack frame N. Frame 0 is the currently - executing, or "innermost", frame (function call); frame 1 is the - frame that called the innermost one. The highest-numbered frame is - the one for the main program. The printed information consists of - the frame number, function and argument names, source file, and the - source line. - -'up' [COUNT] - Move COUNT (default 1) frames up the stack toward the outermost - frame. Then select and print the frame. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Debugger Info, Next: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands, Prev: Execution Stack, Up: List of Debugger Commands - -14.3.5 Obtaining Information About the Program and the Debugger State ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - -Besides looking at the values of variables, there is often a need to get -other sorts of information about the state of your program and of the -debugging environment itself. The 'gawk' debugger has one command that -provides this information, appropriately called 'info'. 'info' is used -with one of a number of arguments that tell it exactly what you want to -know: - -'info' WHAT -'i' WHAT - The value for WHAT should be one of the following: - - 'args' - List arguments of the selected frame. - - 'break' - List all currently set breakpoints. - - 'display' - List all items in the automatic display list. - - 'frame' - Give a description of the selected stack frame. - - 'functions' - List all function definitions including source file names and - line numbers. - - 'locals' - List local variables of the selected frame. - - 'source' - Print the name of the current source file. Each time the - program stops, the current source file is the file containing - the current instruction. When the debugger first starts, the - current source file is the first file included via the '-f' - option. The 'list FILENAME:LINENO' command can be used at any - time to change the current source. - - 'sources' - List all program sources. - - 'variables' - List all global variables. - - 'watch' - List all items in the watch list. - - Additional commands give you control over the debugger, the ability -to save the debugger's state, and the ability to run debugger commands -from a file. The commands are: - -'option' [NAME['='VALUE]] -'o' [NAME['='VALUE]] - Without an argument, display the available debugger options and - their current values. 'option NAME' shows the current value of the - named option. 'option NAME=VALUE' assigns a new value to the named - option. The available options are: - - 'history_size' - Set the maximum number of lines to keep in the history file - './.gawk_history'. The default is 100. - - 'listsize' - Specify the number of lines that 'list' prints. The default - is 15. - - 'outfile' - Send 'gawk' output to a file; debugger output still goes to - standard output. An empty string ('""') resets output to - standard output. - - 'prompt' - Change the debugger prompt. The default is 'gawk> '. - - 'save_history' ['on' | 'off'] - Save command history to file './.gawk_history'. The default - is 'on'. - - 'save_options' ['on' | 'off'] - Save current options to file './.gawkrc' upon exit. The - default is 'on'. Options are read back into the next session - upon startup. - - 'trace' ['on' | 'off'] - Turn instruction tracing on or off. The default is 'off'. - -'save' FILENAME - Save the commands from the current session to the given file name, - so that they can be replayed using the 'source' command. - -'source' FILENAME - Run command(s) from a file; an error in any command does not - terminate execution of subsequent commands. Comments (lines - starting with '#') are allowed in a command file. Empty lines are - ignored; they do _not_ repeat the last command. You can't restart - the program by having more than one 'run' command in the file. - Also, the list of commands may include additional 'source' - commands; however, the 'gawk' debugger will not source the same - file more than once in order to avoid infinite recursion. - - In addition to, or instead of, the 'source' command, you can use - the '-D FILE' or '--debug=FILE' command-line options to execute - commands from a file non-interactively (*note Options::). - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands, Prev: Debugger Info, Up: List of Debugger Commands - -14.3.6 Miscellaneous Commands ------------------------------ - -There are a few more commands that do not fit into the previous -categories, as follows: - -'dump' [FILENAME] - Dump byte code of the program to standard output or to the file - named in FILENAME. This prints a representation of the internal - instructions that 'gawk' executes to implement the 'awk' commands - in a program. This can be very enlightening, as the following - partial dump of Davide Brini's obfuscated code (*note Signature - Program::) demonstrates: - - gawk> dump - -| # BEGIN - -| - -| [ 1:0xfcd340] Op_rule : [in_rule = BEGIN] [source_file = brini.awk] - -| [ 1:0xfcc240] Op_push_i : "~" [MALLOC|STRING|STRCUR] - -| [ 1:0xfcc2a0] Op_push_i : "~" [MALLOC|STRING|STRCUR] - -| [ 1:0xfcc280] Op_match : - -| [ 1:0xfcc1e0] Op_store_var : O - -| [ 1:0xfcc2e0] Op_push_i : "==" [MALLOC|STRING|STRCUR] - -| [ 1:0xfcc340] Op_push_i : "==" [MALLOC|STRING|STRCUR] - -| [ 1:0xfcc320] Op_equal : - -| [ 1:0xfcc200] Op_store_var : o - -| [ 1:0xfcc380] Op_push : o - -| [ 1:0xfcc360] Op_plus_i : 0 [MALLOC|NUMCUR|NUMBER] - -| [ 1:0xfcc220] Op_push_lhs : o [do_reference = true] - -| [ 1:0xfcc300] Op_assign_plus : - -| [ :0xfcc2c0] Op_pop : - -| [ 1:0xfcc400] Op_push : O - -| [ 1:0xfcc420] Op_push_i : "" [MALLOC|STRING|STRCUR] - -| [ :0xfcc4a0] Op_no_op : - -| [ 1:0xfcc480] Op_push : O - -| [ :0xfcc4c0] Op_concat : [expr_count = 3] [concat_flag = 0] - -| [ 1:0xfcc3c0] Op_store_var : x - -| [ 1:0xfcc440] Op_push_lhs : X [do_reference = true] - -| [ 1:0xfcc3a0] Op_postincrement : - -| [ 1:0xfcc4e0] Op_push : x - -| [ 1:0xfcc540] Op_push : o - -| [ 1:0xfcc500] Op_plus : - -| [ 1:0xfcc580] Op_push : o - -| [ 1:0xfcc560] Op_plus : - -| [ 1:0xfcc460] Op_leq : - -| [ :0xfcc5c0] Op_jmp_false : [target_jmp = 0xfcc5e0] - -| [ 1:0xfcc600] Op_push_i : "%c" [MALLOC|STRING|STRCUR] - -| [ :0xfcc660] Op_no_op : - -| [ 1:0xfcc520] Op_assign_concat : c - -| [ :0xfcc620] Op_jmp : [target_jmp = 0xfcc440] - -| - ... - -| - -| [ 2:0xfcc5a0] Op_K_printf : [expr_count = 17] [redir_type = ""] - -| [ :0xfcc140] Op_no_op : - -| [ :0xfcc1c0] Op_atexit : - -| [ :0xfcc640] Op_stop : - -| [ :0xfcc180] Op_no_op : - -| [ :0xfcd150] Op_after_beginfile : - -| [ :0xfcc160] Op_no_op : - -| [ :0xfcc1a0] Op_after_endfile : - gawk> - -'exit' - Exit the debugger. See the entry for 'quit', later in this list. - -'help' -'h' - Print a list of all of the 'gawk' debugger commands with a short - summary of their usage. 'help COMMAND' prints the information - about the command COMMAND. - -'list' ['-' | '+' | N | FILENAME':'N | N-M | FUNCTION] -'l' ['-' | '+' | N | FILENAME':'N | N-M | FUNCTION] - Print the specified lines (default 15) from the current source file - or the file named FILENAME. The possible arguments to 'list' are - as follows: - - '-' (Minus) - Print lines before the lines last printed. - - '+' - Print lines after the lines last printed. 'list' without any - argument does the same thing. - - N - Print lines centered around line number N. - - N-M - Print lines from N to M. - - FILENAME':'N - Print lines centered around line number N in source file - FILENAME. This command may change the current source file. - - FUNCTION - Print lines centered around the beginning of the function - FUNCTION. This command may change the current source file. - -'quit' -'q' - Exit the debugger. Debugging is great fun, but sometimes we all - have to tend to other obligations in life, and sometimes we find - the bug and are free to go on to the next one! As we saw earlier, - if you are running a program, the debugger warns you when you type - 'q' or 'quit', to make sure you really want to quit. - -'trace' ['on' | 'off'] - Turn on or off continuous printing of the instructions that are - about to be executed, along with the 'awk' lines they implement. - The default is 'off'. - - It is to be hoped that most of the "opcodes" in these instructions - are fairly self-explanatory, and using 'stepi' and 'nexti' while - 'trace' is on will make them into familiar friends. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Readline Support, Next: Limitations, Prev: List of Debugger Commands, Up: Debugger - -14.4 Readline Support -===================== - -If 'gawk' is compiled with the GNU Readline library -(http://cnswww.cns.cwru.edu/php/chet/readline/readline.html), you can -take advantage of that library's command completion and history -expansion features. The following types of completion are available: - -Command completion - Command names. - -Source file name completion - Source file names. Relevant commands are 'break', 'clear', 'list', - 'tbreak', and 'until'. - -Argument completion - Non-numeric arguments to a command. Relevant commands are 'enable' - and 'info'. - -Variable name completion - Global variable names, and function arguments in the current - context if the program is running. Relevant commands are - 'display', 'print', 'set', and 'watch'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Limitations, Next: Debugging Summary, Prev: Readline Support, Up: Debugger - -14.5 Limitations -================ - -We hope you find the 'gawk' debugger useful and enjoyable to work with, -but as with any program, especially in its early releases, it still has -some limitations. A few that it's worth being aware of are: - - * At this point, the debugger does not give a detailed explanation of - what you did wrong when you type in something it doesn't like. - Rather, it just responds 'syntax error'. When you do figure out - what your mistake was, though, you'll feel like a real guru. - - * If you perused the dump of opcodes in *note Miscellaneous Debugger - Commands:: (or if you are already familiar with 'gawk' internals), - you will realize that much of the internal manipulation of data in - 'gawk', as in many interpreters, is done on a stack. 'Op_push', - 'Op_pop', and the like are the "bread and butter" of most 'gawk' - code. - - Unfortunately, as of now, the 'gawk' debugger does not allow you to - examine the stack's contents. That is, the intermediate results of - expression evaluation are on the stack, but cannot be printed. - Rather, only variables that are defined in the program can be - printed. Of course, a workaround for this is to use more explicit - variables at the debugging stage and then change back to obscure, - perhaps more optimal code later. - - * There is no way to look "inside" the process of compiling regular - expressions to see if you got it right. As an 'awk' programmer, - you are expected to know the meaning of '/[^[:alnum:][:blank:]]/'. - - * The 'gawk' debugger is designed to be used by running a program - (with all its parameters) on the command line, as described in - *note Debugger Invocation::. There is no way (as of now) to attach - or "break into" a running program. This seems reasonable for a - language that is used mainly for quickly executing, short programs. - - * The 'gawk' debugger only accepts source code supplied with the '-f' - option. - - One other point is worth discussing. Conventional debuggers run in a -separate process (and thus address space) from the programs that they -debug (the "debuggee", if you will). - - The 'gawk' debugger is different; it is an integrated part of 'gawk' -itself. This makes it possible, in rare cases, for 'gawk' to become an -excellent demonstrator of Heisenberg Uncertainty physics, where the mere -act of observing something can change it. Consider the following:(1) - - $ cat test.awk - -| { print typeof($1), typeof($2) } - $ cat test.data - -| abc 123 - $ gawk -f test.awk test.data - -| strnum strnum - - This is all as expected: field data has the STRNUM attribute (*note -Variable Typing::). Now watch what happens when we run this program -under the debugger: - - $ gawk -D -f test.awk test.data - gawk> w $1 Set watchpoint on $1 - -| Watchpoint 1: $1 - gawk> w $2 Set watchpoint on $2 - -| Watchpoint 2: $2 - gawk> r Start the program - -| Starting program: - -| Stopping in Rule ... - -| Watchpoint 1: $1 Watchpoint fires - -| Old value: "" - -| New value: "abc" - -| main() at `test.awk':1 - -| 1 { print typeof($1), typeof($2) } - gawk> n Keep going ... - -| Watchpoint 2: $2 Watchpoint fires - -| Old value: "" - -| New value: "123" - -| main() at `test.awk':1 - -| 1 { print typeof($1), typeof($2) } - gawk> n Get result from typeof() - -| strnum number Result for $2 isn't right - -| Program exited normally with exit value: 0 - gawk> quit - - In this case, the act of comparing the new value of '$2' with the old -one caused 'gawk' to evaluate it and determine that it is indeed a -number, and this is reflected in the result of 'typeof()'. - - Cases like this where the debugger is not transparent to the -program's execution should be rare. If you encounter one, please report -it (*note Bugs::). - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Thanks to Hermann Peifer for this example. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Debugging Summary, Prev: Limitations, Up: Debugger - -14.6 Summary -============ - - * Programs rarely work correctly the first time. Finding bugs is - called debugging, and a program that helps you find bugs is a - debugger. 'gawk' has a built-in debugger that works very similarly - to the GNU Debugger, GDB. - - * Debuggers let you step through your program one statement at a - time, examine and change variable and array values, and do a number - of other things that let you understand what your program is - actually doing (as opposed to what it is supposed to do). - - * Like most debuggers, the 'gawk' debugger works in terms of stack - frames, and lets you set both breakpoints (stop at a point in the - code) and watchpoints (stop when a data value changes). - - * The debugger command set is fairly complete, providing control over - breakpoints, execution, viewing and changing data, working with the - stack, getting information, and other tasks. - - * If the GNU Readline library is available when 'gawk' is compiled, - it is used by the debugger to provide command-line history and - editing. - - * Usually, the debugger does not not affect the program being - debugged, but occasionally it can. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic, Next: Dynamic Extensions, Prev: Debugger, Up: Top - -15 Arithmetic and Arbitrary-Precision Arithmetic with 'gawk' -************************************************************ - -This major node introduces some basic concepts relating to how computers -do arithmetic and defines some important terms. It then proceeds to -describe floating-point arithmetic, which is what 'awk' uses for all its -computations, including a discussion of arbitrary-precision -floating-point arithmetic, which is a feature available only in 'gawk'. -It continues on to present arbitrary-precision integers, and concludes -with a description of some points where 'gawk' and the POSIX standard -are not quite in agreement. - - NOTE: Most users of 'gawk' can safely skip this chapter. But if - you want to do scientific calculations with 'gawk', this is the - place to be. - -* Menu: - -* Computer Arithmetic:: A quick intro to computer math. -* Math Definitions:: Defining terms used. -* MPFR features:: The MPFR features in 'gawk'. -* FP Math Caution:: Things to know. -* Arbitrary Precision Integers:: Arbitrary Precision Integer Arithmetic with - 'gawk'. -* POSIX Floating Point Problems:: Standards Versus Existing Practice. -* Floating point summary:: Summary of floating point discussion. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Computer Arithmetic, Next: Math Definitions, Up: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic - -15.1 A General Description of Computer Arithmetic -================================================= - -Until now, we have worked with data as either numbers or strings. -Ultimately, however, computers represent everything in terms of "binary -digits", or "bits". A decimal digit can take on any of 10 values: zero -through nine. A binary digit can take on any of two values, zero or -one. Using binary, computers (and computer software) can represent and -manipulate numerical and character data. In general, the more bits you -can use to represent a particular thing, the greater the range of -possible values it can take on. - - Modern computers support at least two, and often more, ways to do -arithmetic. Each kind of arithmetic uses a different representation -(organization of the bits) for the numbers. The kinds of arithmetic -that interest us are: - -Decimal arithmetic - This is the kind of arithmetic you learned in elementary school, - using paper and pencil (and/or a calculator). In theory, numbers - can have an arbitrary number of digits on either side (or both - sides) of the decimal point, and the results of a computation are - always exact. - - Some modern systems can do decimal arithmetic in hardware, but - usually you need a special software library to provide access to - these instructions. There are also libraries that do decimal - arithmetic entirely in software. - - Despite the fact that some users expect 'gawk' to be performing - decimal arithmetic,(1) it does not do so. - -Integer arithmetic - In school, integer values were referred to as "whole" numbers--that - is, numbers without any fractional part, such as 1, 42, or -17. - The advantage to integer numbers is that they represent values - exactly. The disadvantage is that their range is limited. - - In computers, integer values come in two flavors: "signed" and - "unsigned". Signed values may be negative or positive, whereas - unsigned values are always greater than or equal to zero. - - In computer systems, integer arithmetic is exact, but the possible - range of values is limited. Integer arithmetic is generally faster - than floating-point arithmetic. - -Floating-point arithmetic - Floating-point numbers represent what were called in school "real" - numbers (i.e., those that have a fractional part, such as - 3.1415927). The advantage to floating-point numbers is that they - can represent a much larger range of values than can integers. The - disadvantage is that there are numbers that they cannot represent - exactly. - - Modern systems support floating-point arithmetic in hardware, with - a limited range of values. There are software libraries that allow - the use of arbitrary-precision floating-point calculations. - - POSIX 'awk' uses "double-precision" floating-point numbers, which - can hold more digits than "single-precision" floating-point - numbers. 'gawk' has facilities for performing arbitrary-precision - floating-point arithmetic, which we describe in more detail - shortly. - - Computers work with integer and floating-point values of different -ranges. Integer values are usually either 32 or 64 bits in size. -Single-precision floating-point values occupy 32 bits, whereas -double-precision floating-point values occupy 64 bits. Floating-point -values are always signed. The possible ranges of values are shown in -*note Table 15.1: table-numeric-ranges. - -Numeric representation Minimum value Maximum value ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -32-bit signed integer -2,147,483,648 2,147,483,647 -32-bit unsigned 0 4,294,967,295 -integer -64-bit signed integer -9,223,372,036,854,775,8089,223,372,036,854,775,807 -64-bit unsigned 0 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 -integer -Single-precision 1.175494e-38 3.402823e38 -floating point -(approximate) -Double-precision 2.225074e-308 1.797693e308 -floating point -(approximate) - -Table 15.1: Value ranges for different numeric representations - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) We don't know why they expect this, but they do. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Math Definitions, Next: MPFR features, Prev: Computer Arithmetic, Up: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic - -15.2 Other Stuff to Know -======================== - -The rest of this major node uses a number of terms. Here are some -informal definitions that should help you work your way through the -material here: - -"Accuracy" - A floating-point calculation's accuracy is how close it comes to - the real (paper and pencil) value. - -"Error" - The difference between what the result of a computation "should be" - and what it actually is. It is best to minimize error as much as - possible. - -"Exponent" - The order of magnitude of a value; some number of bits in a - floating-point value store the exponent. - -"Inf" - A special value representing infinity. Operations involving - another number and infinity produce infinity. - -"NaN" - "Not a number."(1) A special value that results from attempting a - calculation that has no answer as a real number. In such a case, - programs can either receive a floating-point exception, or get - 'NaN' back as the result. The IEEE 754 standard recommends that - systems return 'NaN'. Some examples: - - 'sqrt(-1)' - This makes sense in the range of complex numbers, but not in - the range of real numbers, so the result is 'NaN'. - - 'log(-8)' - -8 is out of the domain of 'log()', so the result is 'NaN'. - -"Normalized" - How the significand (see later in this list) is usually stored. - The value is adjusted so that the first bit is one, and then that - leading one is assumed instead of physically stored. This provides - one extra bit of precision. - -"Precision" - The number of bits used to represent a floating-point number. The - more bits, the more digits you can represent. Binary and decimal - precisions are related approximately, according to the formula: - - PREC = 3.322 * DPS - - Here, _prec_ denotes the binary precision (measured in bits) and - _dps_ (short for decimal places) is the decimal digits. - -"Rounding mode" - How numbers are rounded up or down when necessary. More details - are provided later. - -"Significand" - A floating-point value consists of the significand multiplied by 10 - to the power of the exponent. For example, in '1.2345e67', the - significand is '1.2345'. - -"Stability" - From the Wikipedia article on numerical stability - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerical_stability): "Calculations - that can be proven not to magnify approximation errors are called - "numerically stable"." - - See the Wikipedia article on accuracy and precision -(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accuracy_and_precision) for more -information on some of those terms. - - On modern systems, floating-point hardware uses the representation -and operations defined by the IEEE 754 standard. Three of the standard -IEEE 754 types are 32-bit single precision, 64-bit double precision, and -128-bit quadruple precision. The standard also specifies extended -precision formats to allow greater precisions and larger exponent -ranges. ('awk' uses only the 64-bit double-precision format.) - - *note Table 15.2: table-ieee-formats. lists the precision and -exponent field values for the basic IEEE 754 binary formats. - -Name Total bits Precision Minimum Maximum - exponent exponent ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Single 32 24 -126 +127 -Double 64 53 -1022 +1023 -Quadruple 128 113 -16382 +16383 - -Table 15.2: Basic IEEE format values - - NOTE: The precision numbers include the implied leading one that - gives them one extra bit of significand. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Thanks to Michael Brennan for this description, which we have -paraphrased, and for the examples. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: MPFR features, Next: FP Math Caution, Prev: Math Definitions, Up: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic - -15.3 Arbitrary-Precision Arithmetic Features in 'gawk' -====================================================== - -By default, 'gawk' uses the double-precision floating-point values -supplied by the hardware of the system it runs on. However, if it was -compiled to do so, and the '-M' command-line option is supplied, 'gawk' -uses the GNU MPFR (http://www.mpfr.org) and GNU MP (http://gmplib.org) -(GMP) libraries for arbitrary-precision arithmetic on numbers. You can -see if MPFR support is available like so: - - $ gawk --version - -| GNU Awk 4.1.2, API: 1.1 (GNU MPFR 3.1.0-p3, GNU MP 5.0.2) - -| Copyright (C) 1989, 1991-2015 Free Software Foundation. - ... - -(You may see different version numbers than what's shown here. That's -OK; what's important is to see that GNU MPFR and GNU MP are listed in -the output.) - - Additionally, there are a few elements available in the 'PROCINFO' -array to provide information about the MPFR and GMP libraries (*note -Auto-set::). - - The MPFR library provides precise control over precisions and -rounding modes, and gives correctly rounded, reproducible, -platform-independent results. With the '-M' command-line option, all -floating-point arithmetic operators and numeric functions can yield -results to any desired precision level supported by MPFR. - - Two predefined variables, 'PREC' and 'ROUNDMODE', provide control -over the working precision and the rounding mode. The precision and the -rounding mode are set globally for every operation to follow. *Note -Setting precision:: and *note Setting the rounding mode:: for more -information. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: FP Math Caution, Next: Arbitrary Precision Integers, Prev: MPFR features, Up: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic - -15.4 Floating-Point Arithmetic: Caveat Emptor! -============================================== - - Math class is tough! - -- _Teen Talk Barbie, July 1992_ - - This minor node provides a high-level overview of the issues involved -when doing lots of floating-point arithmetic.(1) The discussion applies -to both hardware and arbitrary-precision floating-point arithmetic. - - CAUTION: The material here is purposely general. If you need to do - serious computer arithmetic, you should do some research first, and - not rely just on what we tell you. - -* Menu: - -* Inexactness of computations:: Floating point math is not exact. -* Getting Accuracy:: Getting more accuracy takes some work. -* Try To Round:: Add digits and round. -* Setting precision:: How to set the precision. -* Setting the rounding mode:: How to set the rounding mode. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) There is a very nice paper on floating-point arithmetic -(http://www.validlab.com/goldberg/paper.pdf) by David Goldberg, "What -Every Computer Scientist Should Know About Floating-Point Arithmetic," -'ACM Computing Surveys' *23*, 1 (1991-03): 5-48. This is worth reading -if you are interested in the details, but it does require a background -in computer science. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Inexactness of computations, Next: Getting Accuracy, Up: FP Math Caution - -15.4.1 Floating-Point Arithmetic Is Not Exact ---------------------------------------------- - -Binary floating-point representations and arithmetic are inexact. -Simple values like 0.1 cannot be precisely represented using binary -floating-point numbers, and the limited precision of floating-point -numbers means that slight changes in the order of operations or the -precision of intermediate storage can change the result. To make -matters worse, with arbitrary-precision floating-point arithmetic, you -can set the precision before starting a computation, but then you cannot -be sure of the number of significant decimal places in the final result. - -* Menu: - -* Inexact representation:: Numbers are not exactly represented. -* Comparing FP Values:: How to compare floating point values. -* Errors accumulate:: Errors get bigger as they go. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Inexact representation, Next: Comparing FP Values, Up: Inexactness of computations - -15.4.1.1 Many Numbers Cannot Be Represented Exactly -................................................... - -So, before you start to write any code, you should think about what you -really want and what's really happening. Consider the two numbers in -the following example: - - x = 0.875 # 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 - y = 0.425 - - Unlike the number in 'y', the number stored in 'x' is exactly -representable in binary because it can be written as a finite sum of one -or more fractions whose denominators are all powers of two. When 'gawk' -reads a floating-point number from program source, it automatically -rounds that number to whatever precision your machine supports. If you -try to print the numeric content of a variable using an output format -string of '"%.17g"', it may not produce the same number as you assigned -to it: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { x = 0.875; y = 0.425 - > printf("%0.17g, %0.17g\n", x, y) }' - -| 0.875, 0.42499999999999999 - - Often the error is so small you do not even notice it, and if you do, -you can always specify how much precision you would like in your output. -Usually this is a format string like '"%.15g"', which, when used in the -previous example, produces an output identical to the input. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Comparing FP Values, Next: Errors accumulate, Prev: Inexact representation, Up: Inexactness of computations - -15.4.1.2 Be Careful Comparing Values -.................................... - -Because the underlying representation can be a little bit off from the -exact value, comparing floating-point values to see if they are exactly -equal is generally a bad idea. Here is an example where it does not -work like you would expect: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { print (0.1 + 12.2 == 12.3) }' - -| 0 - - The general wisdom when comparing floating-point values is to see if -they are within some small range of each other (called a "delta", or -"tolerance"). You have to decide how small a delta is important to you. -Code to do this looks something like the following: - - delta = 0.00001 # for example - difference = abs(a) - abs(b) # subtract the two values - if (difference < delta) - # all ok - else - # not ok - -(We assume that you have a simple absolute value function named 'abs()' -defined elsewhere in your program.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Errors accumulate, Prev: Comparing FP Values, Up: Inexactness of computations - -15.4.1.3 Errors Accumulate -.......................... - -The loss of accuracy during a single computation with floating-point -numbers usually isn't enough to worry about. However, if you compute a -value that is the result of a sequence of floating-point operations, the -error can accumulate and greatly affect the computation itself. Here is -an attempt to compute the value of pi using one of its many series -representations: - - BEGIN { - x = 1.0 / sqrt(3.0) - n = 6 - for (i = 1; i < 30; i++) { - n = n * 2.0 - x = (sqrt(x * x + 1) - 1) / x - printf("%.15f\n", n * x) - } - } - - When run, the early errors propagate through later computations, -causing the loop to terminate prematurely after attempting to divide by -zero: - - $ gawk -f pi.awk - -| 3.215390309173475 - -| 3.159659942097510 - -| 3.146086215131467 - -| 3.142714599645573 - ... - -| 3.224515243534819 - -| 2.791117213058638 - -| 0.000000000000000 - error-> gawk: pi.awk:6: fatal: division by zero attempted - - Here is an additional example where the inaccuracies in internal -representations yield an unexpected result: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { - > for (d = 1.1; d <= 1.5; d += 0.1) # loop five times (?) - > i++ - > print i - > }' - -| 4 - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getting Accuracy, Next: Try To Round, Prev: Inexactness of computations, Up: FP Math Caution - -15.4.2 Getting the Accuracy You Need ------------------------------------- - -Can arbitrary-precision arithmetic give exact results? There are no -easy answers. The standard rules of algebra often do not apply when -using floating-point arithmetic. Among other things, the distributive -and associative laws do not hold completely, and order of operation may -be important for your computation. Rounding error, cumulative precision -loss, and underflow are often troublesome. - - When 'gawk' tests the expressions '0.1 + 12.2' and '12.3' for -equality using the machine double-precision arithmetic, it decides that -they are not equal! (*Note Comparing FP Values::.) You can get the -result you want by increasing the precision; 56 bits in this case does -the job: - - $ gawk -M -v PREC=56 'BEGIN { print (0.1 + 12.2 == 12.3) }' - -| 1 - - If adding more bits is good, perhaps adding even more bits of -precision is better? Here is what happens if we use an even larger -value of 'PREC': - - $ gawk -M -v PREC=201 'BEGIN { print (0.1 + 12.2 == 12.3) }' - -| 0 - - This is not a bug in 'gawk' or in the MPFR library. It is easy to -forget that the finite number of bits used to store the value is often -just an approximation after proper rounding. The test for equality -succeeds if and only if _all_ bits in the two operands are exactly the -same. Because this is not necessarily true after floating-point -computations with a particular precision and effective rounding mode, a -straight test for equality may not work. Instead, compare the two -numbers to see if they are within the desirable delta of each other. - - In applications where 15 or fewer decimal places suffice, hardware -double-precision arithmetic can be adequate, and is usually much faster. -But you need to keep in mind that every floating-point operation can -suffer a new rounding error with catastrophic consequences, as -illustrated by our earlier attempt to compute the value of pi. Extra -precision can greatly enhance the stability and the accuracy of your -computation in such cases. - - Additionally, you should understand that repeated addition is not -necessarily equivalent to multiplication in floating-point arithmetic. -In the example in *note Errors accumulate::: - - $ gawk 'BEGIN { - > for (d = 1.1; d <= 1.5; d += 0.1) # loop five times (?) - > i++ - > print i - > }' - -| 4 - -you may or may not succeed in getting the correct result by choosing an -arbitrarily large value for 'PREC'. Reformulation of the problem at -hand is often the correct approach in such situations. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Try To Round, Next: Setting precision, Prev: Getting Accuracy, Up: FP Math Caution - -15.4.3 Try a Few Extra Bits of Precision and Rounding ------------------------------------------------------ - -Instead of arbitrary-precision floating-point arithmetic, often all you -need is an adjustment of your logic or a different order for the -operations in your calculation. The stability and the accuracy of the -computation of pi in the earlier example can be enhanced by using the -following simple algebraic transformation: - - (sqrt(x * x + 1) - 1) / x == x / (sqrt(x * x + 1) + 1) - -After making this change, the program converges to pi in under 30 -iterations: - - $ gawk -f pi2.awk - -| 3.215390309173473 - -| 3.159659942097501 - -| 3.146086215131436 - -| 3.142714599645370 - -| 3.141873049979825 - ... - -| 3.141592653589797 - -| 3.141592653589797 - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Setting precision, Next: Setting the rounding mode, Prev: Try To Round, Up: FP Math Caution - -15.4.4 Setting the Precision ----------------------------- - -'gawk' uses a global working precision; it does not keep track of the -precision or accuracy of individual numbers. Performing an arithmetic -operation or calling a built-in function rounds the result to the -current working precision. The default working precision is 53 bits, -which you can modify using the predefined variable 'PREC'. You can also -set the value to one of the predefined case-insensitive strings shown in -*note Table 15.3: table-predefined-precision-strings, to emulate an IEEE -754 binary format. - -'PREC' IEEE 754 binary format ---------------------------------------------------- -'"half"' 16-bit half-precision -'"single"' Basic 32-bit single precision -'"double"' Basic 64-bit double precision -'"quad"' Basic 128-bit quadruple precision -'"oct"' 256-bit octuple precision - -Table 15.3: Predefined precision strings for 'PREC' - - The following example illustrates the effects of changing precision -on arithmetic operations: - - $ gawk -M -v PREC=100 'BEGIN { x = 1.0e-400; print x + 0 - > PREC = "double"; print x + 0 }' - -| 1e-400 - -| 0 - - CAUTION: Be wary of floating-point constants! When reading a - floating-point constant from program source code, 'gawk' uses the - default precision (that of a C 'double'), unless overridden by an - assignment to the special variable 'PREC' on the command line, to - store it internally as an MPFR number. Changing the precision - using 'PREC' in the program text does _not_ change the precision of - a constant. - - If you need to represent a floating-point constant at a higher - precision than the default and cannot use a command-line assignment - to 'PREC', you should either specify the constant as a string, or - as a rational number, whenever possible. The following example - illustrates the differences among various ways to print a - floating-point constant: - - $ gawk -M 'BEGIN { PREC = 113; printf("%0.25f\n", 0.1) }' - -| 0.1000000000000000055511151 - $ gawk -M -v PREC=113 'BEGIN { printf("%0.25f\n", 0.1) }' - -| 0.1000000000000000000000000 - $ gawk -M 'BEGIN { PREC = 113; printf("%0.25f\n", "0.1") }' - -| 0.1000000000000000000000000 - $ gawk -M 'BEGIN { PREC = 113; printf("%0.25f\n", 1/10) }' - -| 0.1000000000000000000000000 - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Setting the rounding mode, Prev: Setting precision, Up: FP Math Caution - -15.4.5 Setting the Rounding Mode --------------------------------- - -The 'ROUNDMODE' variable provides program-level control over the -rounding mode. The correspondence between 'ROUNDMODE' and the IEEE -rounding modes is shown in *note Table 15.4: table-gawk-rounding-modes. - -Rounding mode IEEE name 'ROUNDMODE' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Round to nearest, ties to even 'roundTiesToEven' '"N"' or '"n"' -Round toward positive infinity 'roundTowardPositive' '"U"' or '"u"' -Round toward negative infinity 'roundTowardNegative' '"D"' or '"d"' -Round toward zero 'roundTowardZero' '"Z"' or '"z"' -Round to nearest, ties away 'roundTiesToAway' '"A"' or '"a"' -from zero - -Table 15.4: 'gawk' rounding modes - - 'ROUNDMODE' has the default value '"N"', which selects the IEEE 754 -rounding mode 'roundTiesToEven'. In *note Table 15.4: -table-gawk-rounding-modes, the value '"A"' selects 'roundTiesToAway'. -This is only available if your version of the MPFR library supports it; -otherwise, setting 'ROUNDMODE' to '"A"' has no effect. - - The default mode 'roundTiesToEven' is the most preferred, but the -least intuitive. This method does the obvious thing for most values, by -rounding them up or down to the nearest digit. For example, rounding -1.132 to two digits yields 1.13, and rounding 1.157 yields 1.16. - - However, when it comes to rounding a value that is exactly halfway -between, things do not work the way you probably learned in school. In -this case, the number is rounded to the nearest even digit. So rounding -0.125 to two digits rounds down to 0.12, but rounding 0.6875 to three -digits rounds up to 0.688. You probably have already encountered this -rounding mode when using 'printf' to format floating-point numbers. For -example: - - BEGIN { - x = -4.5 - for (i = 1; i < 10; i++) { - x += 1.0 - printf("%4.1f => %2.0f\n", x, x) - } - } - -produces the following output when run on the author's system:(1) - - -3.5 => -4 - -2.5 => -2 - -1.5 => -2 - -0.5 => 0 - 0.5 => 0 - 1.5 => 2 - 2.5 => 2 - 3.5 => 4 - 4.5 => 4 - - The theory behind 'roundTiesToEven' is that it more or less evenly -distributes upward and downward rounds of exact halves, which might -cause any accumulating round-off error to cancel itself out. This is -the default rounding mode for IEEE 754 computing functions and -operators. - - The other rounding modes are rarely used. Rounding toward positive -infinity ('roundTowardPositive') and toward negative infinity -('roundTowardNegative') are often used to implement interval arithmetic, -where you adjust the rounding mode to calculate upper and lower bounds -for the range of output. The 'roundTowardZero' mode can be used for -converting floating-point numbers to integers. The rounding mode -'roundTiesToAway' rounds the result to the nearest number and selects -the number with the larger magnitude if a tie occurs. - - Some numerical analysts will tell you that your choice of rounding -style has tremendous impact on the final outcome, and advise you to wait -until final output for any rounding. Instead, you can often avoid -round-off error problems by setting the precision initially to some -value sufficiently larger than the final desired precision, so that the -accumulation of round-off error does not influence the outcome. If you -suspect that results from your computation are sensitive to accumulation -of round-off error, look for a significant difference in output when you -change the rounding mode to be sure. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) It is possible for the output to be completely different if the C -library in your system does not use the IEEE 754 even-rounding rule to -round halfway cases for 'printf'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Arbitrary Precision Integers, Next: POSIX Floating Point Problems, Prev: FP Math Caution, Up: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic - -15.5 Arbitrary-Precision Integer Arithmetic with 'gawk' -======================================================= - -When given the '-M' option, 'gawk' performs all integer arithmetic using -GMP arbitrary-precision integers. Any number that looks like an integer -in a source or data file is stored as an arbitrary-precision integer. -The size of the integer is limited only by the available memory. For -example, the following computes 5^4^3^2, the result of which is beyond -the limits of ordinary hardware double-precision floating-point values: - - $ gawk -M 'BEGIN { - > x = 5^4^3^2 - > print "number of digits =", length(x) - > print substr(x, 1, 20), "...", substr(x, length(x) - 19, 20) - > }' - -| number of digits = 183231 - -| 62060698786608744707 ... 92256259918212890625 - - If instead you were to compute the same value using -arbitrary-precision floating-point values, the precision needed for -correct output (using the formula 'prec = 3.322 * dps') would be 3.322 x -183231, or 608693. - - The result from an arithmetic operation with an integer and a -floating-point value is a floating-point value with a precision equal to -the working precision. The following program calculates the eighth term -in Sylvester's sequence(1) using a recurrence: - - $ gawk -M 'BEGIN { - > s = 2.0 - > for (i = 1; i <= 7; i++) - > s = s * (s - 1) + 1 - > print s - > }' - -| 113423713055421845118910464 - - The output differs from the actual number, -113,423,713,055,421,844,361,000,443, because the default precision of 53 -bits is not enough to represent the floating-point results exactly. You -can either increase the precision (100 bits is enough in this case), or -replace the floating-point constant '2.0' with an integer, to perform -all computations using integer arithmetic to get the correct output. - - Sometimes 'gawk' must implicitly convert an arbitrary-precision -integer into an arbitrary-precision floating-point value. This is -primarily because the MPFR library does not always provide the relevant -interface to process arbitrary-precision integers or mixed-mode numbers -as needed by an operation or function. In such a case, the precision is -set to the minimum value necessary for exact conversion, and the working -precision is not used for this purpose. If this is not what you need or -want, you can employ a subterfuge and convert the integer to floating -point first, like this: - - gawk -M 'BEGIN { n = 13; print (n + 0.0) % 2.0 }' - - You can avoid this issue altogether by specifying the number as a -floating-point value to begin with: - - gawk -M 'BEGIN { n = 13.0; print n % 2.0 }' - - Note that for this particular example, it is likely best to just use -the following: - - gawk -M 'BEGIN { n = 13; print n % 2 }' - - When dividing two arbitrary precision integers with either '/' or -'%', the result is typically an arbitrary precision floating point value -(unless the denominator evenly divides into the numerator). In order to -do integer division or remainder with arbitrary precision integers, use -the built-in 'intdiv()' function (*note Numeric Functions::). - - You can simulate the 'intdiv()' function in standard 'awk' using this -user-defined function: - - # intdiv --- do integer division - - function intdiv(numerator, denominator, result) - { - split("", result) - - numerator = int(numerator) - denominator = int(denominator) - result["quotient"] = int(numerator / denominator) - result["remainder"] = int(numerator % denominator) - - return 0.0 - } - - The following example program, contributed by Katie Wasserman, uses -'intdiv()' to compute the digits of pi to as many places as you choose -to set: - - # pi.awk --- compute the digits of pi - - BEGIN { - digits = 100000 - two = 2 * 10 ^ digits - pi = two - for (m = digits * 4; m > 0; --m) { - d = m * 2 + 1 - x = pi * m - intdiv(x, d, result) - pi = result["quotient"] - pi = pi + two - } - print pi - } - - When asked about the algorithm used, Katie replied: - - It's not that well known but it's not that obscure either. It's - Euler's modification to Newton's method for calculating pi. Take a - look at lines (23) - (25) here: - . - - The algorithm I wrote simply expands the multiply by 2 and works - from the innermost expression outwards. I used this to program HP - calculators because it's quite easy to modify for tiny memory - devices with smallish word sizes. See - . - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Weisstein, Eric W. 'Sylvester's Sequence'. From MathWorld--A -Wolfram Web Resource -(). - - -File: gawk.info, Node: POSIX Floating Point Problems, Next: Floating point summary, Prev: Arbitrary Precision Integers, Up: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic - -15.6 Standards Versus Existing Practice -======================================= - -Historically, 'awk' has converted any nonnumeric-looking string to the -numeric value zero, when required. Furthermore, the original definition -of the language and the original POSIX standards specified that 'awk' -only understands decimal numbers (base 10), and not octal (base 8) or -hexadecimal numbers (base 16). - - Changes in the language of the 2001 and 2004 POSIX standards can be -interpreted to imply that 'awk' should support additional features. -These features are: - - * Interpretation of floating-point data values specified in - hexadecimal notation (e.g., '0xDEADBEEF'). (Note: data values, - _not_ source code constants.) - - * Support for the special IEEE 754 floating-point values "not a - number" (NaN), positive infinity ("inf"), and negative infinity - ("-inf"). In particular, the format for these values is as - specified by the ISO 1999 C standard, which ignores case and can - allow implementation-dependent additional characters after the - 'nan' and allow either 'inf' or 'infinity'. - - The first problem is that both of these are clear changes to -historical practice: - - * The 'gawk' maintainer feels that supporting hexadecimal - floating-point values, in particular, is ugly, and was never - intended by the original designers to be part of the language. - - * Allowing completely alphabetic strings to have valid numeric values - is also a very severe departure from historical practice. - - The second problem is that the 'gawk' maintainer feels that this -interpretation of the standard, which required a certain amount of -"language lawyering" to arrive at in the first place, was not even -intended by the standard developers. In other words, "We see how you -got where you are, but we don't think that that's where you want to be." - - Recognizing these issues, but attempting to provide compatibility -with the earlier versions of the standard, the 2008 POSIX standard added -explicit wording to allow, but not require, that 'awk' support -hexadecimal floating-point values and special values for "not a number" -and infinity. - - Although the 'gawk' maintainer continues to feel that providing those -features is inadvisable, nevertheless, on systems that support IEEE -floating point, it seems reasonable to provide _some_ way to support NaN -and infinity values. The solution implemented in 'gawk' is as follows: - - * With the '--posix' command-line option, 'gawk' becomes "hands off." - String values are passed directly to the system library's - 'strtod()' function, and if it successfully returns a numeric - value, that is what's used.(1) By definition, the results are not - portable across different systems. They are also a little - surprising: - - $ echo nanny | gawk --posix '{ print $1 + 0 }' - -| nan - $ echo 0xDeadBeef | gawk --posix '{ print $1 + 0 }' - -| 3735928559 - - * Without '--posix', 'gawk' interprets the four string values '+inf', - '-inf', '+nan', and '-nan' specially, producing the corresponding - special numeric values. The leading sign acts a signal to 'gawk' - (and the user) that the value is really numeric. Hexadecimal - floating point is not supported (unless you also use - '--non-decimal-data', which is _not_ recommended). For example: - - $ echo nanny | gawk '{ print $1 + 0 }' - -| 0 - $ echo +nan | gawk '{ print $1 + 0 }' - -| nan - $ echo 0xDeadBeef | gawk '{ print $1 + 0 }' - -| 0 - - 'gawk' ignores case in the four special values. Thus, '+nan' and - '+NaN' are the same. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) You asked for it, you got it. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Floating point summary, Prev: POSIX Floating Point Problems, Up: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic - -15.7 Summary -============ - - * Most computer arithmetic is done using either integers or - floating-point values. Standard 'awk' uses double-precision - floating-point values. - - * In the early 1990s Barbie mistakenly said, "Math class is tough!" - Although math isn't tough, floating-point arithmetic isn't the same - as pencil-and-paper math, and care must be taken: - - - Not all numbers can be represented exactly. - - - Comparing values should use a delta, instead of being done - directly with '==' and '!='. - - - Errors accumulate. - - - Operations are not always truly associative or distributive. - - * Increasing the accuracy can help, but it is not a panacea. - - * Often, increasing the accuracy and then rounding to the desired - number of digits produces reasonable results. - - * Use '-M' (or '--bignum') to enable MPFR arithmetic. Use 'PREC' to - set the precision in bits, and 'ROUNDMODE' to set the IEEE 754 - rounding mode. - - * With '-M', 'gawk' performs arbitrary-precision integer arithmetic - using the GMP library. This is faster and more space-efficient - than using MPFR for the same calculations. - - * There are several areas with respect to floating-point numbers - where 'gawk' disagrees with the POSIX standard. It pays to be - aware of them. - - * Overall, there is no need to be unduly suspicious about the results - from floating-point arithmetic. The lesson to remember is that - floating-point arithmetic is always more complex than arithmetic - using pencil and paper. In order to take advantage of the power of - floating-point arithmetic, you need to know its limitations and - work within them. For most casual use of floating-point - arithmetic, you will often get the expected result if you simply - round the display of your final results to the correct number of - significant decimal digits. - - * As general advice, avoid presenting numerical data in a manner that - implies better precision than is actually the case. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Dynamic Extensions, Next: Language History, Prev: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic, Up: Top - -16 Writing Extensions for 'gawk' -******************************** - -It is possible to add new functions written in C or C++ to 'gawk' using -dynamically loaded libraries. This facility is available on systems -that support the C 'dlopen()' and 'dlsym()' functions. This major node -describes how to create extensions using code written in C or C++. - - If you don't know anything about C programming, you can safely skip -this major node, although you may wish to review the documentation on -the extensions that come with 'gawk' (*note Extension Samples::), and -the information on the 'gawkextlib' project (*note gawkextlib::). The -sample extensions are automatically built and installed when 'gawk' is. - - NOTE: When '--sandbox' is specified, extensions are disabled (*note - Options::). - -* Menu: - -* Extension Intro:: What is an extension. -* Plugin License:: A note about licensing. -* Extension Mechanism Outline:: An outline of how it works. -* Extension API Description:: A full description of the API. -* Finding Extensions:: How 'gawk' finds compiled extensions. -* Extension Example:: Example C code for an extension. -* Extension Samples:: The sample extensions that ship with - 'gawk'. -* gawkextlib:: The 'gawkextlib' project. -* Extension summary:: Extension summary. -* Extension Exercises:: Exercises. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Intro, Next: Plugin License, Up: Dynamic Extensions - -16.1 Introduction -================= - -An "extension" (sometimes called a "plug-in") is a piece of external -compiled code that 'gawk' can load at runtime to provide additional -functionality, over and above the built-in capabilities described in the -rest of this Info file. - - Extensions are useful because they allow you (of course) to extend -'gawk''s functionality. For example, they can provide access to system -calls (such as 'chdir()' to change directory) and to other C library -routines that could be of use. As with most software, "the sky is the -limit"; if you can imagine something that you might want to do and can -write in C or C++, you can write an extension to do it! - - Extensions are written in C or C++, using the "application -programming interface" (API) defined for this purpose by the 'gawk' -developers. The rest of this major node explains the facilities that -the API provides and how to use them, and presents a small example -extension. In addition, it documents the sample extensions included in -the 'gawk' distribution and describes the 'gawkextlib' project. *Note -Extension Design::, for a discussion of the extension mechanism goals -and design. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Plugin License, Next: Extension Mechanism Outline, Prev: Extension Intro, Up: Dynamic Extensions - -16.2 Extension Licensing -======================== - -Every dynamic extension must be distributed under a license that is -compatible with the GNU GPL (*note Copying::). - - In order for the extension to tell 'gawk' that it is properly -licensed, the extension must define the global symbol -'plugin_is_GPL_compatible'. If this symbol does not exist, 'gawk' emits -a fatal error and exits when it tries to load your extension. - - The declared type of the symbol should be 'int'. It does not need to -be in any allocated section, though. The code merely asserts that the -symbol exists in the global scope. Something like this is enough: - - int plugin_is_GPL_compatible; - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Mechanism Outline, Next: Extension API Description, Prev: Plugin License, Up: Dynamic Extensions - -16.3 How It Works at a High Level -================================= - -Communication between 'gawk' and an extension is two-way. First, when -an extension is loaded, 'gawk' passes it a pointer to a 'struct' whose -fields are function pointers. This is shown in *note Figure 16.1: -figure-load-extension. - -[image src="api-figure1.png" alt="Loading the extension" text=" API - Struct - +---+ - | | - +---+ - +---------------| | - | +---+ dl_load(api_p, id); - | | | ___________________ - | +---+ | - | +---------| | __________________ | - | | +---+ || - | | | | || - | | +---+ || - | | +---| | || - | | | +---+ \\ || / - | | | \\ / - v v v \\/ -+-------+-+---+-+---+-+------------------+--------------------+ -| |x| |x| |x| |OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO| -| |x| |x| |x| |OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO| -| |x| |x| |x| |OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO| -+-------+-+---+-+---+-+------------------+--------------------+ - - gawk Main Program Address Space Extension"] - -Figure 16.1: Loading the extension - - The extension can call functions inside 'gawk' through these function -pointers, at runtime, without needing (link-time) access to 'gawk''s -symbols. One of these function pointers is to a function for -"registering" new functions. This is shown in *note Figure 16.2: -figure-register-new-function. - -[image src="api-figure2.png" alt="Registering a new Function" text=" register_ext_func({ \"chdir\", do_chdir, 1 }); - - +--------------------------------------------+ - | | - V | -+-------+-+---+-+---+-+------------------+--------------+-+---+ -| |x| |x| |x| |OOOOOOOOOOOOOO|X|OOO| -| |x| |x| |x| |OOOOOOOOOOOOOO|X|OOO| -| |x| |x| |x| |OOOOOOOOOOOOOO|X|OOO| -+-------+-+---+-+---+-+------------------+--------------+-+---+ - - gawk Main Program Address Space Extension"] - -Figure 16.2: Registering a new function - - In the other direction, the extension registers its new functions -with 'gawk' by passing function pointers to the functions that provide -the new feature ('do_chdir()', for example). 'gawk' associates the -function pointer with a name and can then call it, using a defined -calling convention. This is shown in *note Figure 16.3: -figure-call-new-function. - -[image src="api-figure3.png" alt="Calling the new function" text=" BEGIN { - chdir(\"/path\") (*fnptr)(1); - } - +--------------------------------------------+ - | | - | V -+-------+-+---+-+---+-+------------------+--------------+-+---+ -| |x| |x| |x| |OOOOOOOOOOOOOO|X|OOO| -| |x| |x| |x| |OOOOOOOOOOOOOO|X|OOO| -| |x| |x| |x| |OOOOOOOOOOOOOO|X|OOO| -+-------+-+---+-+---+-+------------------+--------------+-+---+ - - gawk Main Program Address Space Extension"] - -Figure 16.3: Calling the new function - - The 'do_XXX()' function, in turn, then uses the function pointers in -the API 'struct' to do its work, such as updating variables or arrays, -printing messages, setting 'ERRNO', and so on. - - Convenience macros make calling through the function pointers look -like regular function calls so that extension code is quite readable and -understandable. - - Although all of this sounds somewhat complicated, the result is that -extension code is quite straightforward to write and to read. You can -see this in the sample extension 'filefuncs.c' (*note Extension -Example::) and also in the 'testext.c' code for testing the APIs. - - Some other bits and pieces: - - * The API provides access to 'gawk''s 'do_XXX' values, reflecting - command-line options, like 'do_lint', 'do_profiling', and so on - (*note Extension API Variables::). These are informational: an - extension cannot affect their values inside 'gawk'. In addition, - attempting to assign to them produces a compile-time error. - - * The API also provides major and minor version numbers, so that an - extension can check if the 'gawk' it is loaded with supports the - facilities it was compiled with. (Version mismatches "shouldn't" - happen, but we all know how _that_ goes.) *Note Extension - Versioning:: for details. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension API Description, Next: Finding Extensions, Prev: Extension Mechanism Outline, Up: Dynamic Extensions - -16.4 API Description -==================== - -C or C++ code for an extension must include the header file 'gawkapi.h', -which declares the functions and defines the data types used to -communicate with 'gawk'. This (rather large) minor node describes the -API in detail. - -* Menu: - -* Extension API Functions Introduction:: Introduction to the API functions. -* General Data Types:: The data types. -* Memory Allocation Functions:: Functions for allocating memory. -* Constructor Functions:: Functions for creating values. -* Registration Functions:: Functions to register things with - 'gawk'. -* Printing Messages:: Functions for printing messages. -* Updating ERRNO:: Functions for updating 'ERRNO'. -* Requesting Values:: How to get a value. -* Accessing Parameters:: Functions for accessing parameters. -* Symbol Table Access:: Functions for accessing global - variables. -* Array Manipulation:: Functions for working with arrays. -* Redirection API:: How to access and manipulate redirections. -* Extension API Variables:: Variables provided by the API. -* Extension API Boilerplate:: Boilerplate code for using the API. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension API Functions Introduction, Next: General Data Types, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.1 Introduction -------------------- - -Access to facilities within 'gawk' is achieved by calling through -function pointers passed into your extension. - - API function pointers are provided for the following kinds of -operations: - - * Allocating, reallocating, and releasing memory. - - * Registration functions. You may register: - - - Extension functions - - Exit callbacks - - A version string - - Input parsers - - Output wrappers - - Two-way processors - - All of these are discussed in detail later in this major node. - - * Printing fatal, warning, and "lint" warning messages. - - * Updating 'ERRNO', or unsetting it. - - * Accessing parameters, including converting an undefined parameter - into an array. - - * Symbol table access: retrieving a global variable, creating one, or - changing one. - - * Creating and releasing cached values; this provides an efficient - way to use values for multiple variables and can be a big - performance win. - - * Manipulating arrays: - - - Retrieving, adding, deleting, and modifying elements - - - Getting the count of elements in an array - - - Creating a new array - - - Clearing an array - - - Flattening an array for easy C-style looping over all its - indices and elements - - * Accessing and manipulating redirections. - - Some points about using the API: - - * The following types, macros, and/or functions are referenced in - 'gawkapi.h'. For correct use, you must therefore include the - corresponding standard header file _before_ including 'gawkapi.h': - - C entity Header file - ------------------------------------------- - 'EOF' '' - Values for 'errno' '' - 'FILE' '' - 'NULL' '' - 'memcpy()' '' - 'memset()' '' - 'size_t' '' - 'struct stat' '' - - Due to portability concerns, especially to systems that are not - fully standards-compliant, it is your responsibility to include the - correct files in the correct way. This requirement is necessary in - order to keep 'gawkapi.h' clean, instead of becoming a portability - hodge-podge as can be seen in some parts of the 'gawk' source code. - - * The 'gawkapi.h' file may be included more than once without ill - effect. Doing so, however, is poor coding practice. - - * Although the API only uses ISO C 90 features, there is an - exception; the "constructor" functions use the 'inline' keyword. - If your compiler does not support this keyword, you should either - place '-Dinline=''' on your command line or use the GNU Autotools - and include a 'config.h' file in your extensions. - - * All pointers filled in by 'gawk' point to memory managed by 'gawk' - and should be treated by the extension as read-only. Memory for - _all_ strings passed into 'gawk' from the extension _must_ come - from calling one of 'gawk_malloc()', 'gawk_calloc()', or - 'gawk_realloc()', and is managed by 'gawk' from then on. - - * The API defines several simple 'struct's that map values as seen - from 'awk'. A value can be a 'double', a string, or an array (as - in multidimensional arrays, or when creating a new array). String - values maintain both pointer and length, because embedded NUL - characters are allowed. - - NOTE: By intent, strings are maintained using the current - multibyte encoding (as defined by 'LC_XXX' environment - variables) and not using wide characters. This matches how - 'gawk' stores strings internally and also how characters are - likely to be input into and output from files. - - * When retrieving a value (such as a parameter or that of a global - variable or array element), the extension requests a specific type - (number, string, scalar, value cookie, array, or "undefined"). - When the request is "undefined," the returned value will have the - real underlying type. - - However, if the request and actual type don't match, the access - function returns "false" and fills in the type of the actual value - that is there, so that the extension can, e.g., print an error - message (such as "scalar passed where array expected"). - - You may call the API functions by using the function pointers -directly, but the interface is not so pretty. To make extension code -look more like regular code, the 'gawkapi.h' header file defines several -macros that you should use in your code. This minor node presents the -macros as if they were functions. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: General Data Types, Next: Memory Allocation Functions, Prev: Extension API Functions Introduction, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.2 General-Purpose Data Types ---------------------------------- - - I have a true love/hate relationship with unions. - -- _Arnold Robbins_ - - That's the thing about unions: the compiler will arrange things so - they can accommodate both love and hate. - -- _Chet Ramey_ - - The extension API defines a number of simple types and structures for -general-purpose use. Additional, more specialized, data structures are -introduced in subsequent minor nodes, together with the functions that -use them. - - The general-purpose types and structures are as follows: - -'typedef void *awk_ext_id_t;' - A value of this type is received from 'gawk' when an extension is - loaded. That value must then be passed back to 'gawk' as the first - parameter of each API function. - -'#define awk_const ...' - This macro expands to 'const' when compiling an extension, and to - nothing when compiling 'gawk' itself. This makes certain fields in - the API data structures unwritable from extension code, while - allowing 'gawk' to use them as it needs to. - -'typedef enum awk_bool {' -' awk_false = 0,' -' awk_true' -'} awk_bool_t;' - A simple Boolean type. - -'typedef struct awk_string {' -' char *str; /* data */' -' size_t len; /* length thereof, in chars */' -'} awk_string_t;' - This represents a mutable string. 'gawk' owns the memory pointed - to if it supplied the value. Otherwise, it takes ownership of the - memory pointed to. _Such memory must come from calling one of the - 'gawk_malloc()', 'gawk_calloc()', or 'gawk_realloc()' functions!_ - - As mentioned earlier, strings are maintained using the current - multibyte encoding. - -'typedef enum {' -' AWK_UNDEFINED,' -' AWK_NUMBER,' -' AWK_STRING,' -' AWK_ARRAY,' -' AWK_SCALAR, /* opaque access to a variable */' -' AWK_VALUE_COOKIE /* for updating a previously created value */' -'} awk_valtype_t;' - This 'enum' indicates the type of a value. It is used in the - following 'struct'. - -'typedef struct awk_value {' -' awk_valtype_t val_type;' -' union {' -' awk_string_t s;' -' double d;' -' awk_array_t a;' -' awk_scalar_t scl;' -' awk_value_cookie_t vc;' -' } u;' -'} awk_value_t;' - An "'awk' value." The 'val_type' member indicates what kind of - value the 'union' holds, and each member is of the appropriate - type. - -'#define str_value u.s' -'#define num_value u.d' -'#define array_cookie u.a' -'#define scalar_cookie u.scl' -'#define value_cookie u.vc' - Using these macros makes accessing the fields of the 'awk_value_t' - more readable. - -'typedef void *awk_scalar_t;' - Scalars can be represented as an opaque type. These values are - obtained from 'gawk' and then passed back into it. This is - discussed in a general fashion in the text following this list, and - in more detail in *note Symbol table by cookie::. - -'typedef void *awk_value_cookie_t;' - A "value cookie" is an opaque type representing a cached value. - This is also discussed in a general fashion in the text following - this list, and in more detail in *note Cached values::. - - Scalar values in 'awk' are either numbers or strings. The -'awk_value_t' struct represents values. The 'val_type' member indicates -what is in the 'union'. - - Representing numbers is easy--the API uses a C 'double'. Strings -require more work. Because 'gawk' allows embedded NUL bytes in string -values, a string must be represented as a pair containing a data pointer -and length. This is the 'awk_string_t' type. - - Identifiers (i.e., the names of global variables) can be associated -with either scalar values or with arrays. In addition, 'gawk' provides -true arrays of arrays, where any given array element can itself be an -array. Discussion of arrays is delayed until *note Array -Manipulation::. - - The various macros listed earlier make it easier to use the elements -of the 'union' as if they were fields in a 'struct'; this is a common -coding practice in C. Such code is easier to write and to read, but it -remains _your_ responsibility to make sure that the 'val_type' member -correctly reflects the type of the value in the 'awk_value_t' struct. - - Conceptually, the first three members of the 'union' (number, string, -and array) are all that is needed for working with 'awk' values. -However, because the API provides routines for accessing and changing -the value of a global scalar variable only by using the variable's name, -there is a performance penalty: 'gawk' must find the variable each time -it is accessed and changed. This turns out to be a real issue, not just -a theoretical one. - - Thus, if you know that your extension will spend considerable time -reading and/or changing the value of one or more scalar variables, you -can obtain a "scalar cookie"(1) object for that variable, and then use -the cookie for getting the variable's value or for changing the -variable's value. The 'awk_scalar_t' type holds a scalar cookie, and -the 'scalar_cookie' macro provides access to the value of that type in -the 'awk_value_t' struct. Given a scalar cookie, 'gawk' can directly -retrieve or modify the value, as required, without having to find it -first. - - The 'awk_value_cookie_t' type and 'value_cookie' macro are similar. -If you know that you wish to use the same numeric or string _value_ for -one or more variables, you can create the value once, retaining a "value -cookie" for it, and then pass in that value cookie whenever you wish to -set the value of a variable. This saves storage space within the -running 'gawk' process and reduces the time needed to create the value. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) See the "cookie" entry in the Jargon file -(http://catb.org/jargon/html/C/cookie.html) for a definition of -"cookie", and the "magic cookie" entry in the Jargon file -(http://catb.org/jargon/html/M/magic-cookie.html) for a nice example. -See also the entry for "Cookie" in the *note Glossary::. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Memory Allocation Functions, Next: Constructor Functions, Prev: General Data Types, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.3 Memory Allocation Functions and Convenience Macros ---------------------------------------------------------- - -The API provides a number of "memory allocation" functions for -allocating memory that can be passed to 'gawk', as well as a number of -convenience macros. This node presents them all as function prototypes, -in the way that extension code would use them: - -'void *gawk_malloc(size_t size);' - Call the correct version of 'malloc()' to allocate storage that may - be passed to 'gawk'. - -'void *gawk_calloc(size_t nmemb, size_t size);' - Call the correct version of 'calloc()' to allocate storage that may - be passed to 'gawk'. - -'void *gawk_realloc(void *ptr, size_t size);' - Call the correct version of 'realloc()' to allocate storage that - may be passed to 'gawk'. - -'void gawk_free(void *ptr);' - Call the correct version of 'free()' to release storage that was - allocated with 'gawk_malloc()', 'gawk_calloc()', or - 'gawk_realloc()'. - - The API has to provide these functions because it is possible for an -extension to be compiled and linked against a different version of the C -library than was used for the 'gawk' executable.(1) If 'gawk' were to -use its version of 'free()' when the memory came from an unrelated -version of 'malloc()', unexpected behavior would likely result. - - Two convenience macros may be used for allocating storage from -'gawk_malloc()' and 'gawk_realloc()'. If the allocation fails, they -cause 'gawk' to exit with a fatal error message. They should be used as -if they were procedure calls that do not return a value: - -'#define emalloc(pointer, type, size, message) ...' - The arguments to this macro are as follows: - - 'pointer' - The pointer variable to point at the allocated storage. - - 'type' - The type of the pointer variable. This is used to create a - cast for the call to 'gawk_malloc()'. - - 'size' - The total number of bytes to be allocated. - - 'message' - A message to be prefixed to the fatal error message. - Typically this is the name of the function using the macro. - - For example, you might allocate a string value like so: - - awk_value_t result; - char *message; - const char greet[] = "Don't Panic!"; - - emalloc(message, char *, sizeof(greet), "myfunc"); - strcpy(message, greet); - make_malloced_string(message, strlen(message), & result); - -'#define erealloc(pointer, type, size, message) ...' - This is like 'emalloc()', but it calls 'gawk_realloc()' instead of - 'gawk_malloc()'. The arguments are the same as for the 'emalloc()' - macro. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This is more common on MS-Windows systems, but it can happen on -Unix-like systems as well. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Constructor Functions, Next: Registration Functions, Prev: Memory Allocation Functions, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.4 Constructor Functions ----------------------------- - -The API provides a number of "constructor" functions for creating string -and numeric values, as well as a number of convenience macros. This -node presents them all as function prototypes, in the way that extension -code would use them: - -'static inline awk_value_t *' -'make_const_string(const char *string, size_t length, awk_value_t *result);' - This function creates a string value in the 'awk_value_t' variable - pointed to by 'result'. It expects 'string' to be a C string - constant (or other string data), and automatically creates a _copy_ - of the data for storage in 'result'. It returns 'result'. - -'static inline awk_value_t *' -'make_malloced_string(const char *string, size_t length, awk_value_t *result);' - This function creates a string value in the 'awk_value_t' variable - pointed to by 'result'. It expects 'string' to be a 'char *' value - pointing to data previously obtained from 'gawk_malloc()', - 'gawk_calloc()', or 'gawk_realloc()'. The idea here is that the - data is passed directly to 'gawk', which assumes responsibility for - it. It returns 'result'. - -'static inline awk_value_t *' -'make_null_string(awk_value_t *result);' - This specialized function creates a null string (the "undefined" - value) in the 'awk_value_t' variable pointed to by 'result'. It - returns 'result'. - -'static inline awk_value_t *' -'make_number(double num, awk_value_t *result);' - This function simply creates a numeric value in the 'awk_value_t' - variable pointed to by 'result'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Registration Functions, Next: Printing Messages, Prev: Constructor Functions, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.5 Registration Functions ------------------------------ - -This minor node describes the API functions for registering parts of -your extension with 'gawk'. - -* Menu: - -* Extension Functions:: Registering extension functions. -* Exit Callback Functions:: Registering an exit callback. -* Extension Version String:: Registering a version string. -* Input Parsers:: Registering an input parser. -* Output Wrappers:: Registering an output wrapper. -* Two-way processors:: Registering a two-way processor. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Functions, Next: Exit Callback Functions, Up: Registration Functions - -16.4.5.1 Registering An Extension Function -.......................................... - -Extension functions are described by the following record: - - typedef struct awk_ext_func { - const char *name; - awk_value_t *(*function)(int num_actual_args, awk_value_t *result); - size_t max_expected_args; - } awk_ext_func_t; - - The fields are: - -'const char *name;' - The name of the new function. 'awk'-level code calls the function - by this name. This is a regular C string. - - Function names must obey the rules for 'awk' identifiers. That is, - they must begin with either an English letter or an underscore, - which may be followed by any number of letters, digits, and - underscores. Letter case in function names is significant. - -'awk_value_t *(*function)(int num_actual_args, awk_value_t *result);' - This is a pointer to the C function that provides the extension's - functionality. The function must fill in '*result' with either a - number or a string. 'gawk' takes ownership of any string memory. - As mentioned earlier, string memory _must_ come from one of - 'gawk_malloc()', 'gawk_calloc()', or 'gawk_realloc()'. - - The 'num_actual_args' argument tells the C function how many actual - parameters were passed from the calling 'awk' code. - - The function must return the value of 'result'. This is for the - convenience of the calling code inside 'gawk'. - -'size_t max_expected_args;' - This is the maximum number of arguments the function expects to - receive. Each extension function may decide what to do if the - number of arguments isn't what it expected. As with real 'awk' - functions, it is likely OK to ignore extra arguments. This value - does not affect actual program execution. - - Extension functions should compare this value to the number of - actual arguments passed and possibly issue a lint warning if there - is an undesirable mismatch. Of course, if '--lint=fatal' is used, - this would cause the program to exit. - - Once you have a record representing your extension function, you -register it with 'gawk' using this API function: - -'awk_bool_t add_ext_func(const char *namespace, const awk_ext_func_t *func);' - This function returns true upon success, false otherwise. The - 'namespace' parameter is currently not used; you should pass in an - empty string ('""'). The 'func' pointer is the address of a - 'struct' representing your function, as just described. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Exit Callback Functions, Next: Extension Version String, Prev: Extension Functions, Up: Registration Functions - -16.4.5.2 Registering An Exit Callback Function -.............................................. - -An "exit callback" function is a function that 'gawk' calls before it -exits. Such functions are useful if you have general "cleanup" tasks -that should be performed in your extension (such as closing database -connections or other resource deallocations). You can register such a -function with 'gawk' using the following function: - -'void awk_atexit(void (*funcp)(void *data, int exit_status),' -' void *arg0);' - The parameters are: - - 'funcp' - A pointer to the function to be called before 'gawk' exits. - The 'data' parameter will be the original value of 'arg0'. - The 'exit_status' parameter is the exit status value that - 'gawk' intends to pass to the 'exit()' system call. - - 'arg0' - A pointer to private data that 'gawk' saves in order to pass - to the function pointed to by 'funcp'. - - Exit callback functions are called in last-in, first-out (LIFO) -order--that is, in the reverse order in which they are registered with -'gawk'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Version String, Next: Input Parsers, Prev: Exit Callback Functions, Up: Registration Functions - -16.4.5.3 Registering An Extension Version String -................................................ - -You can register a version string that indicates the name and version of -your extension with 'gawk', as follows: - -'void register_ext_version(const char *version);' - Register the string pointed to by 'version' with 'gawk'. Note that - 'gawk' does _not_ copy the 'version' string, so it should not be - changed. - - 'gawk' prints all registered extension version strings when it is -invoked with the '--version' option. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Input Parsers, Next: Output Wrappers, Prev: Extension Version String, Up: Registration Functions - -16.4.5.4 Customized Input Parsers -................................. - -By default, 'gawk' reads text files as its input. It uses the value of -'RS' to find the end of the record, and then uses 'FS' (or 'FIELDWIDTHS' -or 'FPAT') to split it into fields (*note Reading Files::). -Additionally, it sets the value of 'RT' (*note Built-in Variables::). - - If you want, you can provide your own custom input parser. An input -parser's job is to return a record to the 'gawk' record-processing code, -along with indicators for the value and length of the data to be used -for 'RT', if any. - - To provide an input parser, you must first provide two functions -(where XXX is a prefix name for your extension): - -'awk_bool_t XXX_can_take_file(const awk_input_buf_t *iobuf);' - This function examines the information available in 'iobuf' (which - we discuss shortly). Based on the information there, it decides if - the input parser should be used for this file. If so, it should - return true. Otherwise, it should return false. It should not - change any state (variable values, etc.) within 'gawk'. - -'awk_bool_t XXX_take_control_of(awk_input_buf_t *iobuf);' - When 'gawk' decides to hand control of the file over to the input - parser, it calls this function. This function in turn must fill in - certain fields in the 'awk_input_buf_t' structure and ensure that - certain conditions are true. It should then return true. If an - error of some kind occurs, it should not fill in any fields and - should return false; then 'gawk' will not use the input parser. - The details are presented shortly. - - Your extension should package these functions inside an -'awk_input_parser_t', which looks like this: - - typedef struct awk_input_parser { - const char *name; /* name of parser */ - awk_bool_t (*can_take_file)(const awk_input_buf_t *iobuf); - awk_bool_t (*take_control_of)(awk_input_buf_t *iobuf); - awk_const struct awk_input_parser *awk_const next; /* for gawk */ - } awk_input_parser_t; - - The fields are: - -'const char *name;' - The name of the input parser. This is a regular C string. - -'awk_bool_t (*can_take_file)(const awk_input_buf_t *iobuf);' - A pointer to your 'XXX_can_take_file()' function. - -'awk_bool_t (*take_control_of)(awk_input_buf_t *iobuf);' - A pointer to your 'XXX_take_control_of()' function. - -'awk_const struct input_parser *awk_const next;' - This is for use by 'gawk'; therefore it is marked 'awk_const' so - that the extension cannot modify it. - - The steps are as follows: - - 1. Create a 'static awk_input_parser_t' variable and initialize it - appropriately. - - 2. When your extension is loaded, register your input parser with - 'gawk' using the 'register_input_parser()' API function (described - next). - - An 'awk_input_buf_t' looks like this: - - typedef struct awk_input { - const char *name; /* filename */ - int fd; /* file descriptor */ - #define INVALID_HANDLE (-1) - void *opaque; /* private data for input parsers */ - int (*get_record)(char **out, struct awk_input *iobuf, - int *errcode, char **rt_start, size_t *rt_len); - ssize_t (*read_func)(); - void (*close_func)(struct awk_input *iobuf); - struct stat sbuf; /* stat buf */ - } awk_input_buf_t; - - The fields can be divided into two categories: those for use -(initially, at least) by 'XXX_can_take_file()', and those for use by -'XXX_take_control_of()'. The first group of fields and their uses are -as follows: - -'const char *name;' - The name of the file. - -'int fd;' - A file descriptor for the file. If 'gawk' was able to open the - file, then 'fd' will _not_ be equal to 'INVALID_HANDLE'. - Otherwise, it will. - -'struct stat sbuf;' - If the file descriptor is valid, then 'gawk' will have filled in - this structure via a call to the 'fstat()' system call. - - The 'XXX_can_take_file()' function should examine these fields and -decide if the input parser should be used for the file. The decision -can be made based upon 'gawk' state (the value of a variable defined -previously by the extension and set by 'awk' code), the name of the -file, whether or not the file descriptor is valid, the information in -the 'struct stat', or any combination of these factors. - - Once 'XXX_can_take_file()' has returned true, and 'gawk' has decided -to use your input parser, it calls 'XXX_take_control_of()'. That -function then fills either the 'get_record' field or the 'read_func' -field in the 'awk_input_buf_t'. It must also ensure that 'fd' is _not_ -set to 'INVALID_HANDLE'. The following list describes the fields that -may be filled by 'XXX_take_control_of()': - -'void *opaque;' - This is used to hold any state information needed by the input - parser for this file. It is "opaque" to 'gawk'. The input parser - is not required to use this pointer. - -'int (*get_record)(char **out,' -' struct awk_input *iobuf,' -' int *errcode,' -' char **rt_start,' -' size_t *rt_len);' - This function pointer should point to a function that creates the - input records. Said function is the core of the input parser. Its - behavior is described in the text following this list. - -'ssize_t (*read_func)();' - This function pointer should point to a function that has the same - behavior as the standard POSIX 'read()' system call. It is an - alternative to the 'get_record' pointer. Its behavior is also - described in the text following this list. - -'void (*close_func)(struct awk_input *iobuf);' - This function pointer should point to a function that does the - "teardown." It should release any resources allocated by - 'XXX_take_control_of()'. It may also close the file. If it does - so, it should set the 'fd' field to 'INVALID_HANDLE'. - - If 'fd' is still not 'INVALID_HANDLE' after the call to this - function, 'gawk' calls the regular 'close()' system call. - - Having a "teardown" function is optional. If your input parser - does not need it, do not set this field. Then, 'gawk' calls the - regular 'close()' system call on the file descriptor, so it should - be valid. - - The 'XXX_get_record()' function does the work of creating input -records. The parameters are as follows: - -'char **out' - This is a pointer to a 'char *' variable that is set to point to - the record. 'gawk' makes its own copy of the data, so the - extension must manage this storage. - -'struct awk_input *iobuf' - This is the 'awk_input_buf_t' for the file. The fields should be - used for reading data ('fd') and for managing private state - ('opaque'), if any. - -'int *errcode' - If an error occurs, '*errcode' should be set to an appropriate code - from ''. - -'char **rt_start' -'size_t *rt_len' - If the concept of a "record terminator" makes sense, then - '*rt_start' should be set to point to the data to be used for 'RT', - and '*rt_len' should be set to the length of the data. Otherwise, - '*rt_len' should be set to zero. 'gawk' makes its own copy of this - data, so the extension must manage this storage. - - The return value is the length of the buffer pointed to by '*out', or -'EOF' if end-of-file was reached or an error occurred. - - It is guaranteed that 'errcode' is a valid pointer, so there is no -need to test for a 'NULL' value. 'gawk' sets '*errcode' to zero, so -there is no need to set it unless an error occurs. - - If an error does occur, the function should return 'EOF' and set -'*errcode' to a value greater than zero. In that case, if '*errcode' -does not equal zero, 'gawk' automatically updates the 'ERRNO' variable -based on the value of '*errcode'. (In general, setting '*errcode = -errno' should do the right thing.) - - As an alternative to supplying a function that returns an input -record, you may instead supply a function that simply reads bytes, and -let 'gawk' parse the data into records. If you do so, the data should -be returned in the multibyte encoding of the current locale. Such a -function should follow the same behavior as the 'read()' system call, -and you fill in the 'read_func' pointer with its address in the -'awk_input_buf_t' structure. - - By default, 'gawk' sets the 'read_func' pointer to point to the -'read()' system call. So your extension need not set this field -explicitly. - - NOTE: You must choose one method or the other: either a function - that returns a record, or one that returns raw data. In - particular, if you supply a function to get a record, 'gawk' will - call it, and will never call the raw read function. - - 'gawk' ships with a sample extension that reads directories, -returning records for each entry in a directory (*note Extension Sample -Readdir::). You may wish to use that code as a guide for writing your -own input parser. - - When writing an input parser, you should think about (and document) -how it is expected to interact with 'awk' code. You may want it to -always be called, and to take effect as appropriate (as the 'readdir' -extension does). Or you may want it to take effect based upon the value -of an 'awk' variable, as the XML extension from the 'gawkextlib' project -does (*note gawkextlib::). In the latter case, code in a 'BEGINFILE' -rule can look at 'FILENAME' and 'ERRNO' to decide whether or not to -activate an input parser (*note BEGINFILE/ENDFILE::). - - You register your input parser with the following function: - -'void register_input_parser(awk_input_parser_t *input_parser);' - Register the input parser pointed to by 'input_parser' with 'gawk'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Output Wrappers, Next: Two-way processors, Prev: Input Parsers, Up: Registration Functions - -16.4.5.5 Customized Output Wrappers -................................... - -An "output wrapper" is the mirror image of an input parser. It allows -an extension to take over the output to a file opened with the '>' or -'>>' I/O redirection operators (*note Redirection::). - - The output wrapper is very similar to the input parser structure: - - typedef struct awk_output_wrapper { - const char *name; /* name of the wrapper */ - awk_bool_t (*can_take_file)(const awk_output_buf_t *outbuf); - awk_bool_t (*take_control_of)(awk_output_buf_t *outbuf); - awk_const struct awk_output_wrapper *awk_const next; /* for gawk */ - } awk_output_wrapper_t; - - The members are as follows: - -'const char *name;' - This is the name of the output wrapper. - -'awk_bool_t (*can_take_file)(const awk_output_buf_t *outbuf);' - This points to a function that examines the information in the - 'awk_output_buf_t' structure pointed to by 'outbuf'. It should - return true if the output wrapper wants to take over the file, and - false otherwise. It should not change any state (variable values, - etc.) within 'gawk'. - -'awk_bool_t (*take_control_of)(awk_output_buf_t *outbuf);' - The function pointed to by this field is called when 'gawk' decides - to let the output wrapper take control of the file. It should fill - in appropriate members of the 'awk_output_buf_t' structure, as - described next, and return true if successful, false otherwise. - -'awk_const struct output_wrapper *awk_const next;' - This is for use by 'gawk'; therefore it is marked 'awk_const' so - that the extension cannot modify it. - - The 'awk_output_buf_t' structure looks like this: - - typedef struct awk_output_buf { - const char *name; /* name of output file */ - const char *mode; /* mode argument to fopen */ - FILE *fp; /* stdio file pointer */ - awk_bool_t redirected; /* true if a wrapper is active */ - void *opaque; /* for use by output wrapper */ - size_t (*gawk_fwrite)(const void *buf, size_t size, size_t count, - FILE *fp, void *opaque); - int (*gawk_fflush)(FILE *fp, void *opaque); - int (*gawk_ferror)(FILE *fp, void *opaque); - int (*gawk_fclose)(FILE *fp, void *opaque); - } awk_output_buf_t; - - Here too, your extension will define 'XXX_can_take_file()' and -'XXX_take_control_of()' functions that examine and update data members -in the 'awk_output_buf_t'. The data members are as follows: - -'const char *name;' - The name of the output file. - -'const char *mode;' - The mode string (as would be used in the second argument to - 'fopen()') with which the file was opened. - -'FILE *fp;' - The 'FILE' pointer from ''. 'gawk' opens the file before - attempting to find an output wrapper. - -'awk_bool_t redirected;' - This field must be set to true by the 'XXX_take_control_of()' - function. - -'void *opaque;' - This pointer is opaque to 'gawk'. The extension should use it to - store a pointer to any private data associated with the file. - -'size_t (*gawk_fwrite)(const void *buf, size_t size, size_t count,' -' FILE *fp, void *opaque);' -'int (*gawk_fflush)(FILE *fp, void *opaque);' -'int (*gawk_ferror)(FILE *fp, void *opaque);' -'int (*gawk_fclose)(FILE *fp, void *opaque);' - These pointers should be set to point to functions that perform the - equivalent function as the '' functions do, if - appropriate. 'gawk' uses these function pointers for all output. - 'gawk' initializes the pointers to point to internal "pass-through" - functions that just call the regular '' functions, so an - extension only needs to redefine those functions that are - appropriate for what it does. - - The 'XXX_can_take_file()' function should make a decision based upon -the 'name' and 'mode' fields, and any additional state (such as 'awk' -variable values) that is appropriate. - - When 'gawk' calls 'XXX_take_control_of()', that function should fill -in the other fields as appropriate, except for 'fp', which it should -just use normally. - - You register your output wrapper with the following function: - -'void register_output_wrapper(awk_output_wrapper_t *output_wrapper);' - Register the output wrapper pointed to by 'output_wrapper' with - 'gawk'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Two-way processors, Prev: Output Wrappers, Up: Registration Functions - -16.4.5.6 Customized Two-way Processors -...................................... - -A "two-way processor" combines an input parser and an output wrapper for -two-way I/O with the '|&' operator (*note Redirection::). It makes -identical use of the 'awk_input_parser_t' and 'awk_output_buf_t' -structures as described earlier. - - A two-way processor is represented by the following structure: - - typedef struct awk_two_way_processor { - const char *name; /* name of the two-way processor */ - awk_bool_t (*can_take_two_way)(const char *name); - awk_bool_t (*take_control_of)(const char *name, - awk_input_buf_t *inbuf, - awk_output_buf_t *outbuf); - awk_const struct awk_two_way_processor *awk_const next; /* for gawk */ - } awk_two_way_processor_t; - - The fields are as follows: - -'const char *name;' - The name of the two-way processor. - -'awk_bool_t (*can_take_two_way)(const char *name);' - The function pointed to by this field should return true if it - wants to take over two-way I/O for this file name. It should not - change any state (variable values, etc.) within 'gawk'. - -'awk_bool_t (*take_control_of)(const char *name,' -' awk_input_buf_t *inbuf,' -' awk_output_buf_t *outbuf);' - The function pointed to by this field should fill in the - 'awk_input_buf_t' and 'awk_output_buf_t' structures pointed to by - 'inbuf' and 'outbuf', respectively. These structures were - described earlier. - -'awk_const struct two_way_processor *awk_const next;' - This is for use by 'gawk'; therefore it is marked 'awk_const' so - that the extension cannot modify it. - - As with the input parser and output processor, you provide "yes I can -take this" and "take over for this" functions, 'XXX_can_take_two_way()' -and 'XXX_take_control_of()'. - - You register your two-way processor with the following function: - -'void register_two_way_processor(awk_two_way_processor_t *two_way_processor);' - Register the two-way processor pointed to by 'two_way_processor' - with 'gawk'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Printing Messages, Next: Updating ERRNO, Prev: Registration Functions, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.6 Printing Messages ------------------------- - -You can print different kinds of warning messages from your extension, -as described here. Note that for these functions, you must pass in the -extension ID received from 'gawk' when the extension was loaded:(1) - -'void fatal(awk_ext_id_t id, const char *format, ...);' - Print a message and then cause 'gawk' to exit immediately. - -'void nonfatal(awk_ext_id_t id, const char *format, ...);' - Print a nonfatal error message. - -'void warning(awk_ext_id_t id, const char *format, ...);' - Print a warning message. - -'void lintwarn(awk_ext_id_t id, const char *format, ...);' - Print a "lint warning." Normally this is the same as printing a - warning message, but if 'gawk' was invoked with '--lint=fatal', - then lint warnings become fatal error messages. - - All of these functions are otherwise like the C 'printf()' family of -functions, where the 'format' parameter is a string with literal -characters and formatting codes intermixed. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Because the API uses only ISO C 90 features, it cannot make use -of the ISO C 99 variadic macro feature to hide that parameter. More's -the pity. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Updating ERRNO, Next: Requesting Values, Prev: Printing Messages, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.7 Updating 'ERRNO' ------------------------ - -The following functions allow you to update the 'ERRNO' variable: - -'void update_ERRNO_int(int errno_val);' - Set 'ERRNO' to the string equivalent of the error code in - 'errno_val'. The value should be one of the defined error codes in - '', and 'gawk' turns it into a (possibly translated) - string using the C 'strerror()' function. - -'void update_ERRNO_string(const char *string);' - Set 'ERRNO' directly to the string value of 'ERRNO'. 'gawk' makes - a copy of the value of 'string'. - -'void unset_ERRNO(void);' - Unset 'ERRNO'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Requesting Values, Next: Accessing Parameters, Prev: Updating ERRNO, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.8 Requesting Values ------------------------- - -All of the functions that return values from 'gawk' work in the same -way. You pass in an 'awk_valtype_t' value to indicate what kind of -value you expect. If the actual value matches what you requested, the -function returns true and fills in the 'awk_value_t' result. Otherwise, -the function returns false, and the 'val_type' member indicates the type -of the actual value. You may then print an error message or reissue the -request for the actual value type, as appropriate. This behavior is -summarized in *note Table 16.1: table-value-types-returned. - - Type of Actual Value --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - String Number Array Undefined ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - String String String False False - Number Number if Number False False - can be - converted, - else false -Type Array False False Array False -Requested Scalar Scalar Scalar False False - Undefined String Number Array Undefined - Value False False False False - cookie - -Table 16.1: API value types returned - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Accessing Parameters, Next: Symbol Table Access, Prev: Requesting Values, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.9 Accessing and Updating Parameters ----------------------------------------- - -Two functions give you access to the arguments (parameters) passed to -your extension function. They are: - -'awk_bool_t get_argument(size_t count,' -' awk_valtype_t wanted,' -' awk_value_t *result);' - Fill in the 'awk_value_t' structure pointed to by 'result' with the - 'count'th argument. Return true if the actual type matches - 'wanted', and false otherwise. In the latter case, - 'result->val_type' indicates the actual type (*note Table 16.1: - table-value-types-returned.). Counts are zero-based--the first - argument is numbered zero, the second one, and so on. 'wanted' - indicates the type of value expected. - -'awk_bool_t set_argument(size_t count, awk_array_t array);' - Convert a parameter that was undefined into an array; this provides - call by reference for arrays. Return false if 'count' is too big, - or if the argument's type is not undefined. *Note Array - Manipulation:: for more information on creating arrays. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Symbol Table Access, Next: Array Manipulation, Prev: Accessing Parameters, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.10 Symbol Table Access ---------------------------- - -Two sets of routines provide access to global variables, and one set -allows you to create and release cached values. - -* Menu: - -* Symbol table by name:: Accessing variables by name. -* Symbol table by cookie:: Accessing variables by "cookie". -* Cached values:: Creating and using cached values. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Symbol table by name, Next: Symbol table by cookie, Up: Symbol Table Access - -16.4.10.1 Variable Access and Update by Name -............................................ - -The following routines provide the ability to access and update global -'awk'-level variables by name. In compiler terminology, identifiers of -different kinds are termed "symbols", thus the "sym" in the routines' -names. The data structure that stores information about symbols is -termed a "symbol table". The functions are as follows: - -'awk_bool_t sym_lookup(const char *name,' -' awk_valtype_t wanted,' -' awk_value_t *result);' - Fill in the 'awk_value_t' structure pointed to by 'result' with the - value of the variable named by the string 'name', which is a - regular C string. 'wanted' indicates the type of value expected. - Return true if the actual type matches 'wanted', and false - otherwise. In the latter case, 'result->val_type' indicates the - actual type (*note Table 16.1: table-value-types-returned.). - -'awk_bool_t sym_update(const char *name, awk_value_t *value);' - Update the variable named by the string 'name', which is a regular - C string. The variable is added to 'gawk''s symbol table if it is - not there. Return true if everything worked, and false otherwise. - - Changing types (scalar to array or vice versa) of an existing - variable is _not_ allowed, nor may this routine be used to update - an array. This routine cannot be used to update any of the - predefined variables (such as 'ARGC' or 'NF'). - - An extension can look up the value of 'gawk''s special variables. -However, with the exception of the 'PROCINFO' array, an extension cannot -change any of those variables. - - CAUTION: It is possible for the lookup of 'PROCINFO' to fail. This - happens if the 'awk' program being run does not reference - 'PROCINFO'; in this case, 'gawk' doesn't bother to create the array - and populate it. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Symbol table by cookie, Next: Cached values, Prev: Symbol table by name, Up: Symbol Table Access - -16.4.10.2 Variable Access and Update by Cookie -.............................................. - -A "scalar cookie" is an opaque handle that provides access to a global -variable or array. It is an optimization that avoids looking up -variables in 'gawk''s symbol table every time access is needed. This -was discussed earlier, in *note General Data Types::. - - The following functions let you work with scalar cookies: - -'awk_bool_t sym_lookup_scalar(awk_scalar_t cookie,' -' awk_valtype_t wanted,' -' awk_value_t *result);' - Retrieve the current value of a scalar cookie. Once you have - obtained a scalar cookie using 'sym_lookup()', you can use this - function to get its value more efficiently. Return false if the - value cannot be retrieved. - -'awk_bool_t sym_update_scalar(awk_scalar_t cookie, awk_value_t *value);' - Update the value associated with a scalar cookie. Return false if - the new value is not of type 'AWK_STRING' or 'AWK_NUMBER'. Here - too, the predefined variables may not be updated. - - It is not obvious at first glance how to work with scalar cookies or -what their raison d'e^tre really is. In theory, the 'sym_lookup()' and -'sym_update()' routines are all you really need to work with variables. -For example, you might have code that looks up the value of a variable, -evaluates a condition, and then possibly changes the value of the -variable based on the result of that evaluation, like so: - - /* do_magic --- do something really great */ - - static awk_value_t * - do_magic(int nargs, awk_value_t *result) - { - awk_value_t value; - - if ( sym_lookup("MAGIC_VAR", AWK_NUMBER, & value) - && some_condition(value.num_value)) { - value.num_value += 42; - sym_update("MAGIC_VAR", & value); - } - - return make_number(0.0, result); - } - -This code looks (and is) simple and straightforward. So what's the -problem? - - Well, consider what happens if 'awk'-level code associated with your -extension calls the 'magic()' function (implemented in C by -'do_magic()'), once per record, while processing hundreds of thousands -or millions of records. The 'MAGIC_VAR' variable is looked up in the -symbol table once or twice per function call! - - The symbol table lookup is really pure overhead; it is considerably -more efficient to get a cookie that represents the variable, and use -that to get the variable's value and update it as needed.(1) - - Thus, the way to use cookies is as follows. First, install your -extension's variable in 'gawk''s symbol table using 'sym_update()', as -usual. Then get a scalar cookie for the variable using 'sym_lookup()': - - static awk_scalar_t magic_var_cookie; /* cookie for MAGIC_VAR */ - - static void - my_extension_init() - { - awk_value_t value; - - /* install initial value */ - sym_update("MAGIC_VAR", make_number(42.0, & value)); - - /* get the cookie */ - sym_lookup("MAGIC_VAR", AWK_SCALAR, & value); - - /* save the cookie */ - magic_var_cookie = value.scalar_cookie; - ... - } - - Next, use the routines in this minor node for retrieving and updating -the value through the cookie. Thus, 'do_magic()' now becomes something -like this: - - /* do_magic --- do something really great */ - - static awk_value_t * - do_magic(int nargs, awk_value_t *result) - { - awk_value_t value; - - if ( sym_lookup_scalar(magic_var_cookie, AWK_NUMBER, & value) - && some_condition(value.num_value)) { - value.num_value += 42; - sym_update_scalar(magic_var_cookie, & value); - } - ... - - return make_number(0.0, result); - } - - NOTE: The previous code omitted error checking for presentation - purposes. Your extension code should be more robust and carefully - check the return values from the API functions. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The difference is measurable and quite real. Trust us. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Cached values, Prev: Symbol table by cookie, Up: Symbol Table Access - -16.4.10.3 Creating and Using Cached Values -.......................................... - -The routines in this minor node allow you to create and release cached -values. Like scalar cookies, in theory, cached values are not -necessary. You can create numbers and strings using the functions in -*note Constructor Functions::. You can then assign those values to -variables using 'sym_update()' or 'sym_update_scalar()', as you like. - - However, you can understand the point of cached values if you -remember that _every_ string value's storage _must_ come from -'gawk_malloc()', 'gawk_calloc()', or 'gawk_realloc()'. If you have 20 -variables, all of which have the same string value, you must create 20 -identical copies of the string.(1) - - It is clearly more efficient, if possible, to create a value once, -and then tell 'gawk' to reuse the value for multiple variables. That is -what the routines in this minor node let you do. The functions are as -follows: - -'awk_bool_t create_value(awk_value_t *value, awk_value_cookie_t *result);' - Create a cached string or numeric value from 'value' for efficient - later assignment. Only values of type 'AWK_NUMBER' and - 'AWK_STRING' are allowed. Any other type is rejected. - 'AWK_UNDEFINED' could be allowed, but doing so would result in - inferior performance. - -'awk_bool_t release_value(awk_value_cookie_t vc);' - Release the memory associated with a value cookie obtained from - 'create_value()'. - - You use value cookies in a fashion similar to the way you use scalar -cookies. In the extension initialization routine, you create the value -cookie: - - static awk_value_cookie_t answer_cookie; /* static value cookie */ - - static void - my_extension_init() - { - awk_value_t value; - char *long_string; - size_t long_string_len; - - /* code from earlier */ - ... - /* ... fill in long_string and long_string_len ... */ - make_malloced_string(long_string, long_string_len, & value); - create_value(& value, & answer_cookie); /* create cookie */ - ... - } - - Once the value is created, you can use it as the value of any number -of variables: - - static awk_value_t * - do_magic(int nargs, awk_value_t *result) - { - awk_value_t new_value; - - ... /* as earlier */ - - value.val_type = AWK_VALUE_COOKIE; - value.value_cookie = answer_cookie; - sym_update("VAR1", & value); - sym_update("VAR2", & value); - ... - sym_update("VAR100", & value); - ... - } - -Using value cookies in this way saves considerable storage, as all of -'VAR1' through 'VAR100' share the same value. - - You might be wondering, "Is this sharing problematic? What happens -if 'awk' code assigns a new value to 'VAR1'; are all the others changed -too?" - - That's a great question. The answer is that no, it's not a problem. -Internally, 'gawk' uses "reference-counted strings". This means that -many variables can share the same string value, and 'gawk' keeps track -of the usage. When a variable's value changes, 'gawk' simply decrements -the reference count on the old value and updates the variable to use the -new value. - - Finally, as part of your cleanup action (*note Exit Callback -Functions::) you should release any cached values that you created, -using 'release_value()'. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Numeric values are clearly less problematic, requiring only a C -'double' to store. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Array Manipulation, Next: Redirection API, Prev: Symbol Table Access, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.11 Array Manipulation --------------------------- - -The primary data structure(1) in 'awk' is the associative array (*note -Arrays::). Extensions need to be able to manipulate 'awk' arrays. The -API provides a number of data structures for working with arrays, -functions for working with individual elements, and functions for -working with arrays as a whole. This includes the ability to "flatten" -an array so that it is easy for C code to traverse every element in an -array. The array data structures integrate nicely with the data -structures for values to make it easy to both work with and create true -arrays of arrays (*note General Data Types::). - -* Menu: - -* Array Data Types:: Data types for working with arrays. -* Array Functions:: Functions for working with arrays. -* Flattening Arrays:: How to flatten arrays. -* Creating Arrays:: How to create and populate arrays. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) OK, the only data structure. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Array Data Types, Next: Array Functions, Up: Array Manipulation - -16.4.11.1 Array Data Types -.......................... - -The data types associated with arrays are as follows: - -'typedef void *awk_array_t;' - If you request the value of an array variable, you get back an - 'awk_array_t' value. This value is opaque(1) to the extension; it - uniquely identifies the array but can only be used by passing it - into API functions or receiving it from API functions. This is - very similar to way 'FILE *' values are used with the '' - library routines. - -'typedef struct awk_element {' -' /* convenience linked list pointer, not used by gawk */' -' struct awk_element *next;' -' enum {' -' AWK_ELEMENT_DEFAULT = 0, /* set by gawk */' -' AWK_ELEMENT_DELETE = 1 /* set by extension */' -' } flags;' -' awk_value_t index;' -' awk_value_t value;' -'} awk_element_t;' - The 'awk_element_t' is a "flattened" array element. 'awk' produces - an array of these inside the 'awk_flat_array_t' (see the next - item). Individual elements may be marked for deletion. New - elements must be added individually, one at a time, using the - separate API for that purpose. The fields are as follows: - - 'struct awk_element *next;' - This pointer is for the convenience of extension writers. It - allows an extension to create a linked list of new elements - that can then be added to an array in a loop that traverses - the list. - - 'enum { ... } flags;' - A set of flag values that convey information between the - extension and 'gawk'. Currently there is only one: - 'AWK_ELEMENT_DELETE'. Setting it causes 'gawk' to delete the - element from the original array upon release of the flattened - array. - - 'index' - 'value' - The index and value of the element, respectively. _All_ - memory pointed to by 'index' and 'value' belongs to 'gawk'. - -'typedef struct awk_flat_array {' -' awk_const void *awk_const opaque1; /* for use by gawk */' -' awk_const void *awk_const opaque2; /* for use by gawk */' -' awk_const size_t count; /* how many elements */' -' awk_element_t elements[1]; /* will be extended */' -'} awk_flat_array_t;' - This is a flattened array. When an extension gets one of these - from 'gawk', the 'elements' array is of actual size 'count'. The - 'opaque1' and 'opaque2' pointers are for use by 'gawk'; therefore - they are marked 'awk_const' so that the extension cannot modify - them. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) It is also a "cookie," but the 'gawk' developers did not wish to -overuse this term. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Array Functions, Next: Flattening Arrays, Prev: Array Data Types, Up: Array Manipulation - -16.4.11.2 Array Functions -......................... - -The following functions relate to individual array elements: - -'awk_bool_t get_element_count(awk_array_t a_cookie, size_t *count);' - For the array represented by 'a_cookie', place in '*count' the - number of elements it contains. A subarray counts as a single - element. Return false if there is an error. - -'awk_bool_t get_array_element(awk_array_t a_cookie,' -' const awk_value_t *const index,' -' awk_valtype_t wanted,' -' awk_value_t *result);' - For the array represented by 'a_cookie', return in '*result' the - value of the element whose index is 'index'. 'wanted' specifies - the type of value you wish to retrieve. Return false if 'wanted' - does not match the actual type or if 'index' is not in the array - (*note Table 16.1: table-value-types-returned.). - - The value for 'index' can be numeric, in which case 'gawk' converts - it to a string. Using nonintegral values is possible, but requires - that you understand how such values are converted to strings (*note - Conversion::); thus, using integral values is safest. - - As with _all_ strings passed into 'gawk' from an extension, the - string value of 'index' must come from 'gawk_malloc()', - 'gawk_calloc()', or 'gawk_realloc()', and 'gawk' releases the - storage. - -'awk_bool_t set_array_element(awk_array_t a_cookie,' -' const awk_value_t *const index,' -' const awk_value_t *const value);' - In the array represented by 'a_cookie', create or modify the - element whose index is given by 'index'. The 'ARGV' and 'ENVIRON' - arrays may not be changed, although the 'PROCINFO' array can be. - -'awk_bool_t set_array_element_by_elem(awk_array_t a_cookie,' -' awk_element_t element);' - Like 'set_array_element()', but take the 'index' and 'value' from - 'element'. This is a convenience macro. - -'awk_bool_t del_array_element(awk_array_t a_cookie,' -' const awk_value_t* const index);' - Remove the element with the given index from the array represented - by 'a_cookie'. Return true if the element was removed, or false if - the element did not exist in the array. - - The following functions relate to arrays as a whole: - -'awk_array_t create_array(void);' - Create a new array to which elements may be added. *Note Creating - Arrays:: for a discussion of how to create a new array and add - elements to it. - -'awk_bool_t clear_array(awk_array_t a_cookie);' - Clear the array represented by 'a_cookie'. Return false if there - was some kind of problem, true otherwise. The array remains an - array, but after calling this function, it has no elements. This - is equivalent to using the 'delete' statement (*note Delete::). - -'awk_bool_t flatten_array(awk_array_t a_cookie, awk_flat_array_t **data);' - For the array represented by 'a_cookie', create an - 'awk_flat_array_t' structure and fill it in. Set the pointer whose - address is passed as 'data' to point to this structure. Return - true upon success, or false otherwise. *Note Flattening Arrays::, - for a discussion of how to flatten an array and work with it. - -'awk_bool_t release_flattened_array(awk_array_t a_cookie,' -' awk_flat_array_t *data);' - When done with a flattened array, release the storage using this - function. You must pass in both the original array cookie and the - address of the created 'awk_flat_array_t' structure. The function - returns true upon success, false otherwise. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Flattening Arrays, Next: Creating Arrays, Prev: Array Functions, Up: Array Manipulation - -16.4.11.3 Working With All The Elements of an Array -................................................... - -To "flatten" an array is to create a structure that represents the full -array in a fashion that makes it easy for C code to traverse the entire -array. Some of the code in 'extension/testext.c' does this, and also -serves as a nice example showing how to use the APIs. - - We walk through that part of the code one step at a time. First, the -'gawk' script that drives the test extension: - - @load "testext" - BEGIN { - n = split("blacky rusty sophie raincloud lucky", pets) - printf("pets has %d elements\n", length(pets)) - ret = dump_array_and_delete("pets", "3") - printf("dump_array_and_delete(pets) returned %d\n", ret) - if ("3" in pets) - printf("dump_array_and_delete() did NOT remove index \"3\"!\n") - else - printf("dump_array_and_delete() did remove index \"3\"!\n") - print "" - } - -This code creates an array with 'split()' (*note String Functions::) and -then calls 'dump_array_and_delete()'. That function looks up the array -whose name is passed as the first argument, and deletes the element at -the index passed in the second argument. The 'awk' code then prints the -return value and checks if the element was indeed deleted. Here is the -C code that implements 'dump_array_and_delete()'. It has been edited -slightly for presentation. - - The first part declares variables, sets up the default return value -in 'result', and checks that the function was called with the correct -number of arguments: - - static awk_value_t * - dump_array_and_delete(int nargs, awk_value_t *result) - { - awk_value_t value, value2, value3; - awk_flat_array_t *flat_array; - size_t count; - char *name; - int i; - - assert(result != NULL); - make_number(0.0, result); - - if (nargs != 2) { - printf("dump_array_and_delete: nargs not right " - "(%d should be 2)\n", nargs); - goto out; - } - - The function then proceeds in steps, as follows. First, retrieve the -name of the array, passed as the first argument, followed by the array -itself. If either operation fails, print an error message and return: - - /* get argument named array as flat array and print it */ - if (get_argument(0, AWK_STRING, & value)) { - name = value.str_value.str; - if (sym_lookup(name, AWK_ARRAY, & value2)) - printf("dump_array_and_delete: sym_lookup of %s passed\n", - name); - else { - printf("dump_array_and_delete: sym_lookup of %s failed\n", - name); - goto out; - } - } else { - printf("dump_array_and_delete: get_argument(0) failed\n"); - goto out; - } - - For testing purposes and to make sure that the C code sees the same -number of elements as the 'awk' code, the second step is to get the -count of elements in the array and print it: - - if (! get_element_count(value2.array_cookie, & count)) { - printf("dump_array_and_delete: get_element_count failed\n"); - goto out; - } - - printf("dump_array_and_delete: incoming size is %lu\n", - (unsigned long) count); - - The third step is to actually flatten the array, and then to -double-check that the count in the 'awk_flat_array_t' is the same as the -count just retrieved: - - if (! flatten_array(value2.array_cookie, & flat_array)) { - printf("dump_array_and_delete: could not flatten array\n"); - goto out; - } - - if (flat_array->count != count) { - printf("dump_array_and_delete: flat_array->count (%lu)" - " != count (%lu)\n", - (unsigned long) flat_array->count, - (unsigned long) count); - goto out; - } - - The fourth step is to retrieve the index of the element to be -deleted, which was passed as the second argument. Remember that -argument counts passed to 'get_argument()' are zero-based, and thus the -second argument is numbered one: - - if (! get_argument(1, AWK_STRING, & value3)) { - printf("dump_array_and_delete: get_argument(1) failed\n"); - goto out; - } - - The fifth step is where the "real work" is done. The function loops -over every element in the array, printing the index and element values. -In addition, upon finding the element with the index that is supposed to -be deleted, the function sets the 'AWK_ELEMENT_DELETE' bit in the -'flags' field of the element. When the array is released, 'gawk' -traverses the flattened array, and deletes any elements that have this -flag bit set: - - for (i = 0; i < flat_array->count; i++) { - printf("\t%s[\"%.*s\"] = %s\n", - name, - (int) flat_array->elements[i].index.str_value.len, - flat_array->elements[i].index.str_value.str, - valrep2str(& flat_array->elements[i].value)); - - if (strcmp(value3.str_value.str, - flat_array->elements[i].index.str_value.str) == 0) { - flat_array->elements[i].flags |= AWK_ELEMENT_DELETE; - printf("dump_array_and_delete: marking element \"%s\" " - "for deletion\n", - flat_array->elements[i].index.str_value.str); - } - } - - The sixth step is to release the flattened array. This tells 'gawk' -that the extension is no longer using the array, and that it should -delete any elements marked for deletion. 'gawk' also frees any storage -that was allocated, so you should not use the pointer ('flat_array' in -this code) once you have called 'release_flattened_array()': - - if (! release_flattened_array(value2.array_cookie, flat_array)) { - printf("dump_array_and_delete: could not release flattened array\n"); - goto out; - } - - Finally, because everything was successful, the function sets the -return value to success, and returns: - - make_number(1.0, result); - out: - return result; - } - - Here is the output from running this part of the test: - - pets has 5 elements - dump_array_and_delete: sym_lookup of pets passed - dump_array_and_delete: incoming size is 5 - pets["1"] = "blacky" - pets["2"] = "rusty" - pets["3"] = "sophie" - dump_array_and_delete: marking element "3" for deletion - pets["4"] = "raincloud" - pets["5"] = "lucky" - dump_array_and_delete(pets) returned 1 - dump_array_and_delete() did remove index "3"! - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Creating Arrays, Prev: Flattening Arrays, Up: Array Manipulation - -16.4.11.4 How To Create and Populate Arrays -........................................... - -Besides working with arrays created by 'awk' code, you can create arrays -and populate them as you see fit, and then 'awk' code can access them -and manipulate them. - - There are two important points about creating arrays from extension -code: - - * You must install a new array into 'gawk''s symbol table immediately - upon creating it. Once you have done so, you can then populate the - array. - - Similarly, if installing a new array as a subarray of an existing - array, you must add the new array to its parent before adding any - elements to it. - - Thus, the correct way to build an array is to work "top down." - Create the array, and immediately install it in 'gawk''s symbol - table using 'sym_update()', or install it as an element in a - previously existing array using 'set_array_element()'. We show - example code shortly. - - * Due to 'gawk' internals, after using 'sym_update()' to install an - array into 'gawk', you have to retrieve the array cookie from the - value passed in to 'sym_update()' before doing anything else with - it, like so: - - awk_value_t val; - awk_array_t new_array; - - new_array = create_array(); - val.val_type = AWK_ARRAY; - val.array_cookie = new_array; - - /* install array in the symbol table */ - sym_update("array", & val); - - new_array = val.array_cookie; /* YOU MUST DO THIS */ - - If installing an array as a subarray, you must also retrieve the - value of the array cookie after the call to 'set_element()'. - - The following C code is a simple test extension to create an array -with two regular elements and with a subarray. The leading '#include' -directives and boilerplate variable declarations (*note Extension API -Boilerplate::) are omitted for brevity. The first step is to create a -new array and then install it in the symbol table: - - /* create_new_array --- create a named array */ - - static void - create_new_array() - { - awk_array_t a_cookie; - awk_array_t subarray; - awk_value_t index, value; - - a_cookie = create_array(); - value.val_type = AWK_ARRAY; - value.array_cookie = a_cookie; - - if (! sym_update("new_array", & value)) - printf("create_new_array: sym_update(\"new_array\") failed!\n"); - a_cookie = value.array_cookie; - -Note how 'a_cookie' is reset from the 'array_cookie' field in the -'value' structure. - - The second step is to install two regular values into 'new_array': - - (void) make_const_string("hello", 5, & index); - (void) make_const_string("world", 5, & value); - if (! set_array_element(a_cookie, & index, & value)) { - printf("fill_in_array: set_array_element failed\n"); - return; - } - - (void) make_const_string("answer", 6, & index); - (void) make_number(42.0, & value); - if (! set_array_element(a_cookie, & index, & value)) { - printf("fill_in_array: set_array_element failed\n"); - return; - } - - The third step is to create the subarray and install it: - - (void) make_const_string("subarray", 8, & index); - subarray = create_array(); - value.val_type = AWK_ARRAY; - value.array_cookie = subarray; - if (! set_array_element(a_cookie, & index, & value)) { - printf("fill_in_array: set_array_element failed\n"); - return; - } - subarray = value.array_cookie; - - The final step is to populate the subarray with its own element: - - (void) make_const_string("foo", 3, & index); - (void) make_const_string("bar", 3, & value); - if (! set_array_element(subarray, & index, & value)) { - printf("fill_in_array: set_array_element failed\n"); - return; - } - } - - Here is a sample script that loads the extension and then dumps the -array: - - @load "subarray" - - function dumparray(name, array, i) - { - for (i in array) - if (isarray(array[i])) - dumparray(name "[\"" i "\"]", array[i]) - else - printf("%s[\"%s\"] = %s\n", name, i, array[i]) - } - - BEGIN { - dumparray("new_array", new_array); - } - - Here is the result of running the script: - - $ AWKLIBPATH=$PWD ./gawk -f subarray.awk - -| new_array["subarray"]["foo"] = bar - -| new_array["hello"] = world - -| new_array["answer"] = 42 - -(*Note Finding Extensions:: for more information on the 'AWKLIBPATH' -environment variable.) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Redirection API, Next: Extension API Variables, Prev: Array Manipulation, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.12 Accessing and Manipulating Redirections ------------------------------------------------ - -The following function allows extensions to access and manipulate -redirections. - -'awk_bool_t get_file(const char *name,' -' size_t name_len,' -' const char *filetype,' -' int fd,' -' const awk_input_buf_t **ibufp,' -' const awk_output_buf_t **obufp);' - Look up a file in 'gawk''s internal redirection table. If 'name' - is 'NULL' or 'name_len' is zero, return data for the currently open - input file corresponding to 'FILENAME'. (This does not access the - 'filetype' argument, so that may be undefined). If the file is not - already open, attempt to open it. The 'filetype' argument must be - zero-terminated and should be one of: - - '">"' - A file opened for output. - - '">>"' - A file opened for append. - - '"<"' - A file opened for input. - - '"|>"' - A pipe opened for output. - - '"|<"' - A pipe opened for input. - - '"|&"' - A two-way coprocess. - - On error, return a 'false' value. Otherwise, return 'true', and - return additional information about the redirection in the 'ibufp' - and 'obufp' pointers. For input redirections, the '*ibufp' value - should be non-'NULL', and '*obufp' should be 'NULL'. For output - redirections, the '*obufp' value should be non-'NULL', and '*ibufp' - should be 'NULL'. For two-way coprocesses, both values should be - non-'NULL'. - - In the usual case, the extension is interested in '(*ibufp)->fd' - and/or 'fileno((*obufp)->fp)'. If the file is not already open, - and the 'fd' argument is non-negative, 'gawk' will use that file - descriptor instead of opening the file in the usual way. If 'fd' - is non-negative, but the file exists already, 'gawk' ignores 'fd' - and returns the existing file. It is the caller's responsibility - to notice that neither the 'fd' in the returned 'awk_input_buf_t' - nor the 'fd' in the returned 'awk_output_buf_t' matches the - requested value. - - Note that supplying a file descriptor is currently _not_ supported - for pipes. However, supplying a file descriptor should work for - input, output, append, and two-way (coprocess) sockets. If - 'filetype' is two-way, 'gawk' assumes that it is a socket! Note - that in the two-way case, the input and output file descriptors may - differ. To check for success, you must check whether either - matches. - - It is anticipated that this API function will be used to implement -I/O multiplexing and a socket library. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension API Variables, Next: Extension API Boilerplate, Prev: Redirection API, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.13 API Variables ---------------------- - -The API provides two sets of variables. The first provides information -about the version of the API (both with which the extension was -compiled, and with which 'gawk' was compiled). The second provides -information about how 'gawk' was invoked. - -* Menu: - -* Extension Versioning:: API Version information. -* Extension API Informational Variables:: Variables providing information about - 'gawk''s invocation. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Versioning, Next: Extension API Informational Variables, Up: Extension API Variables - -16.4.13.1 API Version Constants and Variables -............................................. - -The API provides both a "major" and a "minor" version number. The API -versions are available at compile time as C preprocessor defines to -support conditional compilation, and as enum constants to facilitate -debugging: - -API Version C preprocessor define enum constant ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Major gawk_api_major_version GAWK_API_MAJOR_VERSION -Minor gawk_api_minor_version GAWK_API_MINOR_VERSION - -Table 16.2: gawk API version constants - - The minor version increases when new functions are added to the API. -Such new functions are always added to the end of the API 'struct'. - - The major version increases (and the minor version is reset to zero) -if any of the data types change size or member order, or if any of the -existing functions change signature. - - It could happen that an extension may be compiled against one version -of the API but loaded by a version of 'gawk' using a different version. -For this reason, the major and minor API versions of the running 'gawk' -are included in the API 'struct' as read-only constant integers: - -'api->major_version' - The major version of the running 'gawk' - -'api->minor_version' - The minor version of the running 'gawk' - - It is up to the extension to decide if there are API -incompatibilities. Typically, a check like this is enough: - - if (api->major_version != GAWK_API_MAJOR_VERSION - || api->minor_version < GAWK_API_MINOR_VERSION) { - fprintf(stderr, "foo_extension: version mismatch with gawk!\n"); - fprintf(stderr, "\tmy version (%d, %d), gawk version (%d, %d)\n", - GAWK_API_MAJOR_VERSION, GAWK_API_MINOR_VERSION, - api->major_version, api->minor_version); - exit(1); - } - - Such code is included in the boilerplate 'dl_load_func()' macro -provided in 'gawkapi.h' (discussed in *note Extension API -Boilerplate::). - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension API Informational Variables, Prev: Extension Versioning, Up: Extension API Variables - -16.4.13.2 Informational Variables -................................. - -The API provides access to several variables that describe whether the -corresponding command-line options were enabled when 'gawk' was invoked. -The variables are: - -'do_debug' - This variable is true if 'gawk' was invoked with '--debug' option. - -'do_lint' - This variable is true if 'gawk' was invoked with '--lint' option. - -'do_mpfr' - This variable is true if 'gawk' was invoked with '--bignum' option. - -'do_profile' - This variable is true if 'gawk' was invoked with '--profile' - option. - -'do_sandbox' - This variable is true if 'gawk' was invoked with '--sandbox' - option. - -'do_traditional' - This variable is true if 'gawk' was invoked with '--traditional' - option. - - The value of 'do_lint' can change if 'awk' code modifies the 'LINT' -predefined variable (*note Built-in Variables::). The others should not -change during execution. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension API Boilerplate, Prev: Extension API Variables, Up: Extension API Description - -16.4.14 Boilerplate Code ------------------------- - -As mentioned earlier (*note Extension Mechanism Outline::), the function -definitions as presented are really macros. To use these macros, your -extension must provide a small amount of boilerplate code (variables and -functions) toward the top of your source file, using predefined names as -described here. The boilerplate needed is also provided in comments in -the 'gawkapi.h' header file: - - /* Boilerplate code: */ - int plugin_is_GPL_compatible; - - static gawk_api_t *const api; - static awk_ext_id_t ext_id; - static const char *ext_version = NULL; /* or ... = "some string" */ - - static awk_ext_func_t func_table[] = { - { "name", do_name, 1 }, - /* ... */ - }; - - /* EITHER: */ - - static awk_bool_t (*init_func)(void) = NULL; - - /* OR: */ - - static awk_bool_t - init_my_extension(void) - { - ... - } - - static awk_bool_t (*init_func)(void) = init_my_extension; - - dl_load_func(func_table, some_name, "name_space_in_quotes") - - These variables and functions are as follows: - -'int plugin_is_GPL_compatible;' - This asserts that the extension is compatible with the GNU GPL - (*note Copying::). If your extension does not have this, 'gawk' - will not load it (*note Plugin License::). - -'static gawk_api_t *const api;' - This global 'static' variable should be set to point to the - 'gawk_api_t' pointer that 'gawk' passes to your 'dl_load()' - function. This variable is used by all of the macros. - -'static awk_ext_id_t ext_id;' - This global static variable should be set to the 'awk_ext_id_t' - value that 'gawk' passes to your 'dl_load()' function. This - variable is used by all of the macros. - -'static const char *ext_version = NULL; /* or ... = "some string" */' - This global 'static' variable should be set either to 'NULL', or to - point to a string giving the name and version of your extension. - -'static awk_ext_func_t func_table[] = { ... };' - This is an array of one or more 'awk_ext_func_t' structures, as - described earlier (*note Extension Functions::). It can then be - looped over for multiple calls to 'add_ext_func()'. - -'static awk_bool_t (*init_func)(void) = NULL;' -' OR' -'static awk_bool_t init_my_extension(void) { ... }' -'static awk_bool_t (*init_func)(void) = init_my_extension;' - If you need to do some initialization work, you should define a - function that does it (creates variables, opens files, etc.) and - then define the 'init_func' pointer to point to your function. The - function should return 'awk_false' upon failure, or 'awk_true' if - everything goes well. - - If you don't need to do any initialization, define the pointer and - initialize it to 'NULL'. - -'dl_load_func(func_table, some_name, "name_space_in_quotes")' - This macro expands to a 'dl_load()' function that performs all the - necessary initializations. - - The point of all the variables and arrays is to let the 'dl_load()' -function (from the 'dl_load_func()' macro) do all the standard work. It -does the following: - - 1. Check the API versions. If the extension major version does not - match 'gawk''s, or if the extension minor version is greater than - 'gawk''s, it prints a fatal error message and exits. - - 2. Load the functions defined in 'func_table'. If any of them fails - to load, it prints a warning message but continues on. - - 3. If the 'init_func' pointer is not 'NULL', call the function it - points to. If it returns 'awk_false', print a warning message. - - 4. If 'ext_version' is not 'NULL', register the version string with - 'gawk'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Finding Extensions, Next: Extension Example, Prev: Extension API Description, Up: Dynamic Extensions - -16.5 How 'gawk' Finds Extensions -================================ - -Compiled extensions have to be installed in a directory where 'gawk' can -find them. If 'gawk' is configured and built in the default fashion, -the directory in which to find extensions is '/usr/local/lib/gawk'. You -can also specify a search path with a list of directories to search for -compiled extensions. *Note AWKLIBPATH Variable:: for more information. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Example, Next: Extension Samples, Prev: Finding Extensions, Up: Dynamic Extensions - -16.6 Example: Some File Functions -================================= - - No matter where you go, there you are. - -- _Buckaroo Banzai_ - - Two useful functions that are not in 'awk' are 'chdir()' (so that an -'awk' program can change its directory) and 'stat()' (so that an 'awk' -program can gather information about a file). In order to illustrate -the API in action, this minor node implements these functions for 'gawk' -in an extension. - -* Menu: - -* Internal File Description:: What the new functions will do. -* Internal File Ops:: The code for internal file operations. -* Using Internal File Ops:: How to use an external extension. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Internal File Description, Next: Internal File Ops, Up: Extension Example - -16.6.1 Using 'chdir()' and 'stat()' ------------------------------------ - -This minor node shows how to use the new functions at the 'awk' level -once they've been integrated into the running 'gawk' interpreter. Using -'chdir()' is very straightforward. It takes one argument, the new -directory to change to: - - @load "filefuncs" - ... - newdir = "/home/arnold/funstuff" - ret = chdir(newdir) - if (ret < 0) { - printf("could not change to %s: %s\n", newdir, ERRNO) > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - ... - - The return value is negative if the 'chdir()' failed, and 'ERRNO' -(*note Built-in Variables::) is set to a string indicating the error. - - Using 'stat()' is a bit more complicated. The C 'stat()' function -fills in a structure that has a fair amount of information. The right -way to model this in 'awk' is to fill in an associative array with the -appropriate information: - - file = "/home/arnold/.profile" - ret = stat(file, fdata) - if (ret < 0) { - printf("could not stat %s: %s\n", - file, ERRNO) > "/dev/stderr" - exit 1 - } - printf("size of %s is %d bytes\n", file, fdata["size"]) - - The 'stat()' function always clears the data array, even if the -'stat()' fails. It fills in the following elements: - -'"name"' - The name of the file that was 'stat()'ed. - -'"dev"' -'"ino"' - The file's device and inode numbers, respectively. - -'"mode"' - The file's mode, as a numeric value. This includes both the file's - type and its permissions. - -'"nlink"' - The number of hard links (directory entries) the file has. - -'"uid"' -'"gid"' - The numeric user and group ID numbers of the file's owner. - -'"size"' - The size in bytes of the file. - -'"blocks"' - The number of disk blocks the file actually occupies. This may not - be a function of the file's size if the file has holes. - -'"atime"' -'"mtime"' -'"ctime"' - The file's last access, modification, and inode update times, - respectively. These are numeric timestamps, suitable for - formatting with 'strftime()' (*note Time Functions::). - -'"pmode"' - The file's "printable mode." This is a string representation of - the file's type and permissions, such as is produced by 'ls - -l'--for example, '"drwxr-xr-x"'. - -'"type"' - A printable string representation of the file's type. The value is - one of the following: - - '"blockdev"' - '"chardev"' - The file is a block or character device ("special file"). - - '"directory"' - The file is a directory. - - '"fifo"' - The file is a named pipe (also known as a FIFO). - - '"file"' - The file is just a regular file. - - '"socket"' - The file is an 'AF_UNIX' ("Unix domain") socket in the - filesystem. - - '"symlink"' - The file is a symbolic link. - -'"devbsize"' - The size of a block for the element indexed by '"blocks"'. This - information is derived from either the 'DEV_BSIZE' constant defined - in '' on most systems, or the 'S_BLKSIZE' constant in - '' on BSD systems. For some other systems, "a priori" - knowledge is used to provide a value. Where no value can be - determined, it defaults to 512. - - Several additional elements may be present, depending upon the -operating system and the type of the file. You can test for them in -your 'awk' program by using the 'in' operator (*note Reference to -Elements::): - -'"blksize"' - The preferred block size for I/O to the file. This field is not - present on all POSIX-like systems in the C 'stat' structure. - -'"linkval"' - If the file is a symbolic link, this element is the name of the - file the link points to (i.e., the value of the link). - -'"rdev"' -'"major"' -'"minor"' - If the file is a block or character device file, then these values - represent the numeric device number and the major and minor - components of that number, respectively. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Internal File Ops, Next: Using Internal File Ops, Prev: Internal File Description, Up: Extension Example - -16.6.2 C Code for 'chdir()' and 'stat()' ----------------------------------------- - -Here is the C code for these extensions.(1) - - The file includes a number of standard header files, and then -includes the 'gawkapi.h' header file, which provides the API -definitions. Those are followed by the necessary variable declarations -to make use of the API macros and boilerplate code (*note Extension API -Boilerplate::): - - #ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H - #include - #endif - - #include - #include - #include - #include - #include - #include - - #include - #include - - #include "gawkapi.h" - - #include "gettext.h" - #define _(msgid) gettext(msgid) - #define N_(msgid) msgid - - #include "gawkfts.h" - #include "stack.h" - - static const gawk_api_t *api; /* for convenience macros to work */ - static awk_ext_id_t *ext_id; - static awk_bool_t init_filefuncs(void); - static awk_bool_t (*init_func)(void) = init_filefuncs; - static const char *ext_version = "filefuncs extension: version 1.0"; - - int plugin_is_GPL_compatible; - - By convention, for an 'awk' function 'foo()', the C function that -implements it is called 'do_foo()'. The function should have two -arguments. The first is an 'int', usually called 'nargs', that -represents the number of actual arguments for the function. The second -is a pointer to an 'awk_value_t' structure, usually named 'result': - - /* do_chdir --- provide dynamically loaded chdir() function for gawk */ - - static awk_value_t * - do_chdir(int nargs, awk_value_t *result) - { - awk_value_t newdir; - int ret = -1; - - assert(result != NULL); - - if (do_lint && nargs != 1) - lintwarn(ext_id, - _("chdir: called with incorrect number of arguments, " - "expecting 1")); - - The 'newdir' variable represents the new directory to change to, -which is retrieved with 'get_argument()'. Note that the first argument -is numbered zero. - - If the argument is retrieved successfully, the function calls the -'chdir()' system call. If the 'chdir()' fails, 'ERRNO' is updated: - - if (get_argument(0, AWK_STRING, & newdir)) { - ret = chdir(newdir.str_value.str); - if (ret < 0) - update_ERRNO_int(errno); - } - - Finally, the function returns the return value to the 'awk' level: - - return make_number(ret, result); - } - - The 'stat()' extension is more involved. First comes a function that -turns a numeric mode into a printable representation (e.g., octal '0644' -becomes '-rw-r--r--'). This is omitted here for brevity: - - /* format_mode --- turn a stat mode field into something readable */ - - static char * - format_mode(unsigned long fmode) - { - ... - } - - Next comes a function for reading symbolic links, which is also -omitted here for brevity: - - /* read_symlink --- read a symbolic link into an allocated buffer. - ... */ - - static char * - read_symlink(const char *fname, size_t bufsize, ssize_t *linksize) - { - ... - } - - Two helper functions simplify entering values in the array that will -contain the result of the 'stat()': - - /* array_set --- set an array element */ - - static void - array_set(awk_array_t array, const char *sub, awk_value_t *value) - { - awk_value_t index; - - set_array_element(array, - make_const_string(sub, strlen(sub), & index), - value); - - } - - /* array_set_numeric --- set an array element with a number */ - - static void - array_set_numeric(awk_array_t array, const char *sub, double num) - { - awk_value_t tmp; - - array_set(array, sub, make_number(num, & tmp)); - } - - The following function does most of the work to fill in the -'awk_array_t' result array with values obtained from a valid 'struct -stat'. This work is done in a separate function to support the 'stat()' -function for 'gawk' and also to support the 'fts()' extension, which is -included in the same file but whose code is not shown here (*note -Extension Sample File Functions::). - - The first part of the function is variable declarations, including a -table to map file types to strings: - - /* fill_stat_array --- do the work to fill an array with stat info */ - - static int - fill_stat_array(const char *name, awk_array_t array, struct stat *sbuf) - { - char *pmode; /* printable mode */ - const char *type = "unknown"; - awk_value_t tmp; - static struct ftype_map { - unsigned int mask; - const char *type; - } ftype_map[] = { - { S_IFREG, "file" }, - { S_IFBLK, "blockdev" }, - { S_IFCHR, "chardev" }, - { S_IFDIR, "directory" }, - #ifdef S_IFSOCK - { S_IFSOCK, "socket" }, - #endif - #ifdef S_IFIFO - { S_IFIFO, "fifo" }, - #endif - #ifdef S_IFLNK - { S_IFLNK, "symlink" }, - #endif - #ifdef S_IFDOOR /* Solaris weirdness */ - { S_IFDOOR, "door" }, - #endif /* S_IFDOOR */ - }; - int j, k; - - The destination array is cleared, and then code fills in various -elements based on values in the 'struct stat': - - /* empty out the array */ - clear_array(array); - - /* fill in the array */ - array_set(array, "name", make_const_string(name, strlen(name), - & tmp)); - array_set_numeric(array, "dev", sbuf->st_dev); - array_set_numeric(array, "ino", sbuf->st_ino); - array_set_numeric(array, "mode", sbuf->st_mode); - array_set_numeric(array, "nlink", sbuf->st_nlink); - array_set_numeric(array, "uid", sbuf->st_uid); - array_set_numeric(array, "gid", sbuf->st_gid); - array_set_numeric(array, "size", sbuf->st_size); - array_set_numeric(array, "blocks", sbuf->st_blocks); - array_set_numeric(array, "atime", sbuf->st_atime); - array_set_numeric(array, "mtime", sbuf->st_mtime); - array_set_numeric(array, "ctime", sbuf->st_ctime); - - /* for block and character devices, add rdev, - major and minor numbers */ - if (S_ISBLK(sbuf->st_mode) || S_ISCHR(sbuf->st_mode)) { - array_set_numeric(array, "rdev", sbuf->st_rdev); - array_set_numeric(array, "major", major(sbuf->st_rdev)); - array_set_numeric(array, "minor", minor(sbuf->st_rdev)); - } - -The latter part of the function makes selective additions to the -destination array, depending upon the availability of certain members -and/or the type of the file. It then returns zero, for success: - - #ifdef HAVE_STRUCT_STAT_ST_BLKSIZE - array_set_numeric(array, "blksize", sbuf->st_blksize); - #endif /* HAVE_STRUCT_STAT_ST_BLKSIZE */ - - pmode = format_mode(sbuf->st_mode); - array_set(array, "pmode", make_const_string(pmode, strlen(pmode), - & tmp)); - - /* for symbolic links, add a linkval field */ - if (S_ISLNK(sbuf->st_mode)) { - char *buf; - ssize_t linksize; - - if ((buf = read_symlink(name, sbuf->st_size, - & linksize)) != NULL) - array_set(array, "linkval", - make_malloced_string(buf, linksize, & tmp)); - else - warning(ext_id, _("stat: unable to read symbolic link `%s'"), - name); - } - - /* add a type field */ - type = "unknown"; /* shouldn't happen */ - for (j = 0, k = sizeof(ftype_map)/sizeof(ftype_map[0]); j < k; j++) { - if ((sbuf->st_mode & S_IFMT) == ftype_map[j].mask) { - type = ftype_map[j].type; - break; - } - } - - array_set(array, "type", make_const_string(type, strlen(type), & tmp)); - - return 0; - } - - The third argument to 'stat()' was not discussed previously. This -argument is optional. If present, it causes 'do_stat()' to use the -'stat()' system call instead of the 'lstat()' system call. This is done -by using a function pointer: 'statfunc'. 'statfunc' is initialized to -point to 'lstat()' (instead of 'stat()') to get the file information, in -case the file is a symbolic link. However, if the third argument is -included, 'statfunc' is set to point to 'stat()', instead. - - Here is the 'do_stat()' function, which starts with variable -declarations and argument checking: - - /* do_stat --- provide a stat() function for gawk */ - - static awk_value_t * - do_stat(int nargs, awk_value_t *result) - { - awk_value_t file_param, array_param; - char *name; - awk_array_t array; - int ret; - struct stat sbuf; - /* default is lstat() */ - int (*statfunc)(const char *path, struct stat *sbuf) = lstat; - - assert(result != NULL); - - if (nargs != 2 && nargs != 3) { - if (do_lint) - lintwarn(ext_id, - _("stat: called with wrong number of arguments")); - return make_number(-1, result); - } - - Then comes the actual work. First, the function gets the arguments. -Next, it gets the information for the file. If the called function -('lstat()' or 'stat()') returns an error, the code sets 'ERRNO' and -returns: - - /* file is first arg, array to hold results is second */ - if ( ! get_argument(0, AWK_STRING, & file_param) - || ! get_argument(1, AWK_ARRAY, & array_param)) { - warning(ext_id, _("stat: bad parameters")); - return make_number(-1, result); - } - - if (nargs == 3) { - statfunc = stat; - } - - name = file_param.str_value.str; - array = array_param.array_cookie; - - /* always empty out the array */ - clear_array(array); - - /* stat the file; if error, set ERRNO and return */ - ret = statfunc(name, & sbuf); - if (ret < 0) { - update_ERRNO_int(errno); - return make_number(ret, result); - } - - The tedious work is done by 'fill_stat_array()', shown earlier. When -done, the function returns the result from 'fill_stat_array()': - - ret = fill_stat_array(name, array, & sbuf); - - return make_number(ret, result); - } - - Finally, it's necessary to provide the "glue" that loads the new -function(s) into 'gawk'. - - The 'filefuncs' extension also provides an 'fts()' function, which we -omit here (*note Extension Sample File Functions::). For its sake, -there is an initialization function: - - /* init_filefuncs --- initialization routine */ - - static awk_bool_t - init_filefuncs(void) - { - ... - } - - We are almost done. We need an array of 'awk_ext_func_t' structures -for loading each function into 'gawk': - - static awk_ext_func_t func_table[] = { - { "chdir", do_chdir, 1 }, - { "stat", do_stat, 2 }, - #ifndef __MINGW32__ - { "fts", do_fts, 3 }, - #endif - }; - - Each extension must have a routine named 'dl_load()' to load -everything that needs to be loaded. It is simplest to use the -'dl_load_func()' macro in 'gawkapi.h': - - /* define the dl_load() function using the boilerplate macro */ - - dl_load_func(func_table, filefuncs, "") - - And that's it! - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This version is edited slightly for presentation. See -'extension/filefuncs.c' in the 'gawk' distribution for the complete -version. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Using Internal File Ops, Prev: Internal File Ops, Up: Extension Example - -16.6.3 Integrating the Extensions ---------------------------------- - -Now that the code is written, it must be possible to add it at runtime -to the running 'gawk' interpreter. First, the code must be compiled. -Assuming that the functions are in a file named 'filefuncs.c', and IDIR -is the location of the 'gawkapi.h' header file, the following steps(1) -create a GNU/Linux shared library: - - $ gcc -fPIC -shared -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -c -O -g -IIDIR filefuncs.c - $ gcc -o filefuncs.so -shared filefuncs.o - - Once the library exists, it is loaded by using the '@load' keyword: - - # file testff.awk - @load "filefuncs" - - BEGIN { - "pwd" | getline curdir # save current directory - close("pwd") - - chdir("/tmp") - system("pwd") # test it - chdir(curdir) # go back - - print "Info for testff.awk" - ret = stat("testff.awk", data) - print "ret =", ret - for (i in data) - printf "data[\"%s\"] = %s\n", i, data[i] - print "testff.awk modified:", - strftime("%m %d %Y %H:%M:%S", data["mtime"]) - - print "\nInfo for JUNK" - ret = stat("JUNK", data) - print "ret =", ret - for (i in data) - printf "data[\"%s\"] = %s\n", i, data[i] - print "JUNK modified:", strftime("%m %d %Y %H:%M:%S", data["mtime"]) - } - - The 'AWKLIBPATH' environment variable tells 'gawk' where to find -extensions (*note Finding Extensions::). We set it to the current -directory and run the program: - - $ AWKLIBPATH=$PWD gawk -f testff.awk - -| /tmp - -| Info for testff.awk - -| ret = 0 - -| data["blksize"] = 4096 - -| data["devbsize"] = 512 - -| data["mtime"] = 1412004710 - -| data["mode"] = 33204 - -| data["type"] = file - -| data["dev"] = 2053 - -| data["gid"] = 1000 - -| data["ino"] = 10358899 - -| data["ctime"] = 1412004710 - -| data["blocks"] = 8 - -| data["nlink"] = 1 - -| data["name"] = testff.awk - -| data["atime"] = 1412004716 - -| data["pmode"] = -rw-rw-r-- - -| data["size"] = 666 - -| data["uid"] = 1000 - -| testff.awk modified: 09 29 2014 18:31:50 - -| - -| Info for JUNK - -| ret = -1 - -| JUNK modified: 01 01 1970 02:00:00 - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) In practice, you would probably want to use the GNU Autotools -(Automake, Autoconf, Libtool, and 'gettext') to configure and build your -libraries. Instructions for doing so are beyond the scope of this Info -file. *Note gawkextlib:: for Internet links to the tools. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Samples, Next: gawkextlib, Prev: Extension Example, Up: Dynamic Extensions - -16.7 The Sample Extensions in the 'gawk' Distribution -===================================================== - -This minor node provides a brief overview of the sample extensions that -come in the 'gawk' distribution. Some of them are intended for -production use (e.g., the 'filefuncs', 'readdir', and 'inplace' -extensions). Others mainly provide example code that shows how to use -the extension API. - -* Menu: - -* Extension Sample File Functions:: The file functions sample. -* Extension Sample Fnmatch:: An interface to 'fnmatch()'. -* Extension Sample Fork:: An interface to 'fork()' and other - process functions. -* Extension Sample Inplace:: Enabling in-place file editing. -* Extension Sample Ord:: Character to value to character - conversions. -* Extension Sample Readdir:: An interface to 'readdir()'. -* Extension Sample Revout:: Reversing output sample output wrapper. -* Extension Sample Rev2way:: Reversing data sample two-way processor. -* Extension Sample Read write array:: Serializing an array to a file. -* Extension Sample Readfile:: Reading an entire file into a string. -* Extension Sample Time:: An interface to 'gettimeofday()' - and 'sleep()'. -* Extension Sample API Tests:: Tests for the API. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Sample File Functions, Next: Extension Sample Fnmatch, Up: Extension Samples - -16.7.1 File-Related Functions ------------------------------ - -The 'filefuncs' extension provides three different functions, as -follows. The usage is: - -'@load "filefuncs"' - This is how you load the extension. - -'result = chdir("/some/directory")' - The 'chdir()' function is a direct hook to the 'chdir()' system - call to change the current directory. It returns zero upon success - or a value less than zero upon error. In the latter case, it - updates 'ERRNO'. - -'result = stat("/some/path", statdata' [', follow']')' - The 'stat()' function provides a hook into the 'stat()' system - call. It returns zero upon success or a value less than zero upon - error. In the latter case, it updates 'ERRNO'. - - By default, it uses the 'lstat()' system call. However, if passed - a third argument, it uses 'stat()' instead. - - In all cases, it clears the 'statdata' array. When the call is - successful, 'stat()' fills the 'statdata' array with information - retrieved from the filesystem, as follows: - - Subscript Field in 'struct stat' File type - ---------------------------------------------------------------- - '"name"' The file name All - '"dev"' 'st_dev' All - '"ino"' 'st_ino' All - '"mode"' 'st_mode' All - '"nlink"' 'st_nlink' All - '"uid"' 'st_uid' All - '"gid"' 'st_gid' All - '"size"' 'st_size' All - '"atime"' 'st_atime' All - '"mtime"' 'st_mtime' All - '"ctime"' 'st_ctime' All - '"rdev"' 'st_rdev' Device files - '"major"' 'st_major' Device files - '"minor"' 'st_minor' Device files - '"blksize"' 'st_blksize' All - '"pmode"' A human-readable version of the All - mode value, like that printed by - 'ls' (for example, '"-rwxr-xr-x"') - '"linkval"' The value of the symbolic link Symbolic - links - '"type"' The type of the file as a All - string--one of '"file"', - '"blockdev"', '"chardev"', - '"directory"', '"socket"', - '"fifo"', '"symlink"', '"door"', - or '"unknown"' (not all systems - support all file types) - -'flags = or(FTS_PHYSICAL, ...)' -'result = fts(pathlist, flags, filedata)' - Walk the file trees provided in 'pathlist' and fill in the - 'filedata' array, as described next. 'flags' is the bitwise OR of - several predefined values, also described in a moment. Return zero - if there were no errors, otherwise return -1. - - The 'fts()' function provides a hook to the C library 'fts()' -routines for traversing file hierarchies. Instead of returning data -about one file at a time in a stream, it fills in a multidimensional -array with data about each file and directory encountered in the -requested hierarchies. - - The arguments are as follows: - -'pathlist' - An array of file names. The element values are used; the index - values are ignored. - -'flags' - This should be the bitwise OR of one or more of the following - predefined constant flag values. At least one of 'FTS_LOGICAL' or - 'FTS_PHYSICAL' must be provided; otherwise 'fts()' returns an error - value and sets 'ERRNO'. The flags are: - - 'FTS_LOGICAL' - Do a "logical" file traversal, where the information returned - for a symbolic link refers to the linked-to file, and not to - the symbolic link itself. This flag is mutually exclusive - with 'FTS_PHYSICAL'. - - 'FTS_PHYSICAL' - Do a "physical" file traversal, where the information returned - for a symbolic link refers to the symbolic link itself. This - flag is mutually exclusive with 'FTS_LOGICAL'. - - 'FTS_NOCHDIR' - As a performance optimization, the C library 'fts()' routines - change directory as they traverse a file hierarchy. This flag - disables that optimization. - - 'FTS_COMFOLLOW' - Immediately follow a symbolic link named in 'pathlist', - whether or not 'FTS_LOGICAL' is set. - - 'FTS_SEEDOT' - By default, the C library 'fts()' routines do not return - entries for '.' (dot) and '..' (dot-dot). This option causes - entries for dot-dot to also be included. (The extension - always includes an entry for dot; more on this in a moment.) - - 'FTS_XDEV' - During a traversal, do not cross onto a different mounted - filesystem. - -'filedata' - The 'filedata' array holds the results. 'fts()' first clears it. - Then it creates an element in 'filedata' for every element in - 'pathlist'. The index is the name of the directory or file given - in 'pathlist'. The element for this index is itself an array. - There are two cases: - - _The path is a file_ - In this case, the array contains two or three elements: - - '"path"' - The full path to this file, starting from the "root" that - was given in the 'pathlist' array. - - '"stat"' - This element is itself an array, containing the same - information as provided by the 'stat()' function - described earlier for its 'statdata' argument. The - element may not be present if the 'stat()' system call - for the file failed. - - '"error"' - If some kind of error was encountered, the array will - also contain an element named '"error"', which is a - string describing the error. - - _The path is a directory_ - In this case, the array contains one element for each entry in - the directory. If an entry is a file, that element is the - same as for files, just described. If the entry is a - directory, that element is (recursively) an array describing - the subdirectory. If 'FTS_SEEDOT' was provided in the flags, - then there will also be an element named '".."'. This element - will be an array containing the data as provided by 'stat()'. - - In addition, there will be an element whose index is '"."'. - This element is an array containing the same two or three - elements as for a file: '"path"', '"stat"', and '"error"'. - - The 'fts()' function returns zero if there were no errors. -Otherwise, it returns -1. - - NOTE: The 'fts()' extension does not exactly mimic the interface of - the C library 'fts()' routines, choosing instead to provide an - interface that is based on associative arrays, which is more - comfortable to use from an 'awk' program. This includes the lack - of a comparison function, because 'gawk' already provides powerful - array sorting facilities. Although an 'fts_read()'-like interface - could have been provided, this felt less natural than simply - creating a multidimensional array to represent the file hierarchy - and its information. - - See 'test/fts.awk' in the 'gawk' distribution for an example use of -the 'fts()' extension function. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Sample Fnmatch, Next: Extension Sample Fork, Prev: Extension Sample File Functions, Up: Extension Samples - -16.7.2 Interface to 'fnmatch()' -------------------------------- - -This extension provides an interface to the C library 'fnmatch()' -function. The usage is: - -'@load "fnmatch"' - This is how you load the extension. - -'result = fnmatch(pattern, string, flags)' - The return value is zero on success, 'FNM_NOMATCH' if the string - did not match the pattern, or a different nonzero value if an error - occurred. - - In addition to the 'fnmatch()' function, the 'fnmatch' extension adds -one constant ('FNM_NOMATCH'), and an array of flag values named 'FNM'. - - The arguments to 'fnmatch()' are: - -'pattern' - The file name wildcard to match - -'string' - The file name string - -'flag' - Either zero, or the bitwise OR of one or more of the flags in the - 'FNM' array - - The flags are as follows: - -Array element Corresponding flag defined by 'fnmatch()' --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -'FNM["CASEFOLD"]' 'FNM_CASEFOLD' -'FNM["FILE_NAME"]' 'FNM_FILE_NAME' -'FNM["LEADING_DIR"]''FNM_LEADING_DIR' -'FNM["NOESCAPE"]' 'FNM_NOESCAPE' -'FNM["PATHNAME"]' 'FNM_PATHNAME' -'FNM["PERIOD"]' 'FNM_PERIOD' - - Here is an example: - - @load "fnmatch" - ... - flags = or(FNM["PERIOD"], FNM["NOESCAPE"]) - if (fnmatch("*.a", "foo.c", flags) == FNM_NOMATCH) - print "no match" - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Sample Fork, Next: Extension Sample Inplace, Prev: Extension Sample Fnmatch, Up: Extension Samples - -16.7.3 Interface to 'fork()', 'wait()', and 'waitpid()' -------------------------------------------------------- - -The 'fork' extension adds three functions, as follows: - -'@load "fork"' - This is how you load the extension. - -'pid = fork()' - This function creates a new process. The return value is zero in - the child and the process ID number of the child in the parent, or - -1 upon error. In the latter case, 'ERRNO' indicates the problem. - In the child, 'PROCINFO["pid"]' and 'PROCINFO["ppid"]' are updated - to reflect the correct values. - -'ret = waitpid(pid)' - This function takes a numeric argument, which is the process ID to - wait for. The return value is that of the 'waitpid()' system call. - -'ret = wait()' - This function waits for the first child to die. The return value - is that of the 'wait()' system call. - - There is no corresponding 'exec()' function. - - Here is an example: - - @load "fork" - ... - if ((pid = fork()) == 0) - print "hello from the child" - else - print "hello from the parent" - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Sample Inplace, Next: Extension Sample Ord, Prev: Extension Sample Fork, Up: Extension Samples - -16.7.4 Enabling In-Place File Editing -------------------------------------- - -The 'inplace' extension emulates GNU 'sed''s '-i' option, which performs -"in-place" editing of each input file. It uses the bundled -'inplace.awk' include file to invoke the extension properly: - - # inplace --- load and invoke the inplace extension. - - @load "inplace" - - # Please set INPLACE_SUFFIX to make a backup copy. For example, you may - # want to set INPLACE_SUFFIX to .bak on the command line or in a BEGIN rule. - - # By default, each filename on the command line will be edited inplace. - # But you can selectively disable this by adding an inplace=0 argument - # prior to files that you do not want to process this way. You can then - # reenable it later on the commandline by putting inplace=1 before files - # that you wish to be subject to inplace editing. - - # N.B. We call inplace_end() in the BEGINFILE and END rules so that any - # actions in an ENDFILE rule will be redirected as expected. - - BEGIN { - inplace = 1 # enabled by default - } - - BEGINFILE { - if (_inplace_filename != "") - inplace_end(_inplace_filename, INPLACE_SUFFIX) - if (inplace) - inplace_begin(_inplace_filename = FILENAME, INPLACE_SUFFIX) - else - _inplace_filename = "" - } - - END { - if (_inplace_filename != "") - inplace_end(_inplace_filename, INPLACE_SUFFIX) - } - - For each regular file that is processed, the extension redirects -standard output to a temporary file configured to have the same owner -and permissions as the original. After the file has been processed, the -extension restores standard output to its original destination. If -'INPLACE_SUFFIX' is not an empty string, the original file is linked to -a backup file name created by appending that suffix. Finally, the -temporary file is renamed to the original file name. - - Note that the use of this feature can be controlled by placing -'inplace=0' on the command-line prior to listing files that should not -be processed this way. You can reenable inplace editing by adding an -'inplace=1' argument prior to files that should be subject to inplace -editing. - - The '_inplace_filename' variable serves to keep track of the current -filename so as to not invoke 'inplace_end()' before processing the first -file. - - If any error occurs, the extension issues a fatal error to terminate -processing immediately without damaging the original file. - - Here are some simple examples: - - $ gawk -i inplace '{ gsub(/foo/, "bar") }; { print }' file1 file2 file3 - - To keep a backup copy of the original files, try this: - - $ gawk -i inplace -v INPLACE_SUFFIX=.bak '{ gsub(/foo/, "bar") } - > { print }' file1 file2 file3 - - Please note that, while the extension does attempt to preserve -ownership and permissions, it makes no attempt to copy the ACLs from the -original file. - - If the program dies prematurely, as might happen if an unhandled -signal is received, a temporary file may be left behind. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Sample Ord, Next: Extension Sample Readdir, Prev: Extension Sample Inplace, Up: Extension Samples - -16.7.5 Character and Numeric values: 'ord()' and 'chr()' --------------------------------------------------------- - -The 'ordchr' extension adds two functions, named 'ord()' and 'chr()', as -follows: - -'@load "ordchr"' - This is how you load the extension. - -'number = ord(string)' - Return the numeric value of the first character in 'string'. - -'char = chr(number)' - Return a string whose first character is that represented by - 'number'. - - These functions are inspired by the Pascal language functions of the -same name. Here is an example: - - @load "ordchr" - ... - printf("The numeric value of 'A' is %d\n", ord("A")) - printf("The string value of 65 is %s\n", chr(65)) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Sample Readdir, Next: Extension Sample Revout, Prev: Extension Sample Ord, Up: Extension Samples - -16.7.6 Reading Directories --------------------------- - -The 'readdir' extension adds an input parser for directories. The usage -is as follows: - - @load "readdir" - - When this extension is in use, instead of skipping directories named -on the command line (or with 'getline'), they are read, with each entry -returned as a record. - - The record consists of three fields. The first two are the inode -number and the file name, separated by a forward slash character. On -systems where the directory entry contains the file type, the record has -a third field (also separated by a slash), which is a single letter -indicating the type of the file. The letters and their corresponding -file types are shown in *note Table 16.3: table-readdir-file-types. - -Letter File type --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -'b' Block device -'c' Character device -'d' Directory -'f' Regular file -'l' Symbolic link -'p' Named pipe (FIFO) -'s' Socket -'u' Anything else (unknown) - -Table 16.3: File types returned by the 'readdir' extension - - On systems without the file type information, the third field is -always 'u'. - - NOTE: On GNU/Linux systems, there are filesystems that don't - support the 'd_type' entry (see the readdir(3) manual page), and so - the file type is always 'u'. You can use the 'filefuncs' extension - to call 'stat()' in order to get correct type information. - - Here is an example: - - @load "readdir" - ... - BEGIN { FS = "/" } - { print "file name is", $2 } - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Sample Revout, Next: Extension Sample Rev2way, Prev: Extension Sample Readdir, Up: Extension Samples - -16.7.7 Reversing Output ------------------------ - -The 'revoutput' extension adds a simple output wrapper that reverses the -characters in each output line. Its main purpose is to show how to -write an output wrapper, although it may be mildly amusing for the -unwary. Here is an example: - - @load "revoutput" - - BEGIN { - REVOUT = 1 - print "don't panic" > "/dev/stdout" - } - - The output from this program is 'cinap t'nod'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Sample Rev2way, Next: Extension Sample Read write array, Prev: Extension Sample Revout, Up: Extension Samples - -16.7.8 Two-Way I/O Example --------------------------- - -The 'revtwoway' extension adds a simple two-way processor that reverses -the characters in each line sent to it for reading back by the 'awk' -program. Its main purpose is to show how to write a two-way processor, -although it may also be mildly amusing. The following example shows how -to use it: - - @load "revtwoway" - - BEGIN { - cmd = "/magic/mirror" - print "don't panic" |& cmd - cmd |& getline result - print result - close(cmd) - } - - The output from this program is: 'cinap t'nod'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Sample Read write array, Next: Extension Sample Readfile, Prev: Extension Sample Rev2way, Up: Extension Samples - -16.7.9 Dumping and Restoring an Array -------------------------------------- - -The 'rwarray' extension adds two functions, named 'writea()' and -'reada()', as follows: - -'@load "rwarray"' - This is how you load the extension. - -'ret = writea(file, array)' - This function takes a string argument, which is the name of the - file to which to dump the array, and the array itself as the second - argument. 'writea()' understands arrays of arrays. It returns one - on success, or zero upon failure. - -'ret = reada(file, array)' - 'reada()' is the inverse of 'writea()'; it reads the file named as - its first argument, filling in the array named as the second - argument. It clears the array first. Here too, the return value - is one on success, or zero upon failure. - - The array created by 'reada()' is identical to that written by -'writea()' in the sense that the contents are the same. However, due to -implementation issues, the array traversal order of the re-created array -is likely to be different from that of the original array. As array -traversal order in 'awk' is by default undefined, this is (technically) -not a problem. If you need to guarantee a particular traversal order, -use the array sorting features in 'gawk' to do so (*note Array -Sorting::). - - The file contains binary data. All integral values are written in -network byte order. However, double-precision floating-point values are -written as native binary data. Thus, arrays containing only string data -can theoretically be dumped on systems with one byte order and restored -on systems with a different one, but this has not been tried. - - Here is an example: - - @load "rwarray" - ... - ret = writea("arraydump.bin", array) - ... - ret = reada("arraydump.bin", array) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Sample Readfile, Next: Extension Sample Time, Prev: Extension Sample Read write array, Up: Extension Samples - -16.7.10 Reading an Entire File ------------------------------- - -The 'readfile' extension adds a single function named 'readfile()', and -an input parser: - -'@load "readfile"' - This is how you load the extension. - -'result = readfile("/some/path")' - The argument is the name of the file to read. The return value is - a string containing the entire contents of the requested file. - Upon error, the function returns the empty string and sets 'ERRNO'. - -'BEGIN { PROCINFO["readfile"] = 1 }' - In addition, the extension adds an input parser that is activated - if 'PROCINFO["readfile"]' exists. When activated, each input file - is returned in its entirety as '$0'. 'RT' is set to the null - string. - - Here is an example: - - @load "readfile" - ... - contents = readfile("/path/to/file"); - if (contents == "" && ERRNO != "") { - print("problem reading file", ERRNO) > "/dev/stderr" - ... - } - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Sample Time, Next: Extension Sample API Tests, Prev: Extension Sample Readfile, Up: Extension Samples - -16.7.11 Extension Time Functions --------------------------------- - -The 'time' extension adds two functions, named 'gettimeofday()' and -'sleep()', as follows: - -'@load "time"' - This is how you load the extension. - -'the_time = gettimeofday()' - Return the time in seconds that has elapsed since 1970-01-01 UTC as - a floating-point value. If the time is unavailable on this - platform, return -1 and set 'ERRNO'. The returned time should have - sub-second precision, but the actual precision may vary based on - the platform. If the standard C 'gettimeofday()' system call is - available on this platform, then it simply returns the value. - Otherwise, if on MS-Windows, it tries to use - 'GetSystemTimeAsFileTime()'. - -'result = sleep(SECONDS)' - Attempt to sleep for SECONDS seconds. If SECONDS is negative, or - the attempt to sleep fails, return -1 and set 'ERRNO'. Otherwise, - return zero after sleeping for the indicated amount of time. Note - that SECONDS may be a floating-point (nonintegral) value. - Implementation details: depending on platform availability, this - function tries to use 'nanosleep()' or 'select()' to implement the - delay. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Sample API Tests, Prev: Extension Sample Time, Up: Extension Samples - -16.7.12 API Tests ------------------ - -The 'testext' extension exercises parts of the extension API that are -not tested by the other samples. The 'extension/testext.c' file -contains both the C code for the extension and 'awk' test code inside C -comments that run the tests. The testing framework extracts the 'awk' -code and runs the tests. See the source file for more information. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: gawkextlib, Next: Extension summary, Prev: Extension Samples, Up: Dynamic Extensions - -16.8 The 'gawkextlib' Project -============================= - -The 'gawkextlib' (http://sourceforge.net/projects/gawkextlib/) project -provides a number of 'gawk' extensions, including one for processing XML -files. This is the evolution of the original 'xgawk' (XML 'gawk') -project. - - As of this writing, there are seven extensions: - - * 'errno' extension - - * GD graphics library extension - - * MPFR library extension (this provides access to a number of MPFR - functions that 'gawk''s native MPFR support does not) - - * PDF extension - - * PostgreSQL extension - - * Redis extension - - * Select extension - - * XML parser extension, using the Expat - (http://expat.sourceforge.net) XML parsing library - - You can check out the code for the 'gawkextlib' project using the Git -(http://git-scm.com) distributed source code control system. The -command is as follows: - - git clone git://git.code.sf.net/p/gawkextlib/code gawkextlib-code - - You will need to have the Expat (http://expat.sourceforge.net) XML -parser library installed in order to build and use the XML extension. - - In addition, you must have the GNU Autotools installed (Autoconf -(http://www.gnu.org/software/autoconf), Automake -(http://www.gnu.org/software/automake), Libtool -(http://www.gnu.org/software/libtool), and GNU 'gettext' -(http://www.gnu.org/software/gettext)). - - The simple recipe for building and testing 'gawkextlib' is as -follows. First, build and install 'gawk': - - cd .../path/to/gawk/code - ./configure --prefix=/tmp/newgawk Install in /tmp/newgawk for now - make && make check Build and check that all is OK - make install Install gawk - - Next, go to to -download 'gawkextlib' and any extensions that you would like to build. -The 'README' file at that site explains how to build the code. If you -installed 'gawk' in a non-standard location, you will need to specify -'./configure --with-gawk=/PATH/TO/GAWK' to find it. You may need to use -the 'sudo' utility to install both 'gawk' and 'gawkextlib', depending -upon how your system works. - - If you write an extension that you wish to share with other 'gawk' -users, consider doing so through the 'gawkextlib' project. See the -project's website for more information. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension summary, Next: Extension Exercises, Prev: gawkextlib, Up: Dynamic Extensions - -16.9 Summary -============ - - * You can write extensions (sometimes called plug-ins) for 'gawk' in - C or C++ using the application programming interface (API) defined - by the 'gawk' developers. - - * Extensions must have a license compatible with the GNU General - Public License (GPL), and they must assert that fact by declaring a - variable named 'plugin_is_GPL_compatible'. - - * Communication between 'gawk' and an extension is two-way. 'gawk' - passes a 'struct' to the extension that contains various data - fields and function pointers. The extension can then call into - 'gawk' via the supplied function pointers to accomplish certain - tasks. - - * One of these tasks is to "register" the name and implementation of - new 'awk'-level functions with 'gawk'. The implementation takes - the form of a C function pointer with a defined signature. By - convention, implementation functions are named 'do_XXXX()' for some - 'awk'-level function 'XXXX()'. - - * The API is defined in a header file named 'gawkapi.h'. You must - include a number of standard header files _before_ including it in - your source file. - - * API function pointers are provided for the following kinds of - operations: - - * Allocating, reallocating, and releasing memory - - * Registration functions (you may register extension functions, - exit callbacks, a version string, input parsers, output - wrappers, and two-way processors) - - * Printing fatal, nonfatal, warning, and "lint" warning messages - - * Updating 'ERRNO', or unsetting it - - * Accessing parameters, including converting an undefined - parameter into an array - - * Symbol table access (retrieving a global variable, creating - one, or changing one) - - * Creating and releasing cached values; this provides an - efficient way to use values for multiple variables and can be - a big performance win - - * Manipulating arrays (retrieving, adding, deleting, and - modifying elements; getting the count of elements in an array; - creating a new array; clearing an array; and flattening an - array for easy C-style looping over all its indices and - elements) - - * The API defines a number of standard data types for representing - 'awk' values, array elements, and arrays. - - * The API provides convenience functions for constructing values. It - also provides memory management functions to ensure compatibility - between memory allocated by 'gawk' and memory allocated by an - extension. - - * _All_ memory passed from 'gawk' to an extension must be treated as - read-only by the extension. - - * _All_ memory passed from an extension to 'gawk' must come from the - API's memory allocation functions. 'gawk' takes responsibility for - the memory and releases it when appropriate. - - * The API provides information about the running version of 'gawk' so - that an extension can make sure it is compatible with the 'gawk' - that loaded it. - - * It is easiest to start a new extension by copying the boilerplate - code described in this major node. Macros in the 'gawkapi.h' - header file make this easier to do. - - * The 'gawk' distribution includes a number of small but useful - sample extensions. The 'gawkextlib' project includes several more - (larger) extensions. If you wish to write an extension and - contribute it to the community of 'gawk' users, the 'gawkextlib' - project is the place to do so. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Exercises, Prev: Extension summary, Up: Dynamic Extensions - -16.10 Exercises -=============== - - 1. Add functions to implement system calls such as 'chown()', - 'chmod()', and 'umask()' to the file operations extension presented - in *note Internal File Ops::. - - 2. Write an input parser that prints a prompt if the input is a from a - "terminal" device. You can use the 'isatty()' function to tell if - the input file is a terminal. (Hint: this function is usually - expensive to call; try to call it just once.) The content of the - prompt should come from a variable settable by 'awk'-level code. - You can write the prompt to standard error. However, for best - results, open a new file descriptor (or file pointer) on '/dev/tty' - and print the prompt there, in case standard error has been - redirected. - - Why is standard error a better choice than standard output for - writing the prompt? Which reading mechanism should you replace, - the one to get a record, or the one to read raw bytes? - - 3. (Hard.) How would you provide namespaces in 'gawk', so that the - names of functions in different extensions don't conflict with each - other? If you come up with a really good scheme, contact the - 'gawk' maintainer to tell him about it. - - 4. Write a wrapper script that provides an interface similar to 'sed - -i' for the "inplace" extension presented in *note Extension Sample - Inplace::. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Language History, Next: Installation, Prev: Dynamic Extensions, Up: Top - -Appendix A The Evolution of the 'awk' Language -********************************************** - -This Info file describes the GNU implementation of 'awk', which follows -the POSIX specification. Many longtime 'awk' users learned 'awk' -programming with the original 'awk' implementation in Version 7 Unix. -(This implementation was the basis for 'awk' in Berkeley Unix, through -4.3-Reno. Subsequent versions of Berkeley Unix, and, for a while, some -systems derived from 4.4BSD-Lite, used various versions of 'gawk' for -their 'awk'.) This major node briefly describes the evolution of the -'awk' language, with cross-references to other parts of the Info file -where you can find more information. - -* Menu: - -* V7/SVR3.1:: The major changes between V7 and System V - Release 3.1. -* SVR4:: Minor changes between System V Releases 3.1 - and 4. -* POSIX:: New features from the POSIX standard. -* BTL:: New features from Brian Kernighan's version of - 'awk'. -* POSIX/GNU:: The extensions in 'gawk' not in POSIX - 'awk'. -* Feature History:: The history of the features in 'gawk'. -* Common Extensions:: Common Extensions Summary. -* Ranges and Locales:: How locales used to affect regexp ranges. -* Contributors:: The major contributors to 'gawk'. -* History summary:: History summary. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: V7/SVR3.1, Next: SVR4, Up: Language History - -A.1 Major Changes Between V7 and SVR3.1 -======================================= - -The 'awk' language evolved considerably between the release of Version 7 -Unix (1978) and the new version that was first made generally available -in System V Release 3.1 (1987). This minor node summarizes the changes, -with cross-references to further details: - - * The requirement for ';' to separate rules on a line (*note - Statements/Lines::) - - * User-defined functions and the 'return' statement (*note - User-defined::) - - * The 'delete' statement (*note Delete::) - - * The 'do'-'while' statement (*note Do Statement::) - - * The built-in functions 'atan2()', 'cos()', 'sin()', 'rand()', and - 'srand()' (*note Numeric Functions::) - - * The built-in functions 'gsub()', 'sub()', and 'match()' (*note - String Functions::) - - * The built-in functions 'close()' and 'system()' (*note I/O - Functions::) - - * The 'ARGC', 'ARGV', 'FNR', 'RLENGTH', 'RSTART', and 'SUBSEP' - predefined variables (*note Built-in Variables::) - - * Assignable '$0' (*note Changing Fields::) - - * The conditional expression using the ternary operator '?:' (*note - Conditional Exp::) - - * The expression 'INDX in ARRAY' outside of 'for' statements (*note - Reference to Elements::) - - * The exponentiation operator '^' (*note Arithmetic Ops::) and its - assignment operator form '^=' (*note Assignment Ops::) - - * C-compatible operator precedence, which breaks some old 'awk' - programs (*note Precedence::) - - * Regexps as the value of 'FS' (*note Field Separators::) and as the - third argument to the 'split()' function (*note String - Functions::), rather than using only the first character of 'FS' - - * Dynamic regexps as operands of the '~' and '!~' operators (*note - Computed Regexps::) - - * The escape sequences '\b', '\f', and '\r' (*note Escape - Sequences::) - - * Redirection of input for the 'getline' function (*note Getline::) - - * Multiple 'BEGIN' and 'END' rules (*note BEGIN/END::) - - * Multidimensional arrays (*note Multidimensional::) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: SVR4, Next: POSIX, Prev: V7/SVR3.1, Up: Language History - -A.2 Changes Between SVR3.1 and SVR4 -=================================== - -The System V Release 4 (1989) version of Unix 'awk' added these features -(some of which originated in 'gawk'): - - * The 'ENVIRON' array (*note Built-in Variables::) - - * Multiple '-f' options on the command line (*note Options::) - - * The '-v' option for assigning variables before program execution - begins (*note Options::) - - * The '--' signal for terminating command-line options - - * The '\a', '\v', and '\x' escape sequences (*note Escape - Sequences::) - - * A defined return value for the 'srand()' built-in function (*note - Numeric Functions::) - - * The 'toupper()' and 'tolower()' built-in string functions for case - translation (*note String Functions::) - - * A cleaner specification for the '%c' format-control letter in the - 'printf' function (*note Control Letters::) - - * The ability to dynamically pass the field width and precision - ('"%*.*d"') in the argument list of 'printf' and 'sprintf()' (*note - Control Letters::) - - * The use of regexp constants, such as '/foo/', as expressions, where - they are equivalent to using the matching operator, as in '$0 ~ - /foo/' (*note Using Constant Regexps::) - - * Processing of escape sequences inside command-line variable - assignments (*note Assignment Options::) - - -File: gawk.info, Node: POSIX, Next: BTL, Prev: SVR4, Up: Language History - -A.3 Changes Between SVR4 and POSIX 'awk' -======================================== - -The POSIX Command Language and Utilities standard for 'awk' (1992) -introduced the following changes into the language: - - * The use of '-W' for implementation-specific options (*note - Options::) - - * The use of 'CONVFMT' for controlling the conversion of numbers to - strings (*note Conversion::) - - * The concept of a numeric string and tighter comparison rules to go - with it (*note Typing and Comparison::) - - * The use of predefined variables as function parameter names is - forbidden (*note Definition Syntax::) - - * More complete documentation of many of the previously undocumented - features of the language - - In 2012, a number of extensions that had been commonly available for -many years were finally added to POSIX. They are: - - * The 'fflush()' built-in function for flushing buffered output - (*note I/O Functions::) - - * The 'nextfile' statement (*note Nextfile Statement::) - - * The ability to delete all of an array at once with 'delete ARRAY' - (*note Delete::) - - *Note Common Extensions:: for a list of common extensions not -permitted by the POSIX standard. - - The 2008 POSIX standard can be found online at -. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: BTL, Next: POSIX/GNU, Prev: POSIX, Up: Language History - -A.4 Extensions in Brian Kernighan's 'awk' -========================================= - -Brian Kernighan has made his version available via his home page (*note -Other Versions::). - - This minor node describes common extensions that originally appeared -in his version of 'awk': - - * The '**' and '**=' operators (*note Arithmetic Ops:: and *note - Assignment Ops::) - - * The use of 'func' as an abbreviation for 'function' (*note - Definition Syntax::) - - * The 'fflush()' built-in function for flushing buffered output - (*note I/O Functions::) - - *Note Common Extensions:: for a full list of the extensions available -in his 'awk'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: POSIX/GNU, Next: Feature History, Prev: BTL, Up: Language History - -A.5 Extensions in 'gawk' Not in POSIX 'awk' -=========================================== - -The GNU implementation, 'gawk', adds a large number of features. They -can all be disabled with either the '--traditional' or '--posix' options -(*note Options::). - - A number of features have come and gone over the years. This minor -node summarizes the additional features over POSIX 'awk' that are in the -current version of 'gawk'. - - * Additional predefined variables: - - - The 'ARGIND', 'BINMODE', 'ERRNO', 'FIELDWIDTHS', 'FPAT', - 'IGNORECASE', 'LINT', 'PROCINFO', 'RT', and 'TEXTDOMAIN' - variables (*note Built-in Variables::) - - * Special files in I/O redirections: - - - The '/dev/stdin', '/dev/stdout', '/dev/stderr', and - '/dev/fd/N' special file names (*note Special Files::) - - - The '/inet', '/inet4', and '/inet6' special files for TCP/IP - networking using '|&' to specify which version of the IP - protocol to use (*note TCP/IP Networking::) - - * Changes and/or additions to the language: - - - The '\x' escape sequence (*note Escape Sequences::) - - - Full support for both POSIX and GNU regexps (*note Regexp::) - - - The ability for 'FS' and for the third argument to 'split()' - to be null strings (*note Single Character Fields::) - - - The ability for 'RS' to be a regexp (*note Records::) - - - The ability to use octal and hexadecimal constants in 'awk' - program source code (*note Nondecimal-numbers::) - - - The '|&' operator for two-way I/O to a coprocess (*note - Two-way I/O::) - - - Indirect function calls (*note Indirect Calls::) - - - Directories on the command line produce a warning and are - skipped (*note Command-line directories::) - - - Output with 'print' and 'printf' need not be fatal (*note - Nonfatal::) - - * New keywords: - - - The 'BEGINFILE' and 'ENDFILE' special patterns (*note - BEGINFILE/ENDFILE::) - - - The 'switch' statement (*note Switch Statement::) - - * Changes to standard 'awk' functions: - - - The optional second argument to 'close()' that allows closing - one end of a two-way pipe to a coprocess (*note Two-way I/O::) - - - POSIX compliance for 'gsub()' and 'sub()' with '--posix' - - - The 'length()' function accepts an array argument and returns - the number of elements in the array (*note String Functions::) - - - The optional third argument to the 'match()' function for - capturing text-matching subexpressions within a regexp (*note - String Functions::) - - - Positional specifiers in 'printf' formats for making - translations easier (*note Printf Ordering::) - - - The 'split()' function's additional optional fourth argument, - which is an array to hold the text of the field separators - (*note String Functions::) - - * Additional functions only in 'gawk': - - - The 'gensub()', 'patsplit()', and 'strtonum()' functions for - more powerful text manipulation (*note String Functions::) - - - The 'asort()' and 'asorti()' functions for sorting arrays - (*note Array Sorting::) - - - The 'mktime()', 'systime()', and 'strftime()' functions for - working with timestamps (*note Time Functions::) - - - The 'and()', 'compl()', 'lshift()', 'or()', 'rshift()', and - 'xor()' functions for bit manipulation (*note Bitwise - Functions::) - - - The 'isarray()' function to check if a variable is an array or - not (*note Type Functions::) - - - The 'bindtextdomain()', 'dcgettext()', and 'dcngettext()' - functions for internationalization (*note Programmer i18n::) - - - The 'intdiv()' function for doing integer division and - remainder (*note Numeric Functions::) - - * Changes and/or additions in the command-line options: - - - The 'AWKPATH' environment variable for specifying a path - search for the '-f' command-line option (*note Options::) - - - The 'AWKLIBPATH' environment variable for specifying a path - search for the '-l' command-line option (*note Options::) - - - The '-b', '-c', '-C', '-d', '-D', '-e', '-E', '-g', '-h', - '-i', '-l', '-L', '-M', '-n', '-N', '-o', '-O', '-p', '-P', - '-r', '-s', '-S', '-t', and '-V' short options. Also, the - ability to use GNU-style long-named options that start with - '--', and the '--assign', '--bignum', '--characters-as-bytes', - '--copyright', '--debug', '--dump-variables', '--exec', - '--field-separator', '--file', '--gen-pot', '--help', - '--include', '--lint', '--lint-old', '--load', - '--non-decimal-data', '--optimize', '--no-optimize', - '--posix', '--pretty-print', '--profile', '--re-interval', - '--sandbox', '--source', '--traditional', '--use-lc-numeric', - and '--version' long options (*note Options::). - - * Support for the following obsolete systems was removed from the - code and the documentation for 'gawk' version 4.0: - - - Amiga - - - Atari - - - BeOS - - - Cray - - - MIPS RiscOS - - - MS-DOS with the Microsoft Compiler - - - MS-Windows with the Microsoft Compiler - - - NeXT - - - SunOS 3.x, Sun 386 (Road Runner) - - - Tandem (non-POSIX) - - - Prestandard VAX C compiler for VAX/VMS - - - GCC for VAX and Alpha has not been tested for a while. - - * Support for the following obsolete system was removed from the code - for 'gawk' version 4.1: - - - Ultrix - - * Support for the following systems was removed from the code for - 'gawk' version 4.2: - - - MirBSD - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Feature History, Next: Common Extensions, Prev: POSIX/GNU, Up: Language History - -A.6 History of 'gawk' Features -============================== - -This minor node describes the features in 'gawk' over and above those in -POSIX 'awk', in the order they were added to 'gawk'. - - Version 2.10 of 'gawk' introduced the following features: - - * The 'AWKPATH' environment variable for specifying a path search for - the '-f' command-line option (*note Options::). - - * The 'IGNORECASE' variable and its effects (*note - Case-sensitivity::). - - * The '/dev/stdin', '/dev/stdout', '/dev/stderr' and '/dev/fd/N' - special file names (*note Special Files::). - - Version 2.13 of 'gawk' introduced the following features: - - * The 'FIELDWIDTHS' variable and its effects (*note Constant Size::). - - * The 'systime()' and 'strftime()' built-in functions for obtaining - and printing timestamps (*note Time Functions::). - - * Additional command-line options (*note Options::): - - - The '-W lint' option to provide error and portability checking - for both the source code and at runtime. - - - The '-W compat' option to turn off the GNU extensions. - - - The '-W posix' option for full POSIX compliance. - - Version 2.14 of 'gawk' introduced the following feature: - - * The 'next file' statement for skipping to the next data file (*note - Nextfile Statement::). - - Version 2.15 of 'gawk' introduced the following features: - - * New variables (*note Built-in Variables::): - - - 'ARGIND', which tracks the movement of 'FILENAME' through - 'ARGV'. - - - 'ERRNO', which contains the system error message when - 'getline' returns -1 or 'close()' fails. - - * The '/dev/pid', '/dev/ppid', '/dev/pgrpid', and '/dev/user' special - file names. These have since been removed. - - * The ability to delete all of an array at once with 'delete ARRAY' - (*note Delete::). - - * Command-line option changes (*note Options::): - - - The ability to use GNU-style long-named options that start - with '--'. - - - The '--source' option for mixing command-line and library-file - source code. - - Version 3.0 of 'gawk' introduced the following features: - - * New or changed variables: - - - 'IGNORECASE' changed, now applying to string comparison as - well as regexp operations (*note Case-sensitivity::). - - - 'RT', which contains the input text that matched 'RS' (*note - Records::). - - * Full support for both POSIX and GNU regexps (*note Regexp::). - - * The 'gensub()' function for more powerful text manipulation (*note - String Functions::). - - * The 'strftime()' function acquired a default time format, allowing - it to be called with no arguments (*note Time Functions::). - - * The ability for 'FS' and for the third argument to 'split()' to be - null strings (*note Single Character Fields::). - - * The ability for 'RS' to be a regexp (*note Records::). - - * The 'next file' statement became 'nextfile' (*note Nextfile - Statement::). - - * The 'fflush()' function from BWK 'awk' (then at Bell Laboratories; - *note I/O Functions::). - - * New command-line options: - - - The '--lint-old' option to warn about constructs that are not - available in the original Version 7 Unix version of 'awk' - (*note V7/SVR3.1::). - - - The '-m' option from BWK 'awk'. (Brian was still at Bell - Laboratories at the time.) This was later removed from both - his 'awk' and from 'gawk'. - - - The '--re-interval' option to provide interval expressions in - regexps (*note Regexp Operators::). - - - The '--traditional' option was added as a better name for - '--compat' (*note Options::). - - * The use of GNU Autoconf to control the configuration process (*note - Quick Installation::). - - * Amiga support. This has since been removed. - - Version 3.1 of 'gawk' introduced the following features: - - * New variables (*note Built-in Variables::): - - - 'BINMODE', for non-POSIX systems, which allows binary I/O for - input and/or output files (*note PC Using::). - - - 'LINT', which dynamically controls lint warnings. - - - 'PROCINFO', an array for providing process-related - information. - - - 'TEXTDOMAIN', for setting an application's - internationalization text domain (*note - Internationalization::). - - * The ability to use octal and hexadecimal constants in 'awk' program - source code (*note Nondecimal-numbers::). - - * The '|&' operator for two-way I/O to a coprocess (*note Two-way - I/O::). - - * The '/inet' special files for TCP/IP networking using '|&' (*note - TCP/IP Networking::). - - * The optional second argument to 'close()' that allows closing one - end of a two-way pipe to a coprocess (*note Two-way I/O::). - - * The optional third argument to the 'match()' function for capturing - text-matching subexpressions within a regexp (*note String - Functions::). - - * Positional specifiers in 'printf' formats for making translations - easier (*note Printf Ordering::). - - * A number of new built-in functions: - - - The 'asort()' and 'asorti()' functions for sorting arrays - (*note Array Sorting::). - - - The 'bindtextdomain()', 'dcgettext()' and 'dcngettext()' - functions for internationalization (*note Programmer i18n::). - - - The 'extension()' function and the ability to add new built-in - functions dynamically (*note Dynamic Extensions::). - - - The 'mktime()' function for creating timestamps (*note Time - Functions::). - - - The 'and()', 'or()', 'xor()', 'compl()', 'lshift()', - 'rshift()', and 'strtonum()' functions (*note Bitwise - Functions::). - - * The support for 'next file' as two words was removed completely - (*note Nextfile Statement::). - - * Additional command-line options (*note Options::): - - - The '--dump-variables' option to print a list of all global - variables. - - - The '--exec' option, for use in CGI scripts. - - - The '--gen-po' command-line option and the use of a leading - underscore to mark strings that should be translated (*note - String Extraction::). - - - The '--non-decimal-data' option to allow non-decimal input - data (*note Nondecimal Data::). - - - The '--profile' option and 'pgawk', the profiling version of - 'gawk', for producing execution profiles of 'awk' programs - (*note Profiling::). - - - The '--use-lc-numeric' option to force 'gawk' to use the - locale's decimal point for parsing input data (*note - Conversion::). - - * The use of GNU Automake to help in standardizing the configuration - process (*note Quick Installation::). - - * The use of GNU 'gettext' for 'gawk''s own message output (*note - Gawk I18N::). - - * BeOS support. This was later removed. - - * Tandem support. This was later removed. - - * The Atari port became officially unsupported and was later removed - entirely. - - * The source code changed to use ISO C standard-style function - definitions. - - * POSIX compliance for 'sub()' and 'gsub()' (*note Gory Details::). - - * The 'length()' function was extended to accept an array argument - and return the number of elements in the array (*note String - Functions::). - - * The 'strftime()' function acquired a third argument to enable - printing times as UTC (*note Time Functions::). - - Version 4.0 of 'gawk' introduced the following features: - - * Variable additions: - - - 'FPAT', which allows you to specify a regexp that matches the - fields, instead of matching the field separator (*note - Splitting By Content::). - - - If 'PROCINFO["sorted_in"]' exists, 'for(iggy in foo)' loops - sort the indices before looping over them. The value of this - element provides control over how the indices are sorted - before the loop traversal starts (*note Controlling - Scanning::). - - - 'PROCINFO["strftime"]', which holds the default format for - 'strftime()' (*note Time Functions::). - - * The special files '/dev/pid', '/dev/ppid', '/dev/pgrpid' and - '/dev/user' were removed. - - * Support for IPv6 was added via the '/inet6' special file. '/inet4' - forces IPv4 and '/inet' chooses the system default, which is - probably IPv4 (*note TCP/IP Networking::). - - * The use of '\s' and '\S' escape sequences in regular expressions - (*note GNU Regexp Operators::). - - * Interval expressions became part of default regular expressions - (*note Regexp Operators::). - - * POSIX character classes work even with '--traditional' (*note - Regexp Operators::). - - * 'break' and 'continue' became invalid outside a loop, even with - '--traditional' (*note Break Statement::, and also see *note - Continue Statement::). - - * 'fflush()', 'nextfile', and 'delete ARRAY' are allowed if '--posix' - or '--traditional', since they are all now part of POSIX. - - * An optional third argument to 'asort()' and 'asorti()', specifying - how to sort (*note String Functions::). - - * The behavior of 'fflush()' changed to match BWK 'awk' and for - POSIX; now both 'fflush()' and 'fflush("")' flush all open output - redirections (*note I/O Functions::). - - * The 'isarray()' function which distinguishes if an item is an array - or not, to make it possible to traverse arrays of arrays (*note - Type Functions::). - - * The 'patsplit()' function which gives the same capability as - 'FPAT', for splitting (*note String Functions::). - - * An optional fourth argument to the 'split()' function, which is an - array to hold the values of the separators (*note String - Functions::). - - * Arrays of arrays (*note Arrays of Arrays::). - - * The 'BEGINFILE' and 'ENDFILE' special patterns (*note - BEGINFILE/ENDFILE::). - - * Indirect function calls (*note Indirect Calls::). - - * 'switch' / 'case' are enabled by default (*note Switch - Statement::). - - * Command-line option changes (*note Options::): - - - The '-b' and '--characters-as-bytes' options which prevent - 'gawk' from treating input as a multibyte string. - - - The redundant '--compat', '--copyleft', and '--usage' long - options were removed. - - - The '--gen-po' option was finally renamed to the correct - '--gen-pot'. - - - The '--sandbox' option which disables certain features. - - - All long options acquired corresponding short options, for use - in '#!' scripts. - - * Directories named on the command line now produce a warning, not a - fatal error, unless '--posix' or '--traditional' are used (*note - Command-line directories::). - - * The 'gawk' internals were rewritten, bringing the 'dgawk' debugger - and possibly improved performance (*note Debugger::). - - * Per the GNU Coding Standards, dynamic extensions must now define a - global symbol indicating that they are GPL-compatible (*note Plugin - License::). - - * In POSIX mode, string comparisons use 'strcoll()' / 'wcscoll()' - (*note POSIX String Comparison::). - - * The option for raw sockets was removed, since it was never - implemented (*note TCP/IP Networking::). - - * Ranges of the form '[d-h]' are treated as if they were in the C - locale, no matter what kind of regexp is being used, and even if - '--posix' (*note Ranges and Locales::). - - * Support was removed for the following systems: - - - Atari - - - Amiga - - - BeOS - - - Cray - - - MIPS RiscOS - - - MS-DOS with Microsoft Compiler - - - MS-Windows with Microsoft Compiler - - - NeXT - - - SunOS 3.x, Sun 386 (Road Runner) - - - Tandem (non-POSIX) - - - Prestandard VAX C compiler for VAX/VMS - - Version 4.1 of 'gawk' introduced the following features: - - * Three new arrays: 'SYMTAB', 'FUNCTAB', and - 'PROCINFO["identifiers"]' (*note Auto-set::). - - * The three executables 'gawk', 'pgawk', and 'dgawk', were merged - into one, named just 'gawk'. As a result the command-line options - changed. - - * Command-line option changes (*note Options::): - - - The '-D' option invokes the debugger. - - - The '-i' and '--include' options load 'awk' library files. - - - The '-l' and '--load' options load compiled dynamic - extensions. - - - The '-M' and '--bignum' options enable MPFR. - - - The '-o' option only does pretty-printing. - - - The '-p' option is used for profiling. - - - The '-R' option was removed. - - * Support for high precision arithmetic with MPFR (*note Arbitrary - Precision Arithmetic::). - - * The 'and()', 'or()' and 'xor()' functions changed to allow any - number of arguments, with a minimum of two (*note Bitwise - Functions::). - - * The dynamic extension interface was completely redone (*note - Dynamic Extensions::). - - * Redirected 'getline' became allowed inside 'BEGINFILE' and - 'ENDFILE' (*note BEGINFILE/ENDFILE::). - - * The 'where' command was added to the debugger (*note Execution - Stack::). - - * Support for Ultrix was removed. - - Version 4.2 introduced the following changes: - - * Changes to 'ENVIRON' are reflected into 'gawk''s environment and - that of programs that it runs. *Note Auto-set::. - - * The '--pretty-print' option no longer runs the 'awk' program too. - *Note Options::. - - * The 'igawk' program and its manual page are no longer installed - when 'gawk' is built. *Note Igawk Program::. - - * The 'intdiv()' function. *Note Numeric Functions::. - - * The maximum number of hexadecimal digits in '\x' escapes is now - two. *Note Escape Sequences::. - - * Nonfatal output with 'print' and 'printf'. *Note Nonfatal::. - - * For many years, POSIX specified that default field splitting only - allowed spaces and tabs to separate fields, and this was how 'gawk' - behaved with '--posix'. As of 2013, the standard restored - historical behavior, and now default field splitting with '--posix' - also allows newlines to separate fields. - - * Support for MirBSD was removed. - - * Support for GNU/Linux on Alpha was removed. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Common Extensions, Next: Ranges and Locales, Prev: Feature History, Up: Language History - -A.7 Common Extensions Summary -============================= - -The following table summarizes the common extensions supported by -'gawk', Brian Kernighan's 'awk', and 'mawk', the three most widely used -freely available versions of 'awk' (*note Other Versions::). - -Feature BWK 'awk' 'mawk' 'gawk' Now standard --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -'\x' escape sequence X X X -'FS' as null string X X X -'/dev/stdin' special file X X X -'/dev/stdout' special file X X X -'/dev/stderr' special file X X X -'delete' without subscript X X X X -'fflush()' function X X X X -'length()' of an array X X X -'nextfile' statement X X X X -'**' and '**=' operators X X -'func' keyword X X -'BINMODE' variable X X -'RS' as regexp X X -Time-related functions X X - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Ranges and Locales, Next: Contributors, Prev: Common Extensions, Up: Language History - -A.8 Regexp Ranges and Locales: A Long Sad Story -=============================================== - -This minor node describes the confusing history of ranges within regular -expressions and their interactions with locales, and how this affected -different versions of 'gawk'. - - The original Unix tools that worked with regular expressions defined -character ranges (such as '[a-z]') to match any character between the -first character in the range and the last character in the range, -inclusive. Ordering was based on the numeric value of each character in -the machine's native character set. Thus, on ASCII-based systems, -'[a-z]' matched all the lowercase letters, and only the lowercase -letters, as the numeric values for the letters from 'a' through 'z' were -contiguous. (On an EBCDIC system, the range '[a-z]' includes additional -nonalphabetic characters as well.) - - Almost all introductory Unix literature explained range expressions -as working in this fashion, and in particular, would teach that the -"correct" way to match lowercase letters was with '[a-z]', and that -'[A-Z]' was the "correct" way to match uppercase letters. And indeed, -this was true.(1) - - The 1992 POSIX standard introduced the idea of locales (*note -Locales::). Because many locales include other letters besides the -plain 26 letters of the English alphabet, the POSIX standard added -character classes (*note Bracket Expressions::) as a way to match -different kinds of characters besides the traditional ones in the ASCII -character set. - - However, the standard _changed_ the interpretation of range -expressions. In the '"C"' and '"POSIX"' locales, a range expression -like '[a-dx-z]' is still equivalent to '[abcdxyz]', as in ASCII. But -outside those locales, the ordering was defined to be based on -"collation order". - - What does that mean? In many locales, 'A' and 'a' are both less than -'B'. In other words, these locales sort characters in dictionary order, -and '[a-dx-z]' is typically not equivalent to '[abcdxyz]'; instead, it -might be equivalent to '[ABCXYabcdxyz]', for example. - - This point needs to be emphasized: much literature teaches that you -should use '[a-z]' to match a lowercase character. But on systems with -non-ASCII locales, this also matches all of the uppercase characters -except 'A' or 'Z'! This was a continuous cause of confusion, even well -into the twenty-first century. - - To demonstrate these issues, the following example uses the 'sub()' -function, which does text replacement (*note String Functions::). Here, -the intent is to remove trailing uppercase characters: - - $ echo something1234abc | gawk-3.1.8 '{ sub("[A-Z]*$", ""); print }' - -| something1234a - -This output is unexpected, as the 'bc' at the end of 'something1234abc' -should not normally match '[A-Z]*'. This result is due to the locale -setting (and thus you may not see it on your system). - - Similar considerations apply to other ranges. For example, '["-/]' -is perfectly valid in ASCII, but is not valid in many Unicode locales, -such as 'en_US.UTF-8'. - - Early versions of 'gawk' used regexp matching code that was not -locale-aware, so ranges had their traditional interpretation. - - When 'gawk' switched to using locale-aware regexp matchers, the -problems began; especially as both GNU/Linux and commercial Unix vendors -started implementing non-ASCII locales, _and making them the default_. -Perhaps the most frequently asked question became something like, "Why -does '[A-Z]' match lowercase letters?!?" - - This situation existed for close to 10 years, if not more, and the -'gawk' maintainer grew weary of trying to explain that 'gawk' was being -nicely standards-compliant, and that the issue was in the user's locale. -During the development of version 4.0, he modified 'gawk' to always -treat ranges in the original, pre-POSIX fashion, unless '--posix' was -used (*note Options::).(2) - - Fortunately, shortly before the final release of 'gawk' 4.0, the -maintainer learned that the 2008 standard had changed the definition of -ranges, such that outside the '"C"' and '"POSIX"' locales, the meaning -of range expressions was _undefined_.(3) - - By using this lovely technical term, the standard gives license to -implementers to implement ranges in whatever way they choose. The -'gawk' maintainer chose to apply the pre-POSIX meaning both with the -default regexp matching and when '--traditional' or '--posix' are used. -In all cases 'gawk' remains POSIX-compliant. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) And Life was good. - - (2) And thus was born the Campaign for Rational Range Interpretation -(or RRI). A number of GNU tools have already implemented this change, or -will soon. Thanks to Karl Berry for coining the phrase "Rational Range -Interpretation." - - (3) See the standard -(http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/basedefs/V1_chap09.html#tag_09_03_05) -and its rationale -(http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/xrat/V4_xbd_chap09.html#tag_21_09_03_05). - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Contributors, Next: History summary, Prev: Ranges and Locales, Up: Language History - -A.9 Major Contributors to 'gawk' -================================ - - Always give credit where credit is due. - -- _Anonymous_ - - This minor node names the major contributors to 'gawk' and/or this -Info file, in approximate chronological order: - - * Dr. Alfred V. Aho, Dr. Peter J. Weinberger, and Dr. Brian W. - Kernighan, all of Bell Laboratories, designed and implemented Unix - 'awk', from which 'gawk' gets the majority of its feature set. - - * Paul Rubin did the initial design and implementation in 1986, and - wrote the first draft (around 40 pages) of this Info file. - - * Jay Fenlason finished the initial implementation. - - * Diane Close revised the first draft of this Info file, bringing it - to around 90 pages. - - * Richard Stallman helped finish the implementation and the initial - draft of this Info file. He is also the founder of the FSF and the - GNU Project. - - * John Woods contributed parts of the code (mostly fixes) in the - initial version of 'gawk'. - - * In 1988, David Trueman took over primary maintenance of 'gawk', - making it compatible with "new" 'awk', and greatly improving its - performance. - - * Conrad Kwok, Scott Garfinkle, and Kent Williams did the initial - ports to MS-DOS with various versions of MSC. - - * Pat Rankin provided the VMS port and its documentation. - - * Hal Peterson provided help in porting 'gawk' to Cray systems. - (This is no longer supported.) - - * Kai Uwe Rommel provided the initial port to OS/2 and its - documentation. - - * Michal Jaegermann provided the port to Atari systems and its - documentation. (This port is no longer supported.) He continues - to provide portability checking, and has done a lot of work to make - sure 'gawk' works on non-32-bit systems. - - * Fred Fish provided the port to Amiga systems and its documentation. - (With Fred's sad passing, this is no longer supported.) - - * Scott Deifik maintained the MS-DOS port using DJGPP. - - * Eli Zaretskii currently maintains the MS-Windows port using MinGW. - - * Juan Grigera provided a port to Windows32 systems. (This is no - longer supported.) - - * For many years, Dr. Darrel Hankerson acted as coordinator for the - various ports to different PC platforms and created binary - distributions for various PC operating systems. He was also - instrumental in keeping the documentation up to date for the - various PC platforms. - - * Christos Zoulas provided the 'extension()' built-in function for - dynamically adding new functions. (This was obsoleted at 'gawk' - 4.1.) - - * Ju"rgen Kahrs contributed the initial version of the TCP/IP - networking code and documentation, and motivated the inclusion of - the '|&' operator. - - * Stephen Davies provided the initial port to Tandem systems and its - documentation. (However, this is no longer supported.) He was - also instrumental in the initial work to integrate the byte-code - internals into the 'gawk' code base. - - * Matthew Woehlke provided improvements for Tandem's POSIX-compliant - systems. - - * Martin Brown provided the port to BeOS and its documentation. - (This is no longer supported.) - - * Arno Peters did the initial work to convert 'gawk' to use GNU - Automake and GNU 'gettext'. - - * Alan J. Broder provided the initial version of the 'asort()' - function as well as the code for the optional third argument to the - 'match()' function. - - * Andreas Buening updated the 'gawk' port for OS/2. - - * Isamu Hasegawa, of IBM in Japan, contributed support for multibyte - characters. - - * Michael Benzinger contributed the initial code for 'switch' - statements. - - * Patrick T.J. McPhee contributed the code for dynamic loading in - Windows32 environments. (This is no longer supported.) - - * Anders Wallin helped keep the VMS port going for several years. - - * Assaf Gordon contributed the code to implement the '--sandbox' - option. - - * John Haque made the following contributions: - - - The modifications to convert 'gawk' into a byte-code - interpreter, including the debugger - - - The addition of true arrays of arrays - - - The additional modifications for support of - arbitrary-precision arithmetic - - - The initial text of *note Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic:: - - - The work to merge the three versions of 'gawk' into one, for - the 4.1 release - - - Improved array internals for arrays indexed by integers - - - The improved array sorting features were also driven by John, - together with Pat Rankin - - * Panos Papadopoulos contributed the original text for *note Include - Files::. - - * Efraim Yawitz contributed the original text for *note Debugger::. - - * The development of the extension API first released with 'gawk' 4.1 - was driven primarily by Arnold Robbins and Andrew Schorr, with - notable contributions from the rest of the development team. - - * John Malmberg contributed significant improvements to the OpenVMS - port and the related documentation. - - * Antonio Giovanni Colombo rewrote a number of examples in the early - chapters that were severely dated, for which I am incredibly - grateful. - - * Arnold Robbins has been working on 'gawk' since 1988, at first - helping David Trueman, and as the primary maintainer since around - 1994. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: History summary, Prev: Contributors, Up: Language History - -A.10 Summary -============ - - * The 'awk' language has evolved over time. The first release was - with V7 Unix, circa 1978. In 1987, for System V Release 3.1, major - additions, including user-defined functions, were made to the - language. Additional changes were made for System V Release 4, in - 1989. Since then, further minor changes have happened under the - auspices of the POSIX standard. - - * Brian Kernighan's 'awk' provides a small number of extensions that - are implemented in common with other versions of 'awk'. - - * 'gawk' provides a large number of extensions over POSIX 'awk'. - They can be disabled with either the '--traditional' or '--posix' - options. - - * The interaction of POSIX locales and regexp matching in 'gawk' has - been confusing over the years. Today, 'gawk' implements Rational - Range Interpretation, where ranges of the form '[a-z]' match _only_ - the characters numerically between 'a' through 'z' in the machine's - native character set. Usually this is ASCII, but it can be EBCDIC - on IBM S/390 systems. - - * Many people have contributed to 'gawk' development over the years. - We hope that the list provided in this major node is complete and - gives the appropriate credit where credit is due. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Installation, Next: Notes, Prev: Language History, Up: Top - -Appendix B Installing 'gawk' -**************************** - -This appendix provides instructions for installing 'gawk' on the various -platforms that are supported by the developers. The primary developer -supports GNU/Linux (and Unix), whereas the other ports are contributed. -*Note Bugs:: for the email addresses of the people who maintain the -respective ports. - -* Menu: - -* Gawk Distribution:: What is in the 'gawk' distribution. -* Unix Installation:: Installing 'gawk' under various - versions of Unix. -* Non-Unix Installation:: Installation on Other Operating Systems. -* Bugs:: Reporting Problems and Bugs. -* Other Versions:: Other freely available 'awk' - implementations. -* Installation summary:: Summary of installation. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Gawk Distribution, Next: Unix Installation, Up: Installation - -B.1 The 'gawk' Distribution -=========================== - -This minor node describes how to get the 'gawk' distribution, how to -extract it, and then what is in the various files and subdirectories. - -* Menu: - -* Getting:: How to get the distribution. -* Extracting:: How to extract the distribution. -* Distribution contents:: What is in the distribution. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Getting, Next: Extracting, Up: Gawk Distribution - -B.1.1 Getting the 'gawk' Distribution -------------------------------------- - -There are two ways to get GNU software: - - * Copy it from someone else who already has it. - - * Retrieve 'gawk' from the Internet host 'ftp.gnu.org', in the - directory '/gnu/gawk'. Both anonymous 'ftp' and 'http' access are - supported. If you have the 'wget' program, you can use a command - like the following: - - wget http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gawk/gawk-4.1.4.tar.gz - - The GNU software archive is mirrored around the world. The -up-to-date list of mirror sites is available from the main FSF website -(http://www.gnu.org/order/ftp.html). Try to use one of the mirrors; -they will be less busy, and you can usually find one closer to your -site. - - You may also retrieve the 'gawk' source code from the official Git -repository; for more information see *note Accessing The Source::. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extracting, Next: Distribution contents, Prev: Getting, Up: Gawk Distribution - -B.1.2 Extracting the Distribution ---------------------------------- - -'gawk' is distributed as several 'tar' files compressed with different -compression programs: 'gzip', 'bzip2', and 'xz'. For simplicity, the -rest of these instructions assume you are using the one compressed with -the GNU Gzip program ('gzip'). - - Once you have the distribution (e.g., 'gawk-4.1.4.tar.gz'), use -'gzip' to expand the file and then use 'tar' to extract it. You can use -the following pipeline to produce the 'gawk' distribution: - - gzip -d -c gawk-4.1.4.tar.gz | tar -xvpf - - - On a system with GNU 'tar', you can let 'tar' do the decompression -for you: - - tar -xvpzf gawk-4.1.4.tar.gz - -Extracting the archive creates a directory named 'gawk-4.1.4' in the -current directory. - - The distribution file name is of the form 'gawk-V.R.P.tar.gz'. The V -represents the major version of 'gawk', the R represents the current -release of version V, and the P represents a "patch level", meaning that -minor bugs have been fixed in the release. The current patch level is -4, but when retrieving distributions, you should get the version with -the highest version, release, and patch level. (Note, however, that -patch levels greater than or equal to 70 denote "beta" or nonproduction -software; you might not want to retrieve such a version unless you don't -mind experimenting.) If you are not on a Unix or GNU/Linux system, you -need to make other arrangements for getting and extracting the 'gawk' -distribution. You should consult a local expert. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Distribution contents, Prev: Extracting, Up: Gawk Distribution - -B.1.3 Contents of the 'gawk' Distribution ------------------------------------------ - -The 'gawk' distribution has a number of C source files, documentation -files, subdirectories, and files related to the configuration process -(*note Unix Installation::), as well as several subdirectories related -to different non-Unix operating systems: - -Various '.c', '.y', and '.h' files - These files contain the actual 'gawk' source code. - -'ABOUT-NLS' - A file containing information about GNU 'gettext' and translations. - -'AUTHORS' - A file with some information about the authorship of 'gawk'. It - exists only to satisfy the pedants at the Free Software Foundation. - -'README' -'README_d/README.*' - Descriptive files: 'README' for 'gawk' under Unix and the rest for - the various hardware and software combinations. - -'INSTALL' - A file providing an overview of the configuration and installation - process. - -'ChangeLog' - A detailed list of source code changes as bugs are fixed or - improvements made. - -'ChangeLog.0' - An older list of source code changes. - -'NEWS' - A list of changes to 'gawk' since the last release or patch. - -'NEWS.0' - An older list of changes to 'gawk'. - -'COPYING' - The GNU General Public License. - -'POSIX.STD' - A description of behaviors in the POSIX standard for 'awk' that are - left undefined, or where 'gawk' may not comply fully, as well as a - list of things that the POSIX standard should describe but does - not. - -'doc/awkforai.txt' - Pointers to the original draft of a short article describing why - 'gawk' is a good language for artificial intelligence (AI) - programming. - -'doc/bc_notes' - A brief description of 'gawk''s "byte code" internals. - -'doc/README.card' -'doc/ad.block' -'doc/awkcard.in' -'doc/cardfonts' -'doc/colors' -'doc/macros' -'doc/no.colors' -'doc/setter.outline' - The 'troff' source for a five-color 'awk' reference card. A modern - version of 'troff' such as GNU 'troff' ('groff') is needed to - produce the color version. See the file 'README.card' for - instructions if you have an older 'troff'. - -'doc/gawk.1' - The 'troff' source for a manual page describing 'gawk'. This is - distributed for the convenience of Unix users. - -'doc/gawktexi.in' -'doc/sidebar.awk' - The Texinfo source file for this Info file. It should be processed - by 'doc/sidebar.awk' before processing with 'texi2dvi' or - 'texi2pdf' to produce a printed document, and with 'makeinfo' to - produce an Info or HTML file. The 'Makefile' takes care of this - processing and produces printable output via 'texi2dvi' or - 'texi2pdf'. - -'doc/gawk.texi' - The file produced after processing 'gawktexi.in' with - 'sidebar.awk'. - -'doc/gawk.info' - The generated Info file for this Info file. - -'doc/gawkinet.texi' - The Texinfo source file for *note (General Introduction, gawkinet, - TCP/IP Internetworking with 'gawk')Top::. It should be processed - with TeX (via 'texi2dvi' or 'texi2pdf') to produce a printed - document and with 'makeinfo' to produce an Info or HTML file. - -'doc/gawkinet.info' - The generated Info file for 'TCP/IP Internetworking with 'gawk''. - -'doc/igawk.1' - The 'troff' source for a manual page describing the 'igawk' program - presented in *note Igawk Program::. (Since 'gawk' can do its own - '@include' processing, neither 'igawk' nor 'igawk.1' are - installed.) - -'doc/Makefile.in' - The input file used during the configuration process to generate - the actual 'Makefile' for creating the documentation. - -'Makefile.am' -'*/Makefile.am' - Files used by the GNU Automake software for generating the - 'Makefile.in' files used by Autoconf and 'configure'. - -'Makefile.in' -'aclocal.m4' -'bisonfix.awk' -'config.guess' -'configh.in' -'configure.ac' -'configure' -'custom.h' -'depcomp' -'install-sh' -'missing_d/*' -'mkinstalldirs' -'m4/*' - These files and subdirectories are used when configuring and - compiling 'gawk' for various Unix systems. Most of them are - explained in *note Unix Installation::. The rest are there to - support the main infrastructure. - -'po/*' - The 'po' library contains message translations. - -'awklib/extract.awk' -'awklib/Makefile.am' -'awklib/Makefile.in' -'awklib/eg/*' - The 'awklib' directory contains a copy of 'extract.awk' (*note - Extract Program::), which can be used to extract the sample - programs from the Texinfo source file for this Info file. It also - contains a 'Makefile.in' file, which 'configure' uses to generate a - 'Makefile'. 'Makefile.am' is used by GNU Automake to create - 'Makefile.in'. The library functions from *note Library - Functions::, are included as ready-to-use files in the 'gawk' - distribution. They are installed as part of the installation - process. The rest of the programs in this Info file are available - in appropriate subdirectories of 'awklib/eg'. - -'extension/*' - The source code, manual pages, and infrastructure files for the - sample extensions included with 'gawk'. *Note Dynamic - Extensions::, for more information. - -'extras/*' - Additional non-essential files. Currently, this directory contains - some shell startup files to be installed in '/etc/profile.d' to aid - in manipulating the 'AWKPATH' and 'AWKLIBPATH' environment - variables. *Note Shell Startup Files::, for more information. - -'posix/*' - Files needed for building 'gawk' on POSIX-compliant systems. - -'pc/*' - Files needed for building 'gawk' under MS-Windows (*note PC - Installation:: for details). - -'vms/*' - Files needed for building 'gawk' under Vax/VMS and OpenVMS (*note - VMS Installation:: for details). - -'test/*' - A test suite for 'gawk'. You can use 'make check' from the - top-level 'gawk' directory to run your version of 'gawk' against - the test suite. If 'gawk' successfully passes 'make check', then - you can be confident of a successful port. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Unix Installation, Next: Non-Unix Installation, Prev: Gawk Distribution, Up: Installation - -B.2 Compiling and Installing 'gawk' on Unix-Like Systems -======================================================== - -Usually, you can compile and install 'gawk' by typing only two commands. -However, if you use an unusual system, you may need to configure 'gawk' -for your system yourself. - -* Menu: - -* Quick Installation:: Compiling 'gawk' under Unix. -* Shell Startup Files:: Shell convenience functions. -* Additional Configuration Options:: Other compile-time options. -* Configuration Philosophy:: How it's all supposed to work. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Quick Installation, Next: Shell Startup Files, Up: Unix Installation - -B.2.1 Compiling 'gawk' for Unix-Like Systems --------------------------------------------- - -The normal installation steps should work on all modern commercial -Unix-derived systems, GNU/Linux, BSD-based systems, and the Cygwin -environment for MS-Windows. - - After you have extracted the 'gawk' distribution, 'cd' to -'gawk-4.1.4'. As with most GNU software, you configure 'gawk' for your -system by running the 'configure' program. This program is a Bourne -shell script that is generated automatically using GNU Autoconf. (The -Autoconf software is described fully starting with *note (Autoconf, -autoconf,Autoconf---Generating Automatic Configuration Scripts)Top::.) - - To configure 'gawk', simply run 'configure': - - sh ./configure - - This produces a 'Makefile' and 'config.h' tailored to your system. -The 'config.h' file describes various facts about your system. You -might want to edit the 'Makefile' to change the 'CFLAGS' variable, which -controls the command-line options that are passed to the C compiler -(such as optimization levels or compiling for debugging). - - Alternatively, you can add your own values for most 'make' variables -on the command line, such as 'CC' and 'CFLAGS', when running -'configure': - - CC=cc CFLAGS=-g sh ./configure - -See the file 'INSTALL' in the 'gawk' distribution for all the details. - - After you have run 'configure' and possibly edited the 'Makefile', -type: - - make - -Shortly thereafter, you should have an executable version of 'gawk'. -That's all there is to it! To verify that 'gawk' is working properly, -run 'make check'. All of the tests should succeed. If these steps do -not work, or if any of the tests fail, check the files in the 'README_d' -directory to see if you've found a known problem. If the failure is not -described there, send in a bug report (*note Bugs::). - - Of course, once you've built 'gawk', it is likely that you will wish -to install it. To do so, you need to run the command 'make install', as -a user with the appropriate permissions. How to do this varies by -system, but on many systems you can use the 'sudo' command to do so. -The command then becomes 'sudo make install'. It is likely that you -will be asked for your password, and you will have to have been set up -previously as a user who is allowed to run the 'sudo' command. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Shell Startup Files, Next: Additional Configuration Options, Prev: Quick Installation, Up: Unix Installation - -B.2.2 Shell Startup Files -------------------------- - -The distribution contains shell startup files 'gawk.sh' and 'gawk.csh' -containing functions to aid in manipulating the 'AWKPATH' and -'AWKLIBPATH' environment variables. On a Fedora system, these files -should be installed in '/etc/profile.d'; on other platforms, the -appropriate location may be different. - -'gawkpath_default' - Reset the 'AWKPATH' environment variable to its default value. - -'gawkpath_prepend' - Add the argument to the front of the 'AWKPATH' environment - variable. - -'gawkpath_append' - Add the argument to the end of the 'AWKPATH' environment variable. - -'gawklibpath_default' - Reset the 'AWKLIBPATH' environment variable to its default value. - -'gawklibpath_prepend' - Add the argument to the front of the 'AWKLIBPATH' environment - variable. - -'gawklibpath_append' - Add the argument to the end of the 'AWKLIBPATH' environment - variable. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Additional Configuration Options, Next: Configuration Philosophy, Prev: Shell Startup Files, Up: Unix Installation - -B.2.3 Additional Configuration Options --------------------------------------- - -There are several additional options you may use on the 'configure' -command line when compiling 'gawk' from scratch, including: - -'--disable-extensions' - Disable configuring and building the sample extensions in the - 'extension' directory. This is useful for cross-compiling. The - default action is to dynamically check if the extensions can be - configured and compiled. - -'--disable-lint' - Disable all lint checking within 'gawk'. The '--lint' and - '--lint-old' options (*note Options::) are accepted, but silently - do nothing. Similarly, setting the 'LINT' variable (*note - User-modified::) has no effect on the running 'awk' program. - - When used with the GNU Compiler Collection's (GCC's) automatic - dead-code-elimination, this option cuts almost 23K bytes off the - size of the 'gawk' executable on GNU/Linux x86_64 systems. Results - on other systems and with other compilers are likely to vary. - Using this option may bring you some slight performance - improvement. - - CAUTION: Using this option will cause some of the tests in the - test suite to fail. This option may be removed at a later - date. - -'--disable-nls' - Disable all message-translation facilities. This is usually not - desirable, but it may bring you some slight performance - improvement. - -'--with-whiny-user-strftime' - Force use of the included version of the C 'strftime()' function - for deficient systems. - - Use the command './configure --help' to see the full list of options -supplied by 'configure'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Configuration Philosophy, Prev: Additional Configuration Options, Up: Unix Installation - -B.2.4 The Configuration Process -------------------------------- - -This minor node is of interest only if you know something about using -the C language and Unix-like operating systems. - - The source code for 'gawk' generally attempts to adhere to formal -standards wherever possible. This means that 'gawk' uses library -routines that are specified by the ISO C standard and by the POSIX -operating system interface standard. The 'gawk' source code requires -using an ISO C compiler (the 1990 standard). - - Many Unix systems do not support all of either the ISO or the POSIX -standards. The 'missing_d' subdirectory in the 'gawk' distribution -contains replacement versions of those functions that are most likely to -be missing. - - The 'config.h' file that 'configure' creates contains definitions -that describe features of the particular operating system where you are -attempting to compile 'gawk'. The three things described by this file -are: what header files are available, so that they can be correctly -included, what (supposedly) standard functions are actually available in -your C libraries, and various miscellaneous facts about your operating -system. For example, there may not be an 'st_blksize' element in the -'stat' structure. In this case, 'HAVE_STRUCT_STAT_ST_BLKSIZE' is -undefined. - - It is possible for your C compiler to lie to 'configure'. It may do -so by not exiting with an error when a library function is not -available. To get around this, edit the 'custom.h' file. Use an -'#ifdef' that is appropriate for your system, and either '#define' any -constants that 'configure' should have defined but didn't, or '#undef' -any constants that 'configure' defined and should not have. The -'custom.h' file is automatically included by the 'config.h' file. - - It is also possible that the 'configure' program generated by -Autoconf will not work on your system in some other fashion. If you do -have a problem, the 'configure.ac' file is the input for Autoconf. You -may be able to change this file and generate a new version of -'configure' that works on your system (*note Bugs:: for information on -how to report problems in configuring 'gawk'). The same mechanism may -be used to send in updates to 'configure.ac' and/or 'custom.h'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Non-Unix Installation, Next: Bugs, Prev: Unix Installation, Up: Installation - -B.3 Installation on Other Operating Systems -=========================================== - -This minor node describes how to install 'gawk' on various non-Unix -systems. - -* Menu: - -* PC Installation:: Installing and Compiling 'gawk' on - Microsoft Windows. -* VMS Installation:: Installing 'gawk' on VMS. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: PC Installation, Next: VMS Installation, Up: Non-Unix Installation - -B.3.1 Installation on MS-Windows --------------------------------- - -This minor node covers installation and usage of 'gawk' on Intel -architecture machines running any version of MS-Windows. In this minor -node, the term "Windows32" refers to any of Microsoft Windows -95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista/7/8/10. - - See also the 'README_d/README.pc' file in the distribution. - -* Menu: - -* PC Binary Installation:: Installing a prepared distribution. -* PC Compiling:: Compiling 'gawk' for Windows32. -* PC Using:: Running 'gawk' on Windows32. -* Cygwin:: Building and running 'gawk' for - Cygwin. -* MSYS:: Using 'gawk' In The MSYS Environment. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: PC Binary Installation, Next: PC Compiling, Up: PC Installation - -B.3.1.1 Installing a Prepared Distribution for MS-Windows Systems -................................................................. - -The only supported binary distribution for MS-Windows systems is that -provided by Eli Zaretskii's "ezwinports" -(https://sourceforge.net/projects/ezwinports/) project. Install the -compiled 'gawk' from there. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: PC Compiling, Next: PC Using, Prev: PC Binary Installation, Up: PC Installation - -B.3.1.2 Compiling 'gawk' for PC Operating Systems -................................................. - -'gawk' can be compiled for Windows32 using MinGW (Windows32). The file -'README_d/README.pc' in the 'gawk' distribution contains additional -notes, and 'pc/Makefile' contains important information on compilation -options. - - To build 'gawk' for Windows32, copy the files in the 'pc' directory -(_except_ for 'ChangeLog') to the directory with the rest of the 'gawk' -sources, then invoke 'make' with the appropriate target name as an -argument to build 'gawk'. The 'Makefile' copied from the 'pc' directory -contains a configuration section with comments and may need to be edited -in order to work with your 'make' utility. - - The 'Makefile' supports a number of targets for building various -MS-DOS and Windows32 versions. A list of targets is printed if the -'make' command is given without a target. As an example, to build a -native MS-Windows binary of 'gawk' using the MinGW tools, type 'make -mingw32'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: PC Using, Next: Cygwin, Prev: PC Compiling, Up: PC Installation - -B.3.1.3 Using 'gawk' on PC Operating Systems -............................................ - -Under MS-Windows, the Cygwin and MinGW environments support both the -'|&' operator and TCP/IP networking (*note TCP/IP Networking::). - - The MS-Windows version of 'gawk' searches for program files as -described in *note AWKPATH Variable::. However, semicolons (rather than -colons) separate elements in the 'AWKPATH' variable. If 'AWKPATH' is -not set or is empty, then the default search path is -'.;c:/lib/awk;c:/gnu/lib/awk'. - - Under MS-Windows, 'gawk' (and many other text programs) silently -translates end-of-line '\r\n' to '\n' on input and '\n' to '\r\n' on -output. A special 'BINMODE' variable (c.e.) allows control over these -translations and is interpreted as follows: - - * If 'BINMODE' is '"r"' or one, then binary mode is set on read - (i.e., no translations on reads). - - * If 'BINMODE' is '"w"' or two, then binary mode is set on write - (i.e., no translations on writes). - - * If 'BINMODE' is '"rw"' or '"wr"' or three, binary mode is set for - both read and write. - - * 'BINMODE=NON-NULL-STRING' is the same as 'BINMODE=3' (i.e., no - translations on reads or writes). However, 'gawk' issues a warning - message if the string is not one of '"rw"' or '"wr"'. - -The modes for standard input and standard output are set one time only -(after the command line is read, but before processing any of the 'awk' -program). Setting 'BINMODE' for standard input or standard output is -accomplished by using an appropriate '-v BINMODE=N' option on the -command line. 'BINMODE' is set at the time a file or pipe is opened and -cannot be changed midstream. - - The name 'BINMODE' was chosen to match 'mawk' (*note Other -Versions::). 'mawk' and 'gawk' handle 'BINMODE' similarly; however, -'mawk' adds a '-W BINMODE=N' option and an environment variable that can -set 'BINMODE', 'RS', and 'ORS'. The files 'binmode[1-3].awk' (under -'gnu/lib/awk' in some of the prepared binary distributions) have been -chosen to match 'mawk''s '-W BINMODE=N' option. These can be changed or -discarded; in particular, the setting of 'RS' giving the fewest -"surprises" is open to debate. 'mawk' uses 'RS = "\r\n"' if binary mode -is set on read, which is appropriate for files with the MS-DOS-style -end-of-line. - - To illustrate, the following examples set binary mode on writes for -standard output and other files, and set 'ORS' as the "usual" -MS-DOS-style end-of-line: - - gawk -v BINMODE=2 -v ORS="\r\n" ... - -or: - - gawk -v BINMODE=w -f binmode2.awk ... - -These give the same result as the '-W BINMODE=2' option in 'mawk'. The -following changes the record separator to '"\r\n"' and sets binary mode -on reads, but does not affect the mode on standard input: - - gawk -v RS="\r\n" -e "BEGIN { BINMODE = 1 }" ... - -or: - - gawk -f binmode1.awk ... - -With proper quoting, in the first example the setting of 'RS' can be -moved into the 'BEGIN' rule. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Cygwin, Next: MSYS, Prev: PC Using, Up: PC Installation - -B.3.1.4 Using 'gawk' In The Cygwin Environment -.............................................. - -'gawk' can be built and used "out of the box" under MS-Windows if you -are using the Cygwin environment (http://www.cygwin.com). This -environment provides an excellent simulation of GNU/Linux, using Bash, -GCC, GNU Make, and other GNU programs. Compilation and installation for -Cygwin is the same as for a Unix system: - - tar -xvpzf gawk-4.1.4.tar.gz - cd gawk-4.1.4 - ./configure - make && make check - - When compared to GNU/Linux on the same system, the 'configure' step -on Cygwin takes considerably longer. However, it does finish, and then -the 'make' proceeds as usual. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: MSYS, Prev: Cygwin, Up: PC Installation - -B.3.1.5 Using 'gawk' In The MSYS Environment -............................................ - -In the MSYS environment under MS-Windows, 'gawk' automatically uses -binary mode for reading and writing files. Thus, there is no need to -use the 'BINMODE' variable. - - This can cause problems with other Unix-like components that have -been ported to MS-Windows that expect 'gawk' to do automatic translation -of '"\r\n"', because it won't. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: VMS Installation, Prev: PC Installation, Up: Non-Unix Installation - -B.3.2 Compiling and Installing 'gawk' on Vax/VMS and OpenVMS ------------------------------------------------------------- - -This node describes how to compile and install 'gawk' under VMS. The -older designation "VMS" is used throughout to refer to OpenVMS. - -* Menu: - -* VMS Compilation:: How to compile 'gawk' under VMS. -* VMS Dynamic Extensions:: Compiling 'gawk' dynamic extensions on - VMS. -* VMS Installation Details:: How to install 'gawk' under VMS. -* VMS Running:: How to run 'gawk' under VMS. -* VMS GNV:: The VMS GNV Project. -* VMS Old Gawk:: An old version comes with some VMS systems. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: VMS Compilation, Next: VMS Dynamic Extensions, Up: VMS Installation - -B.3.2.1 Compiling 'gawk' on VMS -............................... - -To compile 'gawk' under VMS, there is a 'DCL' command procedure that -issues all the necessary 'CC' and 'LINK' commands. There is also a -'Makefile' for use with the 'MMS' and 'MMK' utilities. From the source -directory, use either: - - $ @[.vms]vmsbuild.com - -or: - - $ MMS/DESCRIPTION=[.vms]descrip.mms gawk - -or: - - $ MMK/DESCRIPTION=[.vms]descrip.mms gawk - - 'MMK' is an open source, free, near-clone of 'MMS' and can better -handle ODS-5 volumes with upper- and lowercase file names. 'MMK' is -available from . - - With ODS-5 volumes and extended parsing enabled, the case of the -target parameter may need to be exact. - - 'gawk' has been tested under VAX/VMS 7.3 and Alpha/VMS 7.3-1 using -Compaq C V6.4, and under Alpha/VMS 7.3, Alpha/VMS 7.3-2, and IA64/VMS -8.3. The most recent builds used HP C V7.3 on Alpha VMS 8.3 and both -Alpha and IA64 VMS 8.4 used HP C 7.3.(1) - - *Note VMS GNV:: for information on building 'gawk' as a PCSI kit that -is compatible with the GNV product. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The IA64 architecture is also known as "Itanium." - - -File: gawk.info, Node: VMS Dynamic Extensions, Next: VMS Installation Details, Prev: VMS Compilation, Up: VMS Installation - -B.3.2.2 Compiling 'gawk' Dynamic Extensions on VMS -.................................................. - -The extensions that have been ported to VMS can be built using one of -the following commands: - - $ MMS/DESCRIPTION=[.vms]descrip.mms extensions - -or: - - $ MMK/DESCRIPTION=[.vms]descrip.mms extensions - - 'gawk' uses 'AWKLIBPATH' as either an environment variable or a -logical name to find the dynamic extensions. - - Dynamic extensions need to be compiled with the same compiler options -for floating-point, pointer size, and symbol name handling as were used -to compile 'gawk' itself. Alpha and Itanium should use IEEE floating -point. The pointer size is 32 bits, and the symbol name handling should -be exact case with CRC shortening for symbols longer than 32 bits. - - For Alpha and Itanium: - - /name=(as_is,short) - /float=ieee/ieee_mode=denorm_results - - For VAX: - - /name=(as_is,short) - - Compile-time macros need to be defined before the first VMS-supplied -header file is included, as follows: - - #if (__CRTL_VER >= 70200000) && !defined (__VAX) - #define _LARGEFILE 1 - #endif - - #ifndef __VAX - #ifdef __CRTL_VER - #if __CRTL_VER >= 80200000 - #define _USE_STD_STAT 1 - #endif - #endif - #endif - - If you are writing your own extensions to run on VMS, you must supply -these definitions yourself. The 'config.h' file created when building -'gawk' on VMS does this for you; if instead you use that file or a -similar one, then you must remember to include it before any -VMS-supplied header files. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: VMS Installation Details, Next: VMS Running, Prev: VMS Dynamic Extensions, Up: VMS Installation - -B.3.2.3 Installing 'gawk' on VMS -................................ - -To use 'gawk', all you need is a "foreign" command, which is a 'DCL' -symbol whose value begins with a dollar sign. For example: - - $ GAWK :== $disk1:[gnubin]gawk - -Substitute the actual location of 'gawk.exe' for '$disk1:[gnubin]'. The -symbol should be placed in the 'login.com' of any user who wants to run -'gawk', so that it is defined every time the user logs on. -Alternatively, the symbol may be placed in the system-wide 'sylogin.com' -procedure, which allows all users to run 'gawk'. - - If your 'gawk' was installed by a PCSI kit into the 'GNV$GNU:' -directory tree, the program will be known as 'GNV$GNU:[bin]gnv$gawk.exe' -and the help file will be 'GNV$GNU:[vms_help]gawk.hlp'. - - The PCSI kit also installs a 'GNV$GNU:[vms_bin]gawk_verb.cld' file -that can be used to add 'gawk' and 'awk' as DCL commands. - - For just the current process you can use: - - $ set command gnv$gnu:[vms_bin]gawk_verb.cld - - Or the system manager can use 'GNV$GNU:[vms_bin]gawk_verb.cld' to add -the 'gawk' and 'awk' to the system-wide 'DCLTABLES'. - - The DCL syntax is documented in the 'gawk.hlp' file. - - Optionally, the 'gawk.hlp' entry can be loaded into a VMS help -library: - - $ LIBRARY/HELP sys$help:helplib [.vms]gawk.hlp - -(You may want to substitute a site-specific help library rather than the -standard VMS library 'HELPLIB'.) After loading the help text, the -command: - - $ HELP GAWK - -provides information about both the 'gawk' implementation and the 'awk' -programming language. - - The logical name 'AWK_LIBRARY' can designate a default location for -'awk' program files. For the '-f' option, if the specified file name -has no device or directory path information in it, 'gawk' looks in the -current directory first, then in the directory specified by the -translation of 'AWK_LIBRARY' if the file is not found. If, after -searching in both directories, the file still is not found, 'gawk' -appends the suffix '.awk' to the file name and retries the file search. -If 'AWK_LIBRARY' has no definition, a default value of 'SYS$LIBRARY:' is -used for it. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: VMS Running, Next: VMS GNV, Prev: VMS Installation Details, Up: VMS Installation - -B.3.2.4 Running 'gawk' on VMS -............................. - -Command-line parsing and quoting conventions are significantly different -on VMS, so examples in this Info file or from other sources often need -minor changes. They _are_ minor though, and all 'awk' programs should -run correctly. - - Here are a couple of trivial tests: - - $ gawk -- "BEGIN {print ""Hello, World!""}" - $ gawk -"W" version - ! could also be -"W version" or "-W version" - -Note that uppercase and mixed-case text must be quoted. - - The VMS port of 'gawk' includes a 'DCL'-style interface in addition -to the original shell-style interface (see the help entry for details). -One side effect of dual command-line parsing is that if there is only a -single parameter (as in the quoted string program), the command becomes -ambiguous. To work around this, the normally optional '--' flag is -required to force Unix-style parsing rather than 'DCL' parsing. If any -other dash-type options (or multiple parameters such as data files to -process) are present, there is no ambiguity and '--' can be omitted. - - The 'exit' value is a Unix-style value and is encoded into a VMS exit -status value when the program exits. - - The VMS severity bits will be set based on the 'exit' value. A -failure is indicated by 1, and VMS sets the 'ERROR' status. A fatal -error is indicated by 2, and VMS sets the 'FATAL' status. All other -values will have the 'SUCCESS' status. The exit value is encoded to -comply with VMS coding standards and will have the 'C_FACILITY_NO' of -'0x350000' with the constant '0xA000' added to the number shifted over -by 3 bits to make room for the severity codes. - - To extract the actual 'gawk' exit code from the VMS status, use: - - unix_status = (vms_status .and. %x7f8) / 8 - -A C program that uses 'exec()' to call 'gawk' will get the original -Unix-style exit value. - - Older versions of 'gawk' for VMS treated a Unix exit code 0 as 1, a -failure as 2, a fatal error as 4, and passed all the other numbers -through. This violated the VMS exit status coding requirements. - - VAX/VMS floating point uses unbiased rounding. *Note Round -Function::. - - VMS reports time values in GMT unless one of the 'SYS$TIMEZONE_RULE' -or 'TZ' logical names is set. Older versions of VMS, such as VAX/VMS -7.3, do not set these logical names. - - The default search path, when looking for 'awk' program files -specified by the '-f' option, is '"SYS$DISK:[],AWK_LIBRARY:"'. The -logical name 'AWKPATH' can be used to override this default. The format -of 'AWKPATH' is a comma-separated list of directory specifications. -When defining it, the value should be quoted so that it retains a single -translation and not a multitranslation 'RMS' searchlist. - - This restriction also applies to running 'gawk' under GNV, as -redirection is always to a DCL command. - - If you are redirecting data to a VMS command or utility, the current -implementation requires that setting up a VMS foreign command that runs -a command file before invoking 'gawk'. (This restriction may be removed -in a future release of 'gawk' on VMS.) - - Without this command file, the input data will also appear prepended -to the output data. - - This also allows simulating POSIX commands that are not found on VMS -or the use of GNV utilities. - - The example below is for 'gawk' redirecting data to the VMS 'sort' -command. - - $ sort = "@device:[dir]vms_gawk_sort.com" - - The command file needs to be of the format in the example below. - - The first line inhibits the passed input data from also showing up in -the output. It must be in the format in the example. - - The next line creates a foreign command that overrides the outer -foreign command which prevents an infinite recursion of command files. - - The next to the last command redirects 'sys$input' to be -'sys$command', in order to pick up the data that is being redirected to -the command. - - The last line runs the actual command. It must be the last command -as the data redirected from 'gawk' will be read when the command file -ends. - - $!'f$verify(0,0)' - $ sort := sort - $ define/user sys$input sys$command: - $ sort sys$input: sys$output: - - -File: gawk.info, Node: VMS GNV, Next: VMS Old Gawk, Prev: VMS Running, Up: VMS Installation - -B.3.2.5 The VMS GNV Project -........................... - -The VMS GNV package provides a build environment similar to POSIX with -ports of a collection of open source tools. The 'gawk' found in the GNV -base kit is an older port. Currently, the GNV project is being -reorganized to supply individual PCSI packages for each component. See -. - - The normal build procedure for 'gawk' produces a program that is -suitable for use with GNV. - - The file 'vms/gawk_build_steps.txt' in the distribution documents the -procedure for building a VMS PCSI kit that is compatible with GNV. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: VMS Old Gawk, Prev: VMS GNV, Up: VMS Installation - -B.3.2.6 Some VMS Systems Have An Old Version of 'gawk' -...................................................... - -Some versions of VMS have an old version of 'gawk'. To access it, -define a symbol, as follows: - - $ gawk :== $sys$common:[syshlp.examples.tcpip.snmp]gawk.exe - - This is apparently version 2.15.6, which is extremely old. We -recommend compiling and using the current version. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Bugs, Next: Other Versions, Prev: Non-Unix Installation, Up: Installation - -B.4 Reporting Problems and Bugs -=============================== - - There is nothing more dangerous than a bored archaeologist. - -- _Douglas Adams, 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'_ - - If you have problems with 'gawk' or think that you have found a bug, -report it to the developers; we cannot promise to do anything, but we -might well want to fix it. - -* Menu: - -* Bug address:: Where to send reports to. -* Usenet:: Where not to send reports to. -* Maintainers:: Maintainers of non-*nix ports. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Bug address, Next: Usenet, Up: Bugs - -B.4.1 Submitting Bug Reports ----------------------------- - -Before reporting a bug, make sure you have really found a genuine bug. -Carefully reread the documentation and see if it says you can do what -you're trying to do. If it's not clear whether you should be able to do -something or not, report that too; it's a bug in the documentation! - - Before reporting a bug or trying to fix it yourself, try to isolate -it to the smallest possible 'awk' program and input data file that -reproduce the problem. Then send us the program and data file, some -idea of what kind of Unix system you're using, the compiler you used to -compile 'gawk', and the exact results 'gawk' gave you. Also say what -you expected to occur; this helps us decide whether the problem is -really in the documentation. - - Make sure to include the version number of 'gawk' you are using. You -can get this information with the command 'gawk --version'. - - Once you have a precise problem description, send email to -. - - The 'gawk' maintainers subscribe to this address, and thus they will -receive your bug report. Although you can send mail to the maintainers -directly, the bug reporting address is preferred because the email list -is archived at the GNU Project. _All email must be in English. This is -the only language understood in common by all the maintainers._ In -addition, please be sure to send all mail in _plain text_, not (or not -exclusively) in HTML. - - NOTE: Many distributions of GNU/Linux and the various BSD-based - operating systems have their own bug reporting systems. If you - report a bug using your distribution's bug reporting system, you - should also send a copy to . - - This is for two reasons. First, although some distributions - forward bug reports "upstream" to the GNU mailing list, many don't, - so there is a good chance that the 'gawk' maintainers won't even - see the bug report! Second, mail to the GNU list is archived, and - having everything at the GNU Project keeps things self-contained - and not dependent on other organizations. - - Non-bug suggestions are always welcome as well. If you have -questions about things that are unclear in the documentation or are just -obscure features, ask on the bug list; we will try to help you out if we -can. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Usenet, Next: Maintainers, Prev: Bug address, Up: Bugs - -B.4.2 Please Don't Post Bug Reports to USENET ---------------------------------------------- - - I gave up on Usenet a couple of years ago and haven't really looked - back. It's like sports talk radio--you feel smarter for not having - read it. - -- _Chet Ramey_ - - Please do _not_ try to report bugs in 'gawk' by posting to the -Usenet/Internet newsgroup 'comp.lang.awk'. Although some of the 'gawk' -developers occasionally read this newgroup, the primary 'gawk' -maintainer no longer does. Thus it's virtually guaranteed that he will -_not_ see your posting. The steps described here are the only -officially recognized way for reporting bugs. Really. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Maintainers, Prev: Usenet, Up: Bugs - -B.4.3 Reporting Problems with Non-Unix Ports --------------------------------------------- - -If you find bugs in one of the non-Unix ports of 'gawk', send an email -to the bug list, with a copy to the person who maintains that port. The -maintainers are named in the following list, as well as in the 'README' -file in the 'gawk' distribution. Information in the 'README' file -should be considered authoritative if it conflicts with this Info file. - - The people maintaining the various 'gawk' ports are: - -Unix and POSIX Arnold Robbins, -systems -MS-Windows with MinGW Eli Zaretskii, - -OS/2 Andreas Buening, - -VMS John Malmberg, - -z/OS (OS/390) Daniel Richard G. - Dave Pitts (Maintainer Emeritus), - - If your bug is also reproducible under Unix, send a copy of your -report to the email list as well. - - The DJGPP port is no longer supported; it will remain in the code -base for a while in case a volunteer wishes to take it over. If this -does not happen, then eventually code for this port will be removed. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Other Versions, Next: Installation summary, Prev: Bugs, Up: Installation - -B.5 Other Freely Available 'awk' Implementations -================================================ - - It's kind of fun to put comments like this in your awk code: - '// Do C++ comments work? answer: yes! of course' - -- _Michael Brennan_ - - There are a number of other freely available 'awk' implementations. -This minor node briefly describes where to get them: - -Unix 'awk' - Brian Kernighan, one of the original designers of Unix 'awk', has - made his implementation of 'awk' freely available. You can - retrieve this version via his home page - (http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~bwk). It is available in several - archive formats: - - Shell archive - - - Compressed 'tar' file - - - Zip file - - - You can also retrieve it from GitHub: - - git clone git://github.com/onetrueawk/awk bwkawk - - This command creates a copy of the Git (http://git-scm.com) - repository in a directory named 'bwkawk'. If you leave that - argument off the 'git' command line, the repository copy is created - in a directory named 'awk'. - - This version requires an ISO C (1990 standard) compiler; the C - compiler from GCC (the GNU Compiler Collection) works quite nicely. - - *Note Common Extensions:: for a list of extensions in this 'awk' - that are not in POSIX 'awk'. - - As a side note, Dan Bornstein has created a Git repository tracking - all the versions of BWK 'awk' that he could find. It's available - at . - -'mawk' - Michael Brennan wrote an independent implementation of 'awk', - called 'mawk'. It is available under the GPL (*note Copying::), - just as 'gawk' is. - - The original distribution site for the 'mawk' source code no longer - has it. A copy is available at - . - - In 2009, Thomas Dickey took on 'mawk' maintenance. Basic - information is available on the project's web page - (http://www.invisible-island.net/mawk). The download URL is - . - - Once you have it, 'gunzip' may be used to decompress this file. - Installation is similar to 'gawk''s (*note Unix Installation::). - - *Note Common Extensions:: for a list of extensions in 'mawk' that - are not in POSIX 'awk'. - -'awka' - Written by Andrew Sumner, 'awka' translates 'awk' programs into C, - compiles them, and links them with a library of functions that - provide the core 'awk' functionality. It also has a number of - extensions. - - The 'awk' translator is released under the GPL, and the library is - under the LGPL. - - To get 'awka', go to . - - The project seems to be frozen; no new code changes have been made - since approximately 2001. - -'pawk' - Nelson H.F. Beebe at the University of Utah has modified BWK 'awk' - to provide timing and profiling information. It is different from - 'gawk' with the '--profile' option (*note Profiling::) in that it - uses CPU-based profiling, not line-count profiling. You may find - it at either - or - . - -BusyBox 'awk' - BusyBox is a GPL-licensed program providing small versions of many - applications within a single executable. It is aimed at embedded - systems. It includes a full implementation of POSIX 'awk'. When - building it, be careful not to do 'make install' as it will - overwrite copies of other applications in your '/usr/local/bin'. - For more information, see the project's home page - (http://busybox.net). - -The OpenSolaris POSIX 'awk' - The versions of 'awk' in '/usr/xpg4/bin' and '/usr/xpg6/bin' on - Solaris are more or less POSIX-compliant. They are based on the - 'awk' from Mortice Kern Systems for PCs. We were able to make this - code compile and work under GNU/Linux with 1-2 hours of work. - Making it more generally portable (using GNU Autoconf and/or - Automake) would take more work, and this has not been done, at - least to our knowledge. - - The source code used to be available from the OpenSolaris website. - However, that project was ended and the website shut down. - Fortunately, the Illumos project - (http://wiki.illumos.org/display/illumos/illumos+Home) makes this - implementation available. You can view the files one at a time - from - . - -'jawk' - This is an interpreter for 'awk' written in Java. It claims to be - a full interpreter, although because it uses Java facilities for - I/O and for regexp matching, the language it supports is different - from POSIX 'awk'. More information is available on the project's - home page (http://jawk.sourceforge.net). - -Libmawk - This is an embeddable 'awk' interpreter derived from 'mawk'. For - more information, see . - -'pawk' - This is a Python module that claims to bring 'awk'-like features to - Python. See for more - information. (This is not related to Nelson Beebe's modified - version of BWK 'awk', described earlier.) - -QSE 'awk' - This is an embeddable 'awk' interpreter. For more information, see - and . - -'QTawk' - This is an independent implementation of 'awk' distributed under - the GPL. It has a large number of extensions over standard 'awk' - and may not be 100% syntactically compatible with it. See - for more information, - including the manual. The download link there is out of date; see - for the latest - download link. - - The project may also be frozen; no new code changes have been made - since approximately 2014. - -Other versions - See also the "Versions and implementations" section of the - Wikipedia article - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awk_language#Versions_and_implementations) - on 'awk' for information on additional versions. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Installation summary, Prev: Other Versions, Up: Installation - -B.6 Summary -=========== - - * The 'gawk' distribution is available from the GNU Project's main - distribution site, 'ftp.gnu.org'. The canonical build recipe is: - - wget http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gawk/gawk-4.1.4.tar.gz - tar -xvpzf gawk-4.1.4.tar.gz - cd gawk-4.1.4 - ./configure && make && make check - - * 'gawk' may be built on non-POSIX systems as well. The currently - supported systems are MS-Windows using MSYS, MinGW, and Cygwin, and - both Vax/VMS and OpenVMS. Instructions for each system are included - in this major node. - - * Bug reports should be sent via email to . Bug - reports should be in English and should include the version of - 'gawk', how it was compiled, and a short program and data file that - demonstrate the problem. - - * There are a number of other freely available 'awk' implementations. - Many are POSIX-compliant; others are less so. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Notes, Next: Basic Concepts, Prev: Installation, Up: Top - -Appendix C Implementation Notes -******************************* - -This appendix contains information mainly of interest to implementers -and maintainers of 'gawk'. Everything in it applies specifically to -'gawk' and not to other implementations. - -* Menu: - -* Compatibility Mode:: How to disable certain 'gawk' - extensions. -* Additions:: Making Additions To 'gawk'. -* Future Extensions:: New features that may be implemented one day. -* Implementation Limitations:: Some limitations of the implementation. -* Extension Design:: Design notes about the extension API. -* Old Extension Mechanism:: Some compatibility for old extensions. -* Notes summary:: Summary of implementation notes. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Compatibility Mode, Next: Additions, Up: Notes - -C.1 Downward Compatibility and Debugging -======================================== - -*Note POSIX/GNU::, for a summary of the GNU extensions to the 'awk' -language and program. All of these features can be turned off by -invoking 'gawk' with the '--traditional' option or with the '--posix' -option. - - If 'gawk' is compiled for debugging with '-DDEBUG', then there is one -more option available on the command line: - -'-Y' -'--parsedebug' - Print out the parse stack information as the program is being - parsed. - - This option is intended only for serious 'gawk' developers and not -for the casual user. It probably has not even been compiled into your -version of 'gawk', since it slows down execution. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Additions, Next: Future Extensions, Prev: Compatibility Mode, Up: Notes - -C.2 Making Additions to 'gawk' -============================== - -If you find that you want to enhance 'gawk' in a significant fashion, -you are perfectly free to do so. That is the point of having free -software; the source code is available and you are free to change it as -you want (*note Copying::). - - This minor node discusses the ways you might want to change 'gawk' as -well as any considerations you should bear in mind. - -* Menu: - -* Accessing The Source:: Accessing the Git repository. -* Adding Code:: Adding code to the main body of - 'gawk'. -* New Ports:: Porting 'gawk' to a new operating - system. -* Derived Files:: Why derived files are kept in the Git - repository. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Accessing The Source, Next: Adding Code, Up: Additions - -C.2.1 Accessing The 'gawk' Git Repository ------------------------------------------ - -As 'gawk' is Free Software, the source code is always available. *note -Gawk Distribution:: describes how to get and build the formal, released -versions of 'gawk'. - - However, if you want to modify 'gawk' and contribute back your -changes, you will probably wish to work with the development version. -To do so, you will need to access the 'gawk' source code repository. -The code is maintained using the Git distributed version control system -(http://git-scm.com). You will need to install it if your system -doesn't have it. Once you have done so, use the command: - - git clone git://git.savannah.gnu.org/gawk.git - -This clones the 'gawk' repository. If you are behind a firewall that -does not allow you to use the Git native protocol, you can still access -the repository using: - - git clone http://git.savannah.gnu.org/r/gawk.git - - Once you have made changes, you can use 'git diff' to produce a -patch, and send that to the 'gawk' maintainer; see *note Bugs::, for how -to do that. - - Once upon a time there was Git-CVS gateway for use by people who -could not install Git. However, this gateway no longer works, so you -may have better luck using a more modern version control system like -Bazaar, that has a Git plug-in for working with Git repositories. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Adding Code, Next: New Ports, Prev: Accessing The Source, Up: Additions - -C.2.2 Adding New Features -------------------------- - -You are free to add any new features you like to 'gawk'. However, if -you want your changes to be incorporated into the 'gawk' distribution, -there are several steps that you need to take in order to make it -possible to include them: - - 1. Before building the new feature into 'gawk' itself, consider - writing it as an extension (*note Dynamic Extensions::). If that's - not possible, continue with the rest of the steps in this list. - - 2. Be prepared to sign the appropriate paperwork. In order for the - FSF to distribute your changes, you must either place those changes - in the public domain and submit a signed statement to that effect, - or assign the copyright in your changes to the FSF. Both of these - actions are easy to do and _many_ people have done so already. If - you have questions, please contact me (*note Bugs::), or - . - - 3. Get the latest version. It is much easier for me to integrate - changes if they are relative to the most recent distributed version - of 'gawk', or better yet, relative to the latest code in the Git - repository. If your version of 'gawk' is very old, I may not be - able to integrate your changes at all. (*Note Getting::, for - information on getting the latest version of 'gawk'.) - - 4. See *note (Version, standards, GNU Coding Standards)Top::. This - document describes how GNU software should be written. If you - haven't read it, please do so, preferably _before_ starting to - modify 'gawk'. (The 'GNU Coding Standards' are available from the - GNU Project's website (http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/). - Texinfo, Info, and DVI versions are also available.) - - 5. Use the 'gawk' coding style. The C code for 'gawk' follows the - instructions in the 'GNU Coding Standards', with minor exceptions. - The code is formatted using the traditional "K&R" style, - particularly as regards to the placement of braces and the use of - TABs. In brief, the coding rules for 'gawk' are as follows: - - * Use ANSI/ISO style (prototype) function headers when defining - functions. - - * Put the name of the function at the beginning of its own line. - - * Use '#elif' instead of nesting '#if' inside '#else'. - - * Put the return type of the function, even if it is 'int', on - the line above the line with the name and arguments of the - function. - - * Put spaces around parentheses used in control structures - ('if', 'while', 'for', 'do', 'switch', and 'return'). - - * Do not put spaces in front of parentheses used in function - calls. - - * Put spaces around all C operators and after commas in function - calls. - - * Do not use the comma operator to produce multiple side - effects, except in 'for' loop initialization and increment - parts, and in macro bodies. - - * Use real TABs for indenting, not spaces. - - * Use the "K&R" brace layout style. - - * Use comparisons against 'NULL' and ''\0'' in the conditions of - 'if', 'while', and 'for' statements, as well as in the 'case's - of 'switch' statements, instead of just the plain pointer or - character value. - - * Use 'true' and 'false' for 'bool' values, the 'NULL' symbolic - constant for pointer values, and the character constant ''\0'' - where appropriate, instead of '1' and '0'. - - * Provide one-line descriptive comments for each function. - - * Do not use the 'alloca()' function for allocating memory off - the stack. Its use causes more portability trouble than is - worth the minor benefit of not having to free the storage. - Instead, use 'malloc()' and 'free()'. - - * Do not use comparisons of the form '! strcmp(a, b)' or - similar. As Henry Spencer once said, "'strcmp()' is not a - boolean!" Instead, use 'strcmp(a, b) == 0'. - - * If adding new bit flag values, use explicit hexadecimal - constants ('0x001', '0x002', '0x004', and son on) instead of - shifting one left by successive amounts ('(1<<0)', '(1<<1)', - and so on). - - NOTE: If I have to reformat your code to follow the coding - style used in 'gawk', I may not bother to integrate your - changes at all. - - 6. Update the documentation. Along with your new code, please supply - new sections and/or chapters for this Info file. If at all - possible, please use real Texinfo, instead of just supplying - unformatted ASCII text (although even that is better than no - documentation at all). Conventions to be followed in 'GAWK: - Effective AWK Programming' are provided after the '@bye' at the end - of the Texinfo source file. If possible, please update the 'man' - page as well. - - You will also have to sign paperwork for your documentation - changes. - - 7. Submit changes as unified diffs. Use 'diff -u -r -N' to compare - the original 'gawk' source tree with your version. I recommend - using the GNU version of 'diff', or best of all, 'git diff' or 'git - format-patch'. Send the output produced by 'diff' to me when you - submit your changes. (*Note Bugs::, for the electronic mail - information.) - - Using this format makes it easy for me to apply your changes to the - master version of the 'gawk' source code (using 'patch'). If I - have to apply the changes manually, using a text editor, I may not - do so, particularly if there are lots of changes. - - 8. Include an entry for the 'ChangeLog' file with your submission. - This helps further minimize the amount of work I have to do, making - it easier for me to accept patches. It is simplest if you just - make this part of your diff. - - Although this sounds like a lot of work, please remember that while -you may write the new code, I have to maintain it and support it. If it -isn't possible for me to do that with a minimum of extra work, then I -probably will not. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: New Ports, Next: Derived Files, Prev: Adding Code, Up: Additions - -C.2.3 Porting 'gawk' to a New Operating System ----------------------------------------------- - -If you want to port 'gawk' to a new operating system, there are several -steps: - - 1. Follow the guidelines in *note Adding Code::, concerning coding - style, submission of diffs, and so on. - - 2. Be prepared to sign the appropriate paperwork. In order for the - FSF to distribute your code, you must either place your code in the - public domain and submit a signed statement to that effect, or - assign the copyright in your code to the FSF. Both of these actions - are easy to do and _many_ people have done so already. If you have - questions, please contact me, or . - - 3. When doing a port, bear in mind that your code must coexist - peacefully with the rest of 'gawk' and the other ports. Avoid - gratuitous changes to the system-independent parts of the code. If - at all possible, avoid sprinkling '#ifdef's just for your port - throughout the code. - - If the changes needed for a particular system affect too much of - the code, I probably will not accept them. In such a case, you - can, of course, distribute your changes on your own, as long as you - comply with the GPL (*note Copying::). - - 4. A number of the files that come with 'gawk' are maintained by other - people. Thus, you should not change them unless it is for a very - good reason; i.e., changes are not out of the question, but changes - to these files are scrutinized extra carefully. The files are - 'dfa.c', 'dfa.h', 'getopt.c', 'getopt.h', 'getopt1.c', - 'getopt_int.h', 'gettext.h', 'regcomp.c', 'regex.c', 'regex.h', - 'regex_internal.c', 'regex_internal.h', and 'regexec.c'. - - 5. A number of other files are provided by the GNU Autotools - (Autoconf, Automake, and GNU 'gettext'). You should not change - them either, unless it is for a very good reason. The files are - 'ABOUT-NLS', 'config.guess', 'config.rpath', 'config.sub', - 'depcomp', 'INSTALL', 'install-sh', 'missing', 'mkinstalldirs', - 'xalloc.h', and 'ylwrap'. - - 6. Be willing to continue to maintain the port. Non-Unix operating - systems are supported by volunteers who maintain the code needed to - compile and run 'gawk' on their systems. If no-one volunteers to - maintain a port, it becomes unsupported and it may be necessary to - remove it from the distribution. - - 7. Supply an appropriate 'gawkmisc.???' file. Each port has its own - 'gawkmisc.???' that implements certain operating system specific - functions. This is cleaner than a plethora of '#ifdef's scattered - throughout the code. The 'gawkmisc.c' in the main source directory - includes the appropriate 'gawkmisc.???' file from each - subdirectory. Be sure to update it as well. - - Each port's 'gawkmisc.???' file has a suffix reminiscent of the - machine or operating system for the port--for example, - 'pc/gawkmisc.pc' and 'vms/gawkmisc.vms'. The use of separate - suffixes, instead of plain 'gawkmisc.c', makes it possible to move - files from a port's subdirectory into the main subdirectory, - without accidentally destroying the real 'gawkmisc.c' file. - (Currently, this is only an issue for the PC operating system - ports.) - - 8. Supply a 'Makefile' as well as any other C source and header files - that are necessary for your operating system. All your code should - be in a separate subdirectory, with a name that is the same as, or - reminiscent of, either your operating system or the computer - system. If possible, try to structure things so that it is not - necessary to move files out of the subdirectory into the main - source directory. If that is not possible, then be sure to avoid - using names for your files that duplicate the names of files in the - main source directory. - - 9. Update the documentation. Please write a section (or sections) for - this Info file describing the installation and compilation steps - needed to compile and/or install 'gawk' for your system. - - Following these steps makes it much easier to integrate your changes -into 'gawk' and have them coexist happily with other operating systems' -code that is already there. - - In the code that you supply and maintain, feel free to use a coding -style and brace layout that suits your taste. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Derived Files, Prev: New Ports, Up: Additions - -C.2.4 Why Generated Files Are Kept In Git ------------------------------------------ - -If you look at the 'gawk' source in the Git repository, you will notice -that it includes files that are automatically generated by GNU -infrastructure tools, such as 'Makefile.in' from Automake and even -'configure' from Autoconf. - - This is different from many Free Software projects that do not store -the derived files, because that keeps the repository less cluttered, and -it is easier to see the substantive changes when comparing versions and -trying to understand what changed between commits. - - However, there are several reasons why the 'gawk' maintainer likes to -have everything in the repository. - - First, because it is then easy to reproduce any given version -completely, without relying upon the availability of (older, likely -obsolete, and maybe even impossible to find) other tools. - - As an extreme example, if you ever even think about trying to -compile, oh, say, the V7 'awk', you will discover that not only do you -have to bootstrap the V7 'yacc' to do so, but you also need the V7 -'lex'. And the latter is pretty much impossible to bring up on a modern -GNU/Linux system.(1) - - (Or, let's say 'gawk' 1.2 required 'bison' whatever-it-was in 1989 -and that there was no 'awkgram.c' file in the repository. Is there a -guarantee that we could find that 'bison' version? Or that _it_ would -build?) - - If the repository has all the generated files, then it's easy to just -check them out and build. (Or _easier_, depending upon how far back we -go.) - - And that brings us to the second (and stronger) reason why all the -files really need to be in Git. It boils down to who do you cater -to--the 'gawk' developer(s), or the user who just wants to check out a -version and try it out? - - The 'gawk' maintainer wants it to be possible for any interested -'awk' user in the world to just clone the repository, check out the -branch of interest and build it. Without their having to have the -correct version(s) of the autotools.(2) That is the point of the -'bootstrap.sh' file. It touches the various other files in the right -order such that - - # The canonical incantation for building GNU software: - ./bootstrap.sh && ./configure && make - -will _just work_. - - This is extremely important for the 'master' and 'gawk-X.Y-stable' -branches. - - Further, the 'gawk' maintainer would argue that it's also important -for the 'gawk' developers. When he tried to check out the 'xgawk' -branch(3) to build it, he couldn't. (No 'ltmain.sh' file, and he had no -idea how to create it, and that was not the only problem.) - - He felt _extremely_ frustrated. With respect to that branch, the -maintainer is no different than Jane User who wants to try to build -'gawk-4.1-stable' or 'master' from the repository. - - Thus, the maintainer thinks that it's not just important, but -critical, that for any given branch, the above incantation _just works_. - - A third reason to have all the files is that without them, using 'git -bisect' to try to find the commit that introduced a bug is exceedingly -difficult. The maintainer tried to do that on another project that -requires running bootstrapping scripts just to create 'configure' and so -on; it was really painful. When the repository is self-contained, using -'git bisect' in it is very easy. - - What are some of the consequences and/or actions to take? - - 1. We don't mind that there are differing files in the different - branches as a result of different versions of the autotools. - - A. It's the maintainer's job to merge them and he will deal with - it. - - B. He is really good at 'git diff x y > /tmp/diff1 ; gvim - /tmp/diff1' to remove the diffs that aren't of interest in - order to review code. - - 2. It would certainly help if everyone used the same versions of the - GNU tools as he does, which in general are the latest released - versions of Automake, Autoconf, 'bison', and GNU 'gettext'. - - Installing from source is quite easy. It's how the maintainer - worked for years (and still works). He had '/usr/local/bin' at the - front of his 'PATH' and just did: - - wget http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/PACKAGE/PACKAGE-X.Y.Z.tar.gz - tar -xpzvf PACKAGE-X.Y.Z.tar.gz - cd PACKAGE-X.Y.Z - ./configure && make && make check - make install # as root - - Most of the above was originally written by the maintainer to other -'gawk' developers. It raised the objection from one of the developers -"... that anybody pulling down the source from Git is not an end user." - - However, this is not true. There are "power 'awk' users" who can -build 'gawk' (using the magic incantation shown previously) but who -can't program in C. Thus, the major branches should be kept buildable -all the time. - - It was then suggested that there be a 'cron' job to create nightly -tarballs of "the source." Here, the problem is that there are source -trees, corresponding to the various branches! So, nightly tarballs -aren't the answer, especially as the repository can go for weeks without -significant change being introduced. - - Fortunately, the Git server can meet this need. For any given branch -named BRANCHNAME, use: - - wget http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gawk.git/snapshot/gawk-BRANCHNAME.tar.gz - -to retrieve a snapshot of the given branch. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) We tried. It was painful. - - (2) There is one GNU program that is (in our opinion) severely -difficult to bootstrap from the Git repository. For example, on the -author's old (but still working) PowerPC Macintosh with Mac OS X 10.5, -it was necessary to bootstrap a ton of software, starting with Git -itself, in order to try to work with the latest code. It's not -pleasant, and especially on older systems, it's a big waste of time. - - Starting with the latest tarball was no picnic either. The -maintainers had dropped '.gz' and '.bz2' files and only distribute -'.tar.xz' files. It was necessary to bootstrap 'xz' first! - - (3) A branch (since removed) created by one of the other developers -that did not include the generated files. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Future Extensions, Next: Implementation Limitations, Prev: Additions, Up: Notes - -C.3 Probable Future Extensions -============================== - - AWK is a language similar to PERL, only considerably more elegant. - -- _Arnold Robbins_ - - Hey! - -- _Larry Wall_ - - The 'TODO' file in the 'master' branch of the 'gawk' Git repository -lists possible future enhancements. Some of these relate to the source -code, and others to possible new features. Please see that file for the -list. *Note Additions::, if you are interested in tackling any of the -projects listed there. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Implementation Limitations, Next: Extension Design, Prev: Future Extensions, Up: Notes - -C.4 Some Limitations of the Implementation -========================================== - -This following table describes limits of 'gawk' on a Unix-like system -(although it is variable even then). Other systems may have different -limits. - -Item Limit --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Characters in a character 2^(number of bits per byte) -class -Length of input record 'MAX_INT' -Length of output record Unlimited -Length of source line Unlimited -Number of fields in a 'MAX_LONG' -record -Number of file redirections Unlimited -Number of input records in 'MAX_LONG' -one file -Number of input records 'MAX_LONG' -total -Number of pipe redirections min(number of processes per user, number - of open files) -Numeric values Double-precision floating point (if not - using MPFR) -Size of a field 'MAX_INT' -Size of a literal string 'MAX_INT' -Size of a printf string 'MAX_INT' - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Design, Next: Old Extension Mechanism, Prev: Implementation Limitations, Up: Notes - -C.5 Extension API Design -======================== - -This minor node documents the design of the extension API, including a -discussion of some of the history and problems that needed to be solved. - - The first version of extensions for 'gawk' was developed in the -mid-1990s and released with 'gawk' 3.1 in the late 1990s. The basic -mechanisms and design remained unchanged for close to 15 years, until -2012. - - The old extension mechanism used data types and functions from 'gawk' -itself, with a "clever hack" to install extension functions. - - 'gawk' included some sample extensions, of which a few were really -useful. However, it was clear from the outset that the extension -mechanism was bolted onto the side and was not really well thought out. - -* Menu: - -* Old Extension Problems:: Problems with the old mechanism. -* Extension New Mechanism Goals:: Goals for the new mechanism. -* Extension Other Design Decisions:: Some other design decisions. -* Extension Future Growth:: Some room for future growth. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Old Extension Problems, Next: Extension New Mechanism Goals, Up: Extension Design - -C.5.1 Problems With The Old Mechanism -------------------------------------- - -The old extension mechanism had several problems: - - * It depended heavily upon 'gawk' internals. Any time the 'NODE' - structure(1) changed, an extension would have to be recompiled. - Furthermore, to really write extensions required understanding - something about 'gawk''s internal functions. There was some - documentation in this Info file, but it was quite minimal. - - * Being able to call into 'gawk' from an extension required linker - facilities that are common on Unix-derived systems but that did not - work on MS-Windows systems; users wanting extensions on MS-Windows - had to statically link them into 'gawk', even though MS-Windows - supports dynamic loading of shared objects. - - * The API would change occasionally as 'gawk' changed; no - compatibility between versions was ever offered or planned for. - - Despite the drawbacks, the 'xgawk' project developers forked 'gawk' -and developed several significant extensions. They also enhanced -'gawk''s facilities relating to file inclusion and shared object access. - - A new API was desired for a long time, but only in 2012 did the -'gawk' maintainer and the 'xgawk' developers finally start working on it -together. More information about the 'xgawk' project is provided in -*note gawkextlib::. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) A critical central data structure inside 'gawk'. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension New Mechanism Goals, Next: Extension Other Design Decisions, Prev: Old Extension Problems, Up: Extension Design - -C.5.2 Goals For A New Mechanism -------------------------------- - -Some goals for the new API were: - - * The API should be independent of 'gawk' internals. Changes in - 'gawk' internals should not be visible to the writer of an - extension function. - - * The API should provide _binary_ compatibility across 'gawk' - releases as long as the API itself does not change. - - * The API should enable extensions written in C or C++ to have - roughly the same "appearance" to 'awk'-level code as 'awk' - functions do. This means that extensions should have: - - - The ability to access function parameters. - - - The ability to turn an undefined parameter into an array (call - by reference). - - - The ability to create, access and update global variables. - - - Easy access to all the elements of an array at once ("array - flattening") in order to loop over all the element in an easy - fashion for C code. - - - The ability to create arrays (including 'gawk''s true arrays - of arrays). - - Some additional important goals were: - - * The API should use only features in ISO C 90, so that extensions - can be written using the widest range of C and C++ compilers. The - header should include the appropriate '#ifdef __cplusplus' and - 'extern "C"' magic so that a C++ compiler could be used. (If using - C++, the runtime system has to be smart enough to call any - constructors and destructors, as 'gawk' is a C program. As of this - writing, this has not been tested.) - - * The API mechanism should not require access to 'gawk''s symbols(1) - by the compile-time or dynamic linker, in order to enable creation - of extensions that also work on MS-Windows. - - During development, it became clear that there were other features -that should be available to extensions, which were also subsequently -provided: - - * Extensions should have the ability to hook into 'gawk''s I/O - redirection mechanism. In particular, the 'xgawk' developers - provided a so-called "open hook" to take over reading records. - During development, this was generalized to allow extensions to - hook into input processing, output processing, and two-way I/O. - - * An extension should be able to provide a "call back" function to - perform cleanup actions when 'gawk' exits. - - * An extension should be able to provide a version string so that - 'gawk''s '--version' option can provide information about - extensions as well. - - The requirement to avoid access to 'gawk''s symbols is, at first -glance, a difficult one to meet. - - One design, apparently used by Perl and Ruby and maybe others, would -be to make the mainline 'gawk' code into a library, with the 'gawk' -utility a small C 'main()' function linked against the library. - - This seemed like the tail wagging the dog, complicating build and -installation and making a simple copy of the 'gawk' executable from one -system to another (or one place to another on the same system!) into a -chancy operation. - - Pat Rankin suggested the solution that was adopted. *Note Extension -Mechanism Outline::, for the details. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The "symbols" are the variables and functions defined inside -'gawk'. Access to these symbols by code external to 'gawk' loaded -dynamically at runtime is problematic on MS-Windows. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Other Design Decisions, Next: Extension Future Growth, Prev: Extension New Mechanism Goals, Up: Extension Design - -C.5.3 Other Design Decisions ----------------------------- - -As an arbitrary design decision, extensions can read the values of -predefined variables and arrays (such as 'ARGV' and 'FS'), but cannot -change them, with the exception of 'PROCINFO'. - - The reason for this is to prevent an extension function from -affecting the flow of an 'awk' program outside its control. While a -real 'awk' function can do what it likes, that is at the discretion of -the programmer. An extension function should provide a service or make -a C API available for use within 'awk', and not mess with 'FS' or 'ARGC' -and 'ARGV'. - - In addition, it becomes easy to start down a slippery slope. How -much access to 'gawk' facilities do extensions need? Do they need -'getline'? What about calling 'gsub()' or compiling regular -expressions? What about calling into 'awk' functions? (_That_ would be -messy.) - - In order to avoid these issues, the 'gawk' developers chose to start -with the simplest, most basic features that are still truly useful. - - Another decision is that although 'gawk' provides nice things like -MPFR, and arrays indexed internally by integers, these features are not -being brought out to the API in order to keep things simple and close to -traditional 'awk' semantics. (In fact, arrays indexed internally by -integers are so transparent that they aren't even documented!) - - Additionally, all functions in the API check that their pointer input -parameters are not 'NULL'. If they are, they return an error. (It is a -good idea for extension code to verify that pointers received from -'gawk' are not 'NULL'. Such a thing should not happen, but the 'gawk' -developers are only human, and they have been known to occasionally make -mistakes.) - - With time, the API will undoubtedly evolve; the 'gawk' developers -expect this to be driven by user needs. For now, the current API seems -to provide a minimal yet powerful set of features for creating -extensions. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Extension Future Growth, Prev: Extension Other Design Decisions, Up: Extension Design - -C.5.4 Room For Future Growth ----------------------------- - -The API can later be expanded, in two ways: - - * 'gawk' passes an "extension id" into the extension when it first - loads the extension. The extension then passes this id back to - 'gawk' with each function call. This mechanism allows 'gawk' to - identify the extension calling into it, should it need to know. - - * Similarly, the extension passes a "name space" into 'gawk' when it - registers each extension function. This accommodates a possible - future mechanism for grouping extension functions and possibly - avoiding name conflicts. - - Of course, as of this writing, no decisions have been made with -respect to any of the above. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Old Extension Mechanism, Next: Notes summary, Prev: Extension Design, Up: Notes - -C.6 Compatibility For Old Extensions -==================================== - -*note Dynamic Extensions::, describes the supported API and mechanisms -for writing extensions for 'gawk'. This API was introduced in version -4.1. However, for many years 'gawk' provided an extension mechanism -that required knowledge of 'gawk' internals and that was not as well -designed. - - In order to provide a transition period, 'gawk' version 4.1 continues -to support the original extension mechanism. This will be true for the -life of exactly one major release. This support will be withdrawn, and -removed from the source code, at the next major release. - - Briefly, original-style extensions should be compiled by including -the 'awk.h' header file in the extension source code. Additionally, you -must define the identifier 'GAWK' when building (use '-DGAWK' with -Unix-style compilers). Otherwise, the definitions in 'gawkapi.h' will -cause conflicts with those in 'awk.h' and your extension will not -compile. - - Just as in previous versions, you load an old-style extension with -the 'extension()' built-in function (which is not otherwise documented). -This function in turn finds and loads the shared object file containing -the extension and calls its 'dl_load()' C routine. - - Because original-style and new-style extensions use different -initialization routines ('dl_load()' versus 'dlload()'), they may safely -be installed in the same directory (to be found by 'AWKLIBPATH') without -conflict. - - The 'gawk' development team strongly recommends that you convert any -old extensions that you may have to use the new API described in *note -Dynamic Extensions::. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Notes summary, Prev: Old Extension Mechanism, Up: Notes - -C.7 Summary -=========== - - * 'gawk''s extensions can be disabled with either the '--traditional' - option or with the '--posix' option. The '--parsedebug' option is - available if 'gawk' is compiled with '-DDEBUG'. - - * The source code for 'gawk' is maintained in a publicly accessible - Git repository. Anyone may check it out and view the source. - - * Contributions to 'gawk' are welcome. Following the steps outlined - in this major node will make it easier to integrate your - contributions into the code base. This applies both to new feature - contributions and to ports to additional operating systems. - - * 'gawk' has some limits--generally those that are imposed by the - machine architecture. - - * The extension API design was intended to solve a number of problems - with the previous extension mechanism, enable features needed by - the 'xgawk' project, and provide binary compatibility going - forward. - - * The previous extension mechanism is still supported in version 4.1 - of 'gawk', but it _will_ be removed in the next major release. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Basic Concepts, Next: Glossary, Prev: Notes, Up: Top - -Appendix D Basic Programming Concepts -************************************* - -This major node attempts to define some of the basic concepts and terms -that are used throughout the rest of this Info file. As this Info file -is specifically about 'awk', and not about computer programming in -general, the coverage here is by necessity fairly cursory and -simplistic. (If you need more background, there are many other -introductory texts that you should refer to instead.) - -* Menu: - -* Basic High Level:: The high level view. -* Basic Data Typing:: A very quick intro to data types. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Basic High Level, Next: Basic Data Typing, Up: Basic Concepts - -D.1 What a Program Does -======================= - -At the most basic level, the job of a program is to process some input -data and produce results. See *note Figure D.1: figure-general-flow. - -[image src="general-program.png" alt="General program flow" text=" _______ -+------+ / \\ +---------+ -| Data | -----> < Program > -----> | Results | -+------+ \\_______/ +---------+"] - -Figure D.1: General Program Flow - - The "program" in the figure can be either a compiled program(1) (such -as 'ls'), or it may be "interpreted". In the latter case, a -machine-executable program such as 'awk' reads your program, and then -uses the instructions in your program to process the data. - - When you write a program, it usually consists of the following, very -basic set of steps, as shown in *note Figure D.2: figure-process-flow.: - -[image src="process-flow.png" alt="Basic Program Stages" text=" ______ -+----------------+ / More \\ No +----------+ -| Initialization | -------> < Data > -------> | Clean Up | -+----------------+ ^ \\ ? / +----------+ - | +--+-+ - | | Yes - | | - | V - | +---------+ - +-----+ Process | - +---------+"] - -Figure D.2: Basic Program Steps - -Initialization - These are the things you do before actually starting to process - data, such as checking arguments, initializing any data you need to - work with, and so on. This step corresponds to 'awk''s 'BEGIN' - rule (*note BEGIN/END::). - - If you were baking a cake, this might consist of laying out all the - mixing bowls and the baking pan, and making sure you have all the - ingredients that you need. - -Processing - This is where the actual work is done. Your program reads data, - one logical chunk at a time, and processes it as appropriate. - - In most programming languages, you have to manually manage the - reading of data, checking to see if there is more each time you - read a chunk. 'awk''s pattern-action paradigm (*note Getting - Started::) handles the mechanics of this for you. - - In baking a cake, the processing corresponds to the actual labor: - breaking eggs, mixing the flour, water, and other ingredients, and - then putting the cake into the oven. - -Clean Up - Once you've processed all the data, you may have things you need to - do before exiting. This step corresponds to 'awk''s 'END' rule - (*note BEGIN/END::). - - After the cake comes out of the oven, you still have to wrap it in - plastic wrap to keep anyone from tasting it, as well as wash the - mixing bowls and utensils. - - An "algorithm" is a detailed set of instructions necessary to -accomplish a task, or process data. It is much the same as a recipe for -baking a cake. Programs implement algorithms. Often, it is up to you -to design the algorithm and implement it, simultaneously. - - The "logical chunks" we talked about previously are called "records", -similar to the records a company keeps on employees, a school keeps for -students, or a doctor keeps for patients. Each record has many -component parts, such as first and last names, date of birth, address, -and so on. The component parts are referred to as the "fields" of the -record. - - The act of reading data is termed "input", and that of generating -results, not too surprisingly, is termed "output". They are often -referred to together as "input/output," and even more often, as "I/O" -for short. (You will also see "input" and "output" used as verbs.) - - 'awk' manages the reading of data for you, as well as the breaking it -up into records and fields. Your program's job is to tell 'awk' what to -do with the data. You do this by describing "patterns" in the data to -look for, and "actions" to execute when those patterns are seen. This -"data-driven" nature of 'awk' programs usually makes them both easier to -write and easier to read. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Compiled programs are typically written in lower-level languages -such as C, C++, or Ada, and then translated, or "compiled", into a form -that the computer can execute directly. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Basic Data Typing, Prev: Basic High Level, Up: Basic Concepts - -D.2 Data Values in a Computer -============================= - -In a program, you keep track of information and values in things called -"variables". A variable is just a name for a given value, such as -'first_name', 'last_name', 'address', and so on. 'awk' has several -predefined variables, and it has special names to refer to the current -input record and the fields of the record. You may also group multiple -associated values under one name, as an array. - - Data, particularly in 'awk', consists of either numeric values, such -as 42 or 3.1415927, or string values. String values are essentially -anything that's not a number, such as a name. Strings are sometimes -referred to as "character data", since they store the individual -characters that comprise them. Individual variables, as well as numeric -and string variables, are referred to as "scalar" values. Groups of -values, such as arrays, are not scalars. - - *note Computer Arithmetic::, provided a basic introduction to numeric -types (integer and floating-point) and how they are used in a computer. -Please review that information, including a number of caveats that were -presented. - - While you are probably used to the idea of a number without a value -(i.e., zero), it takes a bit more getting used to the idea of -zero-length character data. Nevertheless, such a thing exists. It is -called the "null string". The null string is character data that has no -value. In other words, it is empty. It is written in 'awk' programs -like this: '""'. - - Humans are used to working in decimal; i.e., base 10. In base 10, -numbers go from 0 to 9, and then "roll over" into the next column. -(Remember grade school? 42 = 4 x 10 + 2.) - - There are other number bases though. Computers commonly use base 2 -or "binary", base 8 or "octal", and base 16 or "hexadecimal". In -binary, each column represents two times the value in the column to its -right. Each column may contain either a 0 or a 1. Thus, binary 1010 -represents (1 x 8) + (0 x 4) + (1 x 2) + (0 x 1), or decimal 10. Octal -and hexadecimal are discussed more in *note Nondecimal-numbers::. - - At the very lowest level, computers store values as groups of binary -digits, or "bits". Modern computers group bits into groups of eight, -called "bytes". Advanced applications sometimes have to manipulate bits -directly, and 'gawk' provides functions for doing so. - - Programs are written in programming languages. Hundreds, if not -thousands, of programming languages exist. One of the most popular is -the C programming language. The C language had a very strong influence -on the design of the 'awk' language. - - There have been several versions of C. The first is often referred to -as "K&R" C, after the initials of Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie, -the authors of the first book on C. (Dennis Ritchie created the -language, and Brian Kernighan was one of the creators of 'awk'.) - - In the mid-1980s, an effort began to produce an international -standard for C. This work culminated in 1989, with the production of the -ANSI standard for C. This standard became an ISO standard in 1990. In -1999, a revised ISO C standard was approved and released. Where it -makes sense, POSIX 'awk' is compatible with 1999 ISO C. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Glossary, Next: Copying, Prev: Basic Concepts, Up: Top - -Glossary -******** - -Action - A series of 'awk' statements attached to a rule. If the rule's - pattern matches an input record, 'awk' executes the rule's action. - Actions are always enclosed in braces. (*Note Action Overview::.) - -Ada - A programming language originally defined by the U.S. Department of - Defense for embedded programming. It was designed to enforce good - Software Engineering practices. - -Amazing 'awk' Assembler - Henry Spencer at the University of Toronto wrote a retargetable - assembler completely as 'sed' and 'awk' scripts. It is thousands - of lines long, including machine descriptions for several eight-bit - microcomputers. It is a good example of a program that would have - been better written in another language. You can get it from - . - -Amazingly Workable Formatter ('awf') - Henry Spencer at the University of Toronto wrote a formatter that - accepts a large subset of the 'nroff -ms' and 'nroff -man' - formatting commands, using 'awk' and 'sh'. It is available from - . - -Anchor - The regexp metacharacters '^' and '$', which force the match to the - beginning or end of the string, respectively. - -ANSI - The American National Standards Institute. This organization - produces many standards, among them the standards for the C and C++ - programming languages. These standards often become international - standards as well. See also "ISO." - -Argument - An argument can be two different things. It can be an option or a - file name passed to a command while invoking it from the command - line, or it can be something passed to a "function" inside a - program, e.g. inside 'awk'. - - In the latter case, an argument can be passed to a function in two - ways. Either it is given to the called function by value, i.e., a - copy of the value of the variable is made available to the called - function, but the original variable cannot be modified by the - function itself; or it is given by reference, i.e., a pointer to - the interested variable is passed to the function, which can then - directly modify it. In 'awk' scalars are passed by value, and - arrays are passed by reference. See "Pass By Value/Reference." - -Array - A grouping of multiple values under the same name. Most languages - just provide sequential arrays. 'awk' provides associative arrays. - -Assertion - A statement in a program that a condition is true at this point in - the program. Useful for reasoning about how a program is supposed - to behave. - -Assignment - An 'awk' expression that changes the value of some 'awk' variable - or data object. An object that you can assign to is called an - "lvalue". The assigned values are called "rvalues". *Note - Assignment Ops::. - -Associative Array - Arrays in which the indices may be numbers or strings, not just - sequential integers in a fixed range. - -'awk' Language - The language in which 'awk' programs are written. - -'awk' Program - An 'awk' program consists of a series of "patterns" and "actions", - collectively known as "rules". For each input record given to the - program, the program's rules are all processed in turn. 'awk' - programs may also contain function definitions. - -'awk' Script - Another name for an 'awk' program. - -Bash - The GNU version of the standard shell (the Bourne-Again SHell). - See also "Bourne Shell." - -Binary - Base-two notation, where the digits are '0'-'1'. Since electronic - circuitry works "naturally" in base 2 (just think of Off/On), - everything inside a computer is calculated using base 2. Each - digit represents the presence (or absence) of a power of 2 and is - called a "bit". So, for example, the base-two number '10101' is - the same as decimal 21, ((1 x 16) + (1 x 4) + (1 x 1)). - - Since base-two numbers quickly become very long to read and write, - they are usually grouped by 3 (i.e., they are read as octal - numbers), or by 4 (i.e., they are read as hexadecimal numbers). - There is no direct way to insert base 2 numbers in a C program. If - need arises, such numbers are usually inserted as octal or - hexadecimal numbers. The number of base-two digits that fit into - registers used for representing integer numbers in computers is a - rough indication of the computing power of the computer itself. - Most computers nowadays use 64 bits for representing integer - numbers in their registers, but 32-bit, 16-bit and 8-bit registers - have been widely used in the past. *Note Nondecimal-numbers::. -Bit - Short for "Binary Digit." All values in computer memory ultimately - reduce to binary digits: values that are either zero or one. - Groups of bits may be interpreted differently--as integers, - floating-point numbers, character data, addresses of other memory - objects, or other data. 'awk' lets you work with floating-point - numbers and strings. 'gawk' lets you manipulate bit values with - the built-in functions described in *note Bitwise Functions::. - - Computers are often defined by how many bits they use to represent - integer values. Typical systems are 32-bit systems, but 64-bit - systems are becoming increasingly popular, and 16-bit systems have - essentially disappeared. - -Boolean Expression - Named after the English mathematician Boole. See also "Logical - Expression." - -Bourne Shell - The standard shell ('/bin/sh') on Unix and Unix-like systems, - originally written by Steven R. Bourne at Bell Laboratories. Many - shells (Bash, 'ksh', 'pdksh', 'zsh') are generally upwardly - compatible with the Bourne shell. - -Braces - The characters '{' and '}'. Braces are used in 'awk' for - delimiting actions, compound statements, and function bodies. - -Bracket Expression - Inside a "regular expression", an expression included in square - brackets, meant to designate a single character as belonging to a - specified character class. A bracket expression can contain a list - of one or more characters, like '[abc]', a range of characters, - like '[A-Z]', or a name, delimited by ':', that designates a known - set of characters, like '[:digit:]'. The form of bracket - expression enclosed between ':' is independent of the underlying - representation of the character themselves, which could utilize the - ASCII, ECBDIC, or Unicode codesets, depending on the architecture - of the computer system, and on localization. See also "Regular - Expression." - -Built-in Function - The 'awk' language provides built-in functions that perform various - numerical, I/O-related, and string computations. Examples are - 'sqrt()' (for the square root of a number) and 'substr()' (for a - substring of a string). 'gawk' provides functions for timestamp - management, bit manipulation, array sorting, type checking, and - runtime string translation. (*Note Built-in::.) - -Built-in Variable - 'ARGC', 'ARGV', 'CONVFMT', 'ENVIRON', 'FILENAME', 'FNR', 'FS', - 'NF', 'NR', 'OFMT', 'OFS', 'ORS', 'RLENGTH', 'RSTART', 'RS', and - 'SUBSEP' are the variables that have special meaning to 'awk'. In - addition, 'ARGIND', 'BINMODE', 'ERRNO', 'FIELDWIDTHS', 'FPAT', - 'IGNORECASE', 'LINT', 'PROCINFO', 'RT', and 'TEXTDOMAIN' are the - variables that have special meaning to 'gawk'. Changing some of - them affects 'awk''s running environment. (*Note Built-in - Variables::.) - -C - The system programming language that most GNU software is written - in. The 'awk' programming language has C-like syntax, and this - Info file points out similarities between 'awk' and C when - appropriate. - - In general, 'gawk' attempts to be as similar to the 1990 version of - ISO C as makes sense. - -C Shell - The C Shell ('csh' or its improved version, 'tcsh') is a Unix shell - that was created by Bill Joy in the late 1970s. The C shell was - differentiated from other shells by its interactive features and - overall style, which looks more like C. The C Shell is not backward - compatible with the Bourne Shell, so special attention is required - when converting scripts written for other Unix shells to the C - shell, especially with regard to the management of shell variables. - See also "Bourne Shell." - -C++ - A popular object-oriented programming language derived from C. - -Character Class - See "Bracket Expression." - -Character List - See "Bracket Expression." - -Character Set - The set of numeric codes used by a computer system to represent the - characters (letters, numbers, punctuation, etc.) of a particular - country or place. The most common character set in use today is - ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange). Many - European countries use an extension of ASCII known as ISO-8859-1 - (ISO Latin-1). The Unicode character set (http://www.unicode.org) - is increasingly popular and standard, and is particularly widely - used on GNU/Linux systems. - -CHEM - A preprocessor for 'pic' that reads descriptions of molecules and - produces 'pic' input for drawing them. It was written in 'awk' by - Brian Kernighan and Jon Bentley, and is available from - . - -Comparison Expression - A relation that is either true or false, such as 'a < b'. - Comparison expressions are used in 'if', 'while', 'do', and 'for' - statements, and in patterns to select which input records to - process. (*Note Typing and Comparison::.) - -Compiler - A program that translates human-readable source code into - machine-executable object code. The object code is then executed - directly by the computer. See also "Interpreter." - -Complemented Bracket Expression - The negation of a "bracket expression". All that is _not_ - described by a given bracket expression. The symbol '^' precedes - the negated bracket expression. E.g.: '[[^:digit:]' designates - whatever character is not a digit. '[^bad]' designates whatever - character is not one of the letters 'b', 'a', or 'd'. See "Bracket - Expression." - -Compound Statement - A series of 'awk' statements, enclosed in curly braces. Compound - statements may be nested. (*Note Statements::.) - -Computed Regexps - See "Dynamic Regular Expressions." - -Concatenation - Concatenating two strings means sticking them together, one after - another, producing a new string. For example, the string 'foo' - concatenated with the string 'bar' gives the string 'foobar'. - (*Note Concatenation::.) - -Conditional Expression - An expression using the '?:' ternary operator, such as 'EXPR1 ? - EXPR2 : EXPR3'. The expression EXPR1 is evaluated; if the result - is true, the value of the whole expression is the value of EXPR2; - otherwise the value is EXPR3. In either case, only one of EXPR2 - and EXPR3 is evaluated. (*Note Conditional Exp::.) - -Control Statement - A control statement is an instruction to perform a given operation - or a set of operations inside an 'awk' program, if a given - condition is true. Control statements are: 'if', 'for', 'while', - and 'do' (*note Statements::). - -Cookie - A peculiar goodie, token, saying or remembrance produced by or - presented to a program. (With thanks to Professor Doug McIlroy.) - -Coprocess - A subordinate program with which two-way communications is - possible. - -Curly Braces - See "Braces." - -Dark Corner - An area in the language where specifications often were (or still - are) not clear, leading to unexpected or undesirable behavior. - Such areas are marked in this Info file with "(d.c.)" in the text - and are indexed under the heading "dark corner." - -Data Driven - A description of 'awk' programs, where you specify the data you are - interested in processing, and what to do when that data is seen. - -Data Objects - These are numbers and strings of characters. Numbers are converted - into strings and vice versa, as needed. (*Note Conversion::.) - -Deadlock - The situation in which two communicating processes are each waiting - for the other to perform an action. - -Debugger - A program used to help developers remove "bugs" from (de-bug) their - programs. - -Double Precision - An internal representation of numbers that can have fractional - parts. Double precision numbers keep track of more digits than do - single precision numbers, but operations on them are sometimes more - expensive. This is the way 'awk' stores numeric values. It is the - C type 'double'. - -Dynamic Regular Expression - A dynamic regular expression is a regular expression written as an - ordinary expression. It could be a string constant, such as - '"foo"', but it may also be an expression whose value can vary. - (*Note Computed Regexps::.) - -Empty String - See "Null String." - -Environment - A collection of strings, of the form 'NAME=VAL', that each program - has available to it. Users generally place values into the - environment in order to provide information to various programs. - Typical examples are the environment variables 'HOME' and 'PATH'. - -Epoch - The date used as the "beginning of time" for timestamps. Time - values in most systems are represented as seconds since the epoch, - with library functions available for converting these values into - standard date and time formats. - - The epoch on Unix and POSIX systems is 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC. See - also "GMT" and "UTC." - -Escape Sequences - A special sequence of characters used for describing nonprinting - characters, such as '\n' for newline or '\033' for the ASCII ESC - (Escape) character. (*Note Escape Sequences::.) - -Extension - An additional feature or change to a programming language or - utility not defined by that language's or utility's standard. - 'gawk' has (too) many extensions over POSIX 'awk'. - -FDL - See "Free Documentation License." - -Field - When 'awk' reads an input record, it splits the record into pieces - separated by whitespace (or by a separator regexp that you can - change by setting the predefined variable 'FS'). Such pieces are - called fields. If the pieces are of fixed length, you can use the - built-in variable 'FIELDWIDTHS' to describe their lengths. If you - wish to specify the contents of fields instead of the field - separator, you can use the predefined variable 'FPAT' to do so. - (*Note Field Separators::, *note Constant Size::, and *note - Splitting By Content::.) - -Flag - A variable whose truth value indicates the existence or - nonexistence of some condition. - -Floating-Point Number - Often referred to in mathematical terms as a "rational" or real - number, this is just a number that can have a fractional part. See - also "Double Precision" and "Single Precision." - -Format - Format strings control the appearance of output in the 'strftime()' - and 'sprintf()' functions, and in the 'printf' statement as well. - Also, data conversions from numbers to strings are controlled by - the format strings contained in the predefined variables 'CONVFMT' - and 'OFMT'. (*Note Control Letters::.) - -Fortran - Shorthand for FORmula TRANslator, one of the first programming - languages available for scientific calculations. It was created by - John Backus, and has been available since 1957. It is still in use - today. - -Free Documentation License - This document describes the terms under which this Info file is - published and may be copied. (*Note GNU Free Documentation - License::.) - -Free Software Foundation - A nonprofit organization dedicated to the production and - distribution of freely distributable software. It was founded by - Richard M. Stallman, the author of the original Emacs editor. GNU - Emacs is the most widely used version of Emacs today. - -FSF - See "Free Software Foundation." - -Function - A part of an 'awk' program that can be invoked from every point of - the program, to perform a task. 'awk' has several built-in - functions. Users can define their own functions in every part of - the program. Function can be recursive, i.e., they may invoke - themselves. *Note Functions::. In 'gawk' it is also possible to - have functions shared among different programs, and included where - required using the '@include' directive (*note Include Files::). - In 'gawk' the name of the function that should be invoked can be - generated at run time, i.e., dynamically. The 'gawk' extension API - provides constructor functions (*note Constructor Functions::). - -'gawk' - The GNU implementation of 'awk'. - -General Public License - This document describes the terms under which 'gawk' and its source - code may be distributed. (*Note Copying::.) - -GMT - "Greenwich Mean Time." This is the old term for UTC. It is the - time of day used internally for Unix and POSIX systems. See also - "Epoch" and "UTC." - -GNU - "GNU's not Unix". An on-going project of the Free Software - Foundation to create a complete, freely distributable, - POSIX-compliant computing environment. - -GNU/Linux - A variant of the GNU system using the Linux kernel, instead of the - Free Software Foundation's Hurd kernel. The Linux kernel is a - stable, efficient, full-featured clone of Unix that has been ported - to a variety of architectures. It is most popular on PC-class - systems, but runs well on a variety of other systems too. The - Linux kernel source code is available under the terms of the GNU - General Public License, which is perhaps its most important aspect. - -GPL - See "General Public License." - -Hexadecimal - Base 16 notation, where the digits are '0'-'9' and 'A'-'F', with - 'A' representing 10, 'B' representing 11, and so on, up to 'F' for - 15. Hexadecimal numbers are written in C using a leading '0x', to - indicate their base. Thus, '0x12' is 18 ((1 x 16) + 2). *Note - Nondecimal-numbers::. - -I/O - Abbreviation for "Input/Output," the act of moving data into and/or - out of a running program. - -Input Record - A single chunk of data that is read in by 'awk'. Usually, an 'awk' - input record consists of one line of text. (*Note Records::.) - -Integer - A whole number, i.e., a number that does not have a fractional - part. - -Internationalization - The process of writing or modifying a program so that it can use - multiple languages without requiring further source code changes. - -Interpreter - A program that reads human-readable source code directly, and uses - the instructions in it to process data and produce results. 'awk' - is typically (but not always) implemented as an interpreter. See - also "Compiler." - -Interval Expression - A component of a regular expression that lets you specify repeated - matches of some part of the regexp. Interval expressions were not - originally available in 'awk' programs. - -ISO - The International Organization for Standardization. This - organization produces international standards for many things, - including programming languages, such as C and C++. In the - computer arena, important standards like those for C, C++, and - POSIX become both American national and ISO international standards - simultaneously. This Info file refers to Standard C as "ISO C" - throughout. See the ISO website - (http://www.iso.org/iso/home/about.htm) for more information about - the name of the organization and its language-independent - three-letter acronym. - -Java - A modern programming language originally developed by Sun - Microsystems (now Oracle) supporting Object-Oriented programming. - Although usually implemented by compiling to the instructions for a - standard virtual machine (the JVM), the language can be compiled to - native code. - -Keyword - In the 'awk' language, a keyword is a word that has special - meaning. Keywords are reserved and may not be used as variable - names. - - 'gawk''s keywords are: 'BEGIN', 'BEGINFILE', 'END', 'ENDFILE', - 'break', 'case', 'continue', 'default' 'delete', 'do...while', - 'else', 'exit', 'for...in', 'for', 'function', 'func', 'if', - 'next', 'nextfile', 'switch', and 'while'. - -Korn Shell - The Korn Shell ('ksh') is a Unix shell which was developed by David - Korn at Bell Laboratories in the early 1980s. The Korn Shell is - backward-compatible with the Bourne shell and includes many - features of the C shell. See also "Bourne Shell." - -Lesser General Public License - This document describes the terms under which binary library - archives or shared objects, and their source code may be - distributed. - -LGPL - See "Lesser General Public License." - -Linux - See "GNU/Linux." - -Localization - The process of providing the data necessary for an - internationalized program to work in a particular language. - -Logical Expression - An expression using the operators for logic, AND, OR, and NOT, - written '&&', '||', and '!' in 'awk'. Often called Boolean - expressions, after the mathematician who pioneered this kind of - mathematical logic. - -Lvalue - An expression that can appear on the left side of an assignment - operator. In most languages, lvalues can be variables or array - elements. In 'awk', a field designator can also be used as an - lvalue. - -Matching - The act of testing a string against a regular expression. If the - regexp describes the contents of the string, it is said to "match" - it. - -Metacharacters - Characters used within a regexp that do not stand for themselves. - Instead, they denote regular expression operations, such as - repetition, grouping, or alternation. - -Nesting - Nesting is where information is organized in layers, or where - objects contain other similar objects. In 'gawk' the '@include' - directive can be nested. The "natural" nesting of arithmetic and - logical operations can be changed using parentheses (*note - Precedence::). - -No-op - An operation that does nothing. - -Null String - A string with no characters in it. It is represented explicitly in - 'awk' programs by placing two double quote characters next to each - other ('""'). It can appear in input data by having two successive - occurrences of the field separator appear next to each other. - -Number - A numeric-valued data object. Modern 'awk' implementations use - double precision floating-point to represent numbers. Ancient - 'awk' implementations used single precision floating-point. - -Octal - Base-eight notation, where the digits are '0'-'7'. Octal numbers - are written in C using a leading '0', to indicate their base. - Thus, '013' is 11 ((1 x 8) + 3). *Note Nondecimal-numbers::. - -Output Record - A single chunk of data that is written out by 'awk'. Usually, an - 'awk' output record consists of one or more lines of text. *Note - Records::. - -Pattern - Patterns tell 'awk' which input records are interesting to which - rules. - - A pattern is an arbitrary conditional expression against which - input is tested. If the condition is satisfied, the pattern is - said to "match" the input record. A typical pattern might compare - the input record against a regular expression. (*Note Pattern - Overview::.) - -PEBKAC - An acronym describing what is possibly the most frequent source of - computer usage problems. (Problem Exists Between Keyboard And - Chair.) - -Plug-in - See "Extensions." - -POSIX - The name for a series of standards that specify a Portable - Operating System interface. The "IX" denotes the Unix heritage of - these standards. The main standard of interest for 'awk' users is - 'IEEE Standard for Information Technology, Standard 1003.1-2008'. - The 2008 POSIX standard can be found online at - . - -Precedence - The order in which operations are performed when operators are used - without explicit parentheses. - -Private - Variables and/or functions that are meant for use exclusively by - library functions and not for the main 'awk' program. Special care - must be taken when naming such variables and functions. (*Note - Library Names::.) - -Range (of input lines) - A sequence of consecutive lines from the input file(s). A pattern - can specify ranges of input lines for 'awk' to process or it can - specify single lines. (*Note Pattern Overview::.) - -Record - See "Input record" and "Output record." - -Recursion - When a function calls itself, either directly or indirectly. If - this is clear, stop, and proceed to the next entry. Otherwise, - refer to the entry for "recursion." - -Redirection - Redirection means performing input from something other than the - standard input stream, or performing output to something other than - the standard output stream. - - You can redirect input to the 'getline' statement using the '<', - '|', and '|&' operators. You can redirect the output of the - 'print' and 'printf' statements to a file or a system command, - using the '>', '>>', '|', and '|&' operators. (*Note Getline::, - and *note Redirection::.) - -Reference Counts - An internal mechanism in 'gawk' to minimize the amount of memory - needed to store the value of string variables. If the value - assumed by a variable is used in more than one place, only one copy - of the value itself is kept, and the associated reference count is - increased when the same value is used by an additional variable, - and decreased when the related variable is no longer in use. When - the reference count goes to zero, the memory space used to store - the value of the variable is freed. - -Regexp - See "Regular Expression." - -Regular Expression - A regular expression ("regexp" for short) is a pattern that denotes - a set of strings, possibly an infinite set. For example, the - regular expression 'R.*xp' matches any string starting with the - letter 'R' and ending with the letters 'xp'. In 'awk', regular - expressions are used in patterns and in conditional expressions. - Regular expressions may contain escape sequences. (*Note - Regexp::.) - -Regular Expression Constant - A regular expression constant is a regular expression written - within slashes, such as '/foo/'. This regular expression is chosen - when you write the 'awk' program and cannot be changed during its - execution. (*Note Regexp Usage::.) - -Regular Expression Operators - See "Metacharacters." - -Rounding - Rounding the result of an arithmetic operation can be tricky. More - than one way of rounding exists, and in 'gawk' it is possible to - choose which method should be used in a program. *Note Setting the - rounding mode::. - -Rule - A segment of an 'awk' program that specifies how to process single - input records. A rule consists of a "pattern" and an "action". - 'awk' reads an input record; then, for each rule, if the input - record satisfies the rule's pattern, 'awk' executes the rule's - action. Otherwise, the rule does nothing for that input record. - -Rvalue - A value that can appear on the right side of an assignment - operator. In 'awk', essentially every expression has a value. - These values are rvalues. - -Scalar - A single value, be it a number or a string. Regular variables are - scalars; arrays and functions are not. - -Search Path - In 'gawk', a list of directories to search for 'awk' program source - files. In the shell, a list of directories to search for - executable programs. - -'sed' - See "Stream Editor." - -Seed - The initial value, or starting point, for a sequence of random - numbers. - -Shell - The command interpreter for Unix and POSIX-compliant systems. The - shell works both interactively, and as a programming language for - batch files, or shell scripts. - -Short-Circuit - The nature of the 'awk' logical operators '&&' and '||'. If the - value of the entire expression is determinable from evaluating just - the lefthand side of these operators, the righthand side is not - evaluated. (*Note Boolean Ops::.) - -Side Effect - A side effect occurs when an expression has an effect aside from - merely producing a value. Assignment expressions, increment and - decrement expressions, and function calls have side effects. - (*Note Assignment Ops::.) - -Single Precision - An internal representation of numbers that can have fractional - parts. Single precision numbers keep track of fewer digits than do - double precision numbers, but operations on them are sometimes less - expensive in terms of CPU time. This is the type used by some - ancient versions of 'awk' to store numeric values. It is the C - type 'float'. - -Space - The character generated by hitting the space bar on the keyboard. - -Special File - A file name interpreted internally by 'gawk', instead of being - handed directly to the underlying operating system--for example, - '/dev/stderr'. (*Note Special Files::.) - -Statement - An expression inside an 'awk' program in the action part of a - pattern-action rule, or inside an 'awk' function. A statement can - be a variable assignment, an array operation, a loop, etc. - -Stream Editor - A program that reads records from an input stream and processes - them one or more at a time. This is in contrast with batch - programs, which may expect to read their input files in entirety - before starting to do anything, as well as with interactive - programs which require input from the user. - -String - A datum consisting of a sequence of characters, such as 'I am a - string'. Constant strings are written with double quotes in the - 'awk' language and may contain escape sequences. (*Note Escape - Sequences::.) - -Tab - The character generated by hitting the 'TAB' key on the keyboard. - It usually expands to up to eight spaces upon output. - -Text Domain - A unique name that identifies an application. Used for grouping - messages that are translated at runtime into the local language. - -Timestamp - A value in the "seconds since the epoch" format used by Unix and - POSIX systems. Used for the 'gawk' functions 'mktime()', - 'strftime()', and 'systime()'. See also "Epoch," "GMT," and "UTC." - -Unix - A computer operating system originally developed in the early - 1970's at AT&T Bell Laboratories. It initially became popular in - universities around the world and later moved into commercial - environments as a software development system and network server - system. There are many commercial versions of Unix, as well as - several work-alike systems whose source code is freely available - (such as GNU/Linux, NetBSD (http://www.netbsd.org), FreeBSD - (http://www.freebsd.org), and OpenBSD (http://www.openbsd.org)). - -UTC - The accepted abbreviation for "Universal Coordinated Time." This - is standard time in Greenwich, England, which is used as a - reference time for day and date calculations. See also "Epoch" and - "GMT." - -Variable - A name for a value. In 'awk', variables may be either scalars or - arrays. - -Whitespace - A sequence of space, TAB, or newline characters occurring inside an - input record or a string. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Copying, Next: GNU Free Documentation License, Prev: Glossary, Up: Top - -GNU General Public License -************************** - - Version 3, 29 June 2007 - - Copyright (C) 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc. - - Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this - license document, but changing it is not allowed. - -Preamble -======== - -The GNU General Public License is a free, copyleft license for software -and other kinds of works. - - The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed -to take away your freedom to share and change the works. By contrast, -the GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom to -share and change all versions of a program--to make sure it remains free -software for all its users. 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Limitation of Liability. - - IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN - WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MODIFIES - AND/OR CONVEYS THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR - DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR - CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE - THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA - BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD - PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER - PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF - THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. - - 17. Interpretation of Sections 15 and 16. - - If the disclaimer of warranty and limitation of liability provided - above cannot be given local legal effect according to their terms, - reviewing courts shall apply local law that most closely - approximates an absolute waiver of all civil liability in - connection with the Program, unless a warranty or assumption of - liability accompanies a copy of the Program in return for a fee. - -END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS -=========================== - -How to Apply These Terms to Your New Programs -============================================= - -If you develop a new program, and you want it to be of the greatest -possible use to the public, the best way to achieve this is to make it -free software which everyone can redistribute and change under these -terms. - - To do so, attach the following notices to the program. It is safest -to attach them to the start of each source file to most effectively -state the exclusion of warranty; and each file should have at least the -"copyright" line and a pointer to where the full notice is found. - - ONE LINE TO GIVE THE PROGRAM'S NAME AND A BRIEF IDEA OF WHAT IT DOES. - Copyright (C) YEAR NAME OF AUTHOR - - This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify - it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by - the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at - your option) any later version. - - This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but - WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of - MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU - General Public License for more details. - - You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License - along with this program. If not, see . - - Also add information on how to contact you by electronic and paper -mail. - - If the program does terminal interaction, make it output a short -notice like this when it starts in an interactive mode: - - PROGRAM Copyright (C) YEAR NAME OF AUTHOR - This program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details type 'show w'. - This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it - under certain conditions; type 'show c' for details. - - The hypothetical commands 'show w' and 'show c' should show the -appropriate parts of the General Public License. Of course, your -program's commands might be different; for a GUI interface, you would -use an "about box". - - You should also get your employer (if you work as a programmer) or -school, if any, to sign a "copyright disclaimer" for the program, if -necessary. For more information on this, and how to apply and follow -the GNU GPL, see . - - The GNU General Public License does not permit incorporating your -program into proprietary programs. If your program is a subroutine -library, you may consider it more useful to permit linking proprietary -applications with the library. If this is what you want to do, use the -GNU Lesser General Public License instead of this License. But first, -please read . - - -File: gawk.info, Node: GNU Free Documentation License, Next: Index, Prev: Copying, Up: Top - -GNU Free Documentation License -****************************** - - Version 1.3, 3 November 2008 - - Copyright (C) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc. - - - Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies - of this license document, but changing it is not allowed. - - 0. PREAMBLE - - The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other - functional and useful document "free" in the sense of freedom: to - assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, - with or without modifying it, either commercially or - noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the - author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not - being considered responsible for modifications made by others. - - This License is a kind of "copyleft", which means that derivative - works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense. - It complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft - license designed for free software. - - We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for - free software, because free software needs free documentation: a - free program should come with manuals providing the same freedoms - that the software does. But this License is not limited to - software manuals; it can be used for any textual work, regardless - of subject matter or whether it is published as a printed book. We - recommend this License principally for works whose purpose is - instruction or reference. - - 1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS - - This License applies to any manual or other work, in any medium, - that contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can - be distributed under the terms of this License. Such a notice - grants a world-wide, royalty-free license, unlimited in duration, - to use that work under the conditions stated herein. The - "Document", below, refers to any such manual or work. Any member - of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as "you". You accept - the license if you copy, modify or distribute the work in a way - requiring permission under copyright law. - - A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the - Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with - modifications and/or translated into another language. - - A "Secondary Section" is a named appendix or a front-matter section - of the Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the - publishers or authors of the Document to the Document's overall - subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could - fall directly within that overall subject. (Thus, if the Document - is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not - explain any mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter of - historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or - of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position - regarding them. - - The "Invariant Sections" are certain Secondary Sections whose - titles are designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in the - notice that says that the Document is released under this License. - If a section does not fit the above definition of Secondary then it - is not allowed to be designated as Invariant. The Document may - contain zero Invariant Sections. If the Document does not identify - any Invariant Sections then there are none. - - The "Cover Texts" are certain short passages of text that are - listed, as Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts, in the notice - that says that the Document is released under this License. A - Front-Cover Text may be at most 5 words, and a Back-Cover Text may - be at most 25 words. - - A "Transparent" copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy, - represented in a format whose specification is available to the - general public, that is suitable for revising the document - straightforwardly with generic text editors or (for images composed - of pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings) some widely - available drawing editor, and that is suitable for input to text - formatters or for automatic translation to a variety of formats - suitable for input to text formatters. A copy made in an otherwise - Transparent file format whose markup, or absence of markup, has - been arranged to thwart or discourage subsequent modification by - readers is not Transparent. An image format is not Transparent if - used for any substantial amount of text. A copy that is not - "Transparent" is called "Opaque". - - Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain - ASCII without markup, Texinfo input format, LaTeX input format, - SGML or XML using a publicly available DTD, and standard-conforming - simple HTML, PostScript or PDF designed for human modification. - Examples of transparent image formats include PNG, XCF and JPG. - Opaque formats include proprietary formats that can be read and - edited only by proprietary word processors, SGML or XML for which - the DTD and/or processing tools are not generally available, and - the machine-generated HTML, PostScript or PDF produced by some word - processors for output purposes only. - - The "Title Page" means, for a printed book, the title page itself, - plus such following pages as are needed to hold, legibly, the - material this License requires to appear in the title page. For - works in formats which do not have any title page as such, "Title - Page" means the text near the most prominent appearance of the - work's title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text. - - The "publisher" means any person or entity that distributes copies - of the Document to the public. - - A section "Entitled XYZ" means a named subunit of the Document - whose title either is precisely XYZ or contains XYZ in parentheses - following text that translates XYZ in another language. (Here XYZ - stands for a specific section name mentioned below, such as - "Acknowledgements", "Dedications", "Endorsements", or "History".) - To "Preserve the Title" of such a section when you modify the - Document means that it remains a section "Entitled XYZ" according - to this definition. - - The Document may include Warranty Disclaimers next to the notice - which states that this License applies to the Document. These - Warranty Disclaimers are considered to be included by reference in - this License, but only as regards disclaiming warranties: any other - implication that these Warranty Disclaimers may have is void and - has no effect on the meaning of this License. - - 2. VERBATIM COPYING - - You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either - commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the - copyright notices, and the license notice saying this License - applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you - add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License. You - may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading - or further copying of the copies you make or distribute. However, - you may accept compensation in exchange for copies. If you - distribute a large enough number of copies you must also follow the - conditions in section 3. - - You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated above, - and you may publicly display copies. - - 3. COPYING IN QUANTITY - - If you publish printed copies (or copies in media that commonly - have printed covers) of the Document, numbering more than 100, and - the Document's license notice requires Cover Texts, you must - enclose the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly, all - these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and - Back-Cover Texts on the back cover. Both covers must also clearly - and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies. The - front cover must present the full title with all words of the title - equally prominent and visible. You may add other material on the - covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the covers, as - long as they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these - conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in other respects. - - If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit - legibly, you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit - reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto - adjacent pages. - - If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document - numbering more than 100, you must either include a machine-readable - Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or state in or with - each Opaque copy a computer-network location from which the general - network-using public has access to download using public-standard - network protocols a complete Transparent copy of the Document, free - of added material. If you use the latter option, you must take - reasonably prudent steps, when you begin distribution of Opaque - copies in quantity, to ensure that this Transparent copy will - remain thus accessible at the stated location until at least one - year after the last time you distribute an Opaque copy (directly or - through your agents or retailers) of that edition to the public. - - It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of - the Document well before redistributing any large number of copies, - to give them a chance to provide you with an updated version of the - Document. - - 4. MODIFICATIONS - - You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document - under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you - release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with the - Modified Version filling the role of the Document, thus licensing - distribution and modification of the Modified Version to whoever - possesses a copy of it. In addition, you must do these things in - the Modified Version: - - A. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title - distinct from that of the Document, and from those of previous - versions (which should, if there were any, be listed in the - History section of the Document). You may use the same title - as a previous version if the original publisher of that - version gives permission. - - B. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or - entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in - the Modified Version, together with at least five of the - principal authors of the Document (all of its principal - authors, if it has fewer than five), unless they release you - from this requirement. - - C. State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the - Modified Version, as the publisher. - - D. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document. - - E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications - adjacent to the other copyright notices. - - F. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license - notice giving the public permission to use the Modified - Version under the terms of this License, in the form shown in - the Addendum below. - - G. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant - Sections and required Cover Texts given in the Document's - license notice. - - H. Include an unaltered copy of this License. - - I. Preserve the section Entitled "History", Preserve its Title, - and add to it an item stating at least the title, year, new - authors, and publisher of the Modified Version as given on the - Title Page. If there is no section Entitled "History" in the - Document, create one stating the title, year, authors, and - publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page, then add - an item describing the Modified Version as stated in the - previous sentence. - - J. Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document - for public access to a Transparent copy of the Document, and - likewise the network locations given in the Document for - previous versions it was based on. These may be placed in the - "History" section. You may omit a network location for a work - that was published at least four years before the Document - itself, or if the original publisher of the version it refers - to gives permission. - - K. For any section Entitled "Acknowledgements" or "Dedications", - Preserve the Title of the section, and preserve in the section - all the substance and tone of each of the contributor - acknowledgements and/or dedications given therein. - - L. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document, unaltered - in their text and in their titles. Section numbers or the - equivalent are not considered part of the section titles. - - M. Delete any section Entitled "Endorsements". Such a section - may not be included in the Modified Version. - - N. Do not retitle any existing section to be Entitled - "Endorsements" or to conflict in title with any Invariant - Section. - - O. Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers. - - If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or - appendices that qualify as Secondary Sections and contain no - material copied from the Document, you may at your option designate - some or all of these sections as invariant. To do this, add their - titles to the list of Invariant Sections in the Modified Version's - license notice. These titles must be distinct from any other - section titles. - - You may add a section Entitled "Endorsements", provided it contains - nothing but endorsements of your Modified Version by various - parties--for example, statements of peer review or that the text - has been approved by an organization as the authoritative - definition of a standard. - - You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text, - and a passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end of - the list of Cover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one passage - of Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be added by (or - through arrangements made by) any one entity. If the Document - already includes a cover text for the same cover, previously added - by you or by arrangement made by the same entity you are acting on - behalf of, you may not add another; but you may replace the old - one, on explicit permission from the previous publisher that added - the old one. - - The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this - License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to - assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version. - - 5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS - - You may combine the Document with other documents released under - this License, under the terms defined in section 4 above for - modified versions, provided that you include in the combination all - of the Invariant Sections of all of the original documents, - unmodified, and list them all as Invariant Sections of your - combined work in its license notice, and that you preserve all - their Warranty Disclaimers. - - The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and - multiple identical Invariant Sections may be replaced with a single - copy. If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same name - but different contents, make the title of each such section unique - by adding at the end of it, in parentheses, the name of the - original author or publisher of that section if known, or else a - unique number. Make the same adjustment to the section titles in - the list of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the - combined work. - - In the combination, you must combine any sections Entitled - "History" in the various original documents, forming one section - Entitled "History"; likewise combine any sections Entitled - "Acknowledgements", and any sections Entitled "Dedications". You - must delete all sections Entitled "Endorsements." - - 6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS - - You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other - documents released under this License, and replace the individual - copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy - that is included in the collection, provided that you follow the - rules of this License for verbatim copying of each of the documents - in all other respects. - - You may extract a single document from such a collection, and - distribute it individually under this License, provided you insert - a copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow this - License in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of that - document. - - 7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS - - A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other - separate and independent documents or works, in or on a volume of a - storage or distribution medium, is called an "aggregate" if the - copyright resulting from the compilation is not used to limit the - legal rights of the compilation's users beyond what the individual - works permit. When the Document is included in an aggregate, this - License does not apply to the other works in the aggregate which - are not themselves derivative works of the Document. - - If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these - copies of the Document, then if the Document is less than one half - of the entire aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts may be placed - on covers that bracket the Document within the aggregate, or the - electronic equivalent of covers if the Document is in electronic - form. Otherwise they must appear on printed covers that bracket - the whole aggregate. - - 8. TRANSLATION - - Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may - distribute translations of the Document under the terms of section - 4. Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires special - permission from their copyright holders, but you may include - translations of some or all Invariant Sections in addition to the - original versions of these Invariant Sections. You may include a - translation of this License, and all the license notices in the - Document, and any Warranty Disclaimers, provided that you also - include the original English version of this License and the - original versions of those notices and disclaimers. In case of a - disagreement between the translation and the original version of - this License or a notice or disclaimer, the original version will - prevail. - - If a section in the Document is Entitled "Acknowledgements", - "Dedications", or "History", the requirement (section 4) to - Preserve its Title (section 1) will typically require changing the - actual title. - - 9. TERMINATION - - You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document - except as expressly provided under this License. Any attempt - otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute it is void, - and will automatically terminate your rights under this License. - - However, if you cease all violation of this License, then your - license from a particular copyright holder is reinstated (a) - provisionally, unless and until the copyright holder explicitly and - finally terminates your license, and (b) permanently, if the - copyright holder fails to notify you of the violation by some - reasonable means prior to 60 days after the cessation. - - Moreover, your license from a particular copyright holder is - reinstated permanently if the copyright holder notifies you of the - violation by some reasonable means, this is the first time you have - received notice of violation of this License (for any work) from - that copyright holder, and you cure the violation prior to 30 days - after your receipt of the notice. - - Termination of your rights under this section does not terminate - the licenses of parties who have received copies or rights from you - under this License. If your rights have been terminated and not - permanently reinstated, receipt of a copy of some or all of the - same material does not give you any rights to use it. - - 10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE - - The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of - the GNU Free Documentation License from time to time. Such new - versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may - differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. See - . - - Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version - number. If the Document specifies that a particular numbered - version of this License "or any later version" applies to it, you - have the option of following the terms and conditions either of - that specified version or of any later version that has been - published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the - Document does not specify a version number of this License, you may - choose any version ever published (not as a draft) by the Free - Software Foundation. If the Document specifies that a proxy can - decide which future versions of this License can be used, that - proxy's public statement of acceptance of a version permanently - authorizes you to choose that version for the Document. - - 11. RELICENSING - - "Massive Multiauthor Collaboration Site" (or "MMC Site") means any - World Wide Web server that publishes copyrightable works and also - provides prominent facilities for anybody to edit those works. A - public wiki that anybody can edit is an example of such a server. - A "Massive Multiauthor Collaboration" (or "MMC") contained in the - site means any set of copyrightable works thus published on the MMC - site. - - "CC-BY-SA" means the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 - license published by Creative Commons Corporation, a not-for-profit - corporation with a principal place of business in San Francisco, - California, as well as future copyleft versions of that license - published by that same organization. - - "Incorporate" means to publish or republish a Document, in whole or - in part, as part of another Document. - - An MMC is "eligible for relicensing" if it is licensed under this - License, and if all works that were first published under this - License somewhere other than this MMC, and subsequently - incorporated in whole or in part into the MMC, (1) had no cover - texts or invariant sections, and (2) were thus incorporated prior - to November 1, 2008. - - The operator of an MMC Site may republish an MMC contained in the - site under CC-BY-SA on the same site at any time before August 1, - 2009, provided the MMC is eligible for relicensing. - -ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents -==================================================== - -To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of -the License in the document and put the following copyright and license -notices just after the title page: - - Copyright (C) YEAR YOUR NAME. - Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document - under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 - or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; - with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover - Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU - Free Documentation License''. - - If you have Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts and Back-Cover -Texts, replace the "with...Texts." line with this: - - with the Invariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with - the Front-Cover Texts being LIST, and with the Back-Cover Texts - being LIST. - - If you have Invariant Sections without Cover Texts, or some other -combination of the three, merge those two alternatives to suit the -situation. - - If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we -recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of free -software license, such as the GNU General Public License, to permit -their use in free software. - - -File: gawk.info, Node: Index, Prev: GNU Free Documentation License, Up: Top - -Index -***** - -[index] -* Menu: - -* ! (exclamation point), ! operator: Boolean Ops. (line 69) -* ! (exclamation point), ! operator <1>: Precedence. (line 51) -* ! (exclamation point), ! operator <2>: Ranges. (line 47) -* ! (exclamation point), ! operator <3>: Egrep Program. (line 174) -* ! (exclamation point), != operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* ! (exclamation point), != operator <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* ! (exclamation point), !~ operator: Regexp Usage. (line 19) -* ! (exclamation point), !~ operator <1>: Computed Regexps. (line 6) -* ! (exclamation point), !~ operator <2>: Case-sensitivity. (line 26) -* ! (exclamation point), !~ operator <3>: Regexp Constants. (line 6) -* ! (exclamation point), !~ operator <4>: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* ! (exclamation point), !~ operator <5>: Comparison Operators. - (line 98) -* ! (exclamation point), !~ operator <6>: Precedence. (line 79) -* ! (exclamation point), !~ operator <7>: Expression Patterns. - (line 24) -* " (double quote), in regexp constants: Computed Regexps. (line 30) -* " (double quote), in shell commands: Quoting. (line 54) -* # (number sign), #! (executable scripts): Executable Scripts. - (line 6) -* # (number sign), commenting: Comments. (line 6) -* $ (dollar sign), $ field operator: Fields. (line 19) -* $ (dollar sign), $ field operator <1>: Precedence. (line 42) -* $ (dollar sign), incrementing fields and arrays: Increment Ops. - (line 30) -* $ (dollar sign), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 35) -* % (percent sign), % operator: Precedence. (line 54) -* % (percent sign), %= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 129) -* % (percent sign), %= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* & (ampersand), && operator: Boolean Ops. (line 59) -* & (ampersand), && operator <1>: Precedence. (line 85) -* & (ampersand), gsub()/gensub()/sub() functions and: Gory Details. - (line 6) -* ' (single quote): One-shot. (line 15) -* ' (single quote) in gawk command lines: Long. (line 35) -* ' (single quote), in shell commands: Quoting. (line 48) -* ' (single quote), vs. apostrophe: Comments. (line 27) -* ' (single quote), with double quotes: Quoting. (line 73) -* () (parentheses), in a profile: Profiling. (line 146) -* () (parentheses), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 81) -* * (asterisk), * operator, as multiplication operator: Precedence. - (line 54) -* * (asterisk), * operator, as regexp operator: Regexp Operators. - (line 89) -* * (asterisk), * operator, null strings, matching: String Functions. - (line 537) -* * (asterisk), ** operator: Arithmetic Ops. (line 81) -* * (asterisk), ** operator <1>: Precedence. (line 48) -* * (asterisk), **= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 129) -* * (asterisk), **= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* * (asterisk), *= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 129) -* * (asterisk), *= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* + (plus sign), + operator: Precedence. (line 51) -* + (plus sign), + operator <1>: Precedence. (line 57) -* + (plus sign), ++ operator: Increment Ops. (line 11) -* + (plus sign), ++ operator <1>: Increment Ops. (line 40) -* + (plus sign), ++ operator <2>: Precedence. (line 45) -* + (plus sign), += operator: Assignment Ops. (line 81) -* + (plus sign), += operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* + (plus sign), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 105) -* , (comma), in range patterns: Ranges. (line 6) -* - (hyphen), - operator: Precedence. (line 51) -* - (hyphen), - operator <1>: Precedence. (line 57) -* - (hyphen), -- operator: Increment Ops. (line 48) -* - (hyphen), -- operator <1>: Precedence. (line 45) -* - (hyphen), -= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 129) -* - (hyphen), -= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* - (hyphen), filenames beginning with: Options. (line 60) -* - (hyphen), in bracket expressions: Bracket Expressions. (line 25) -* --assign option: Options. (line 32) -* --bignum option: Options. (line 203) -* --characters-as-bytes option: Options. (line 69) -* --copyright option: Options. (line 89) -* --debug option: Options. (line 108) -* --disable-extensions configuration option: Additional Configuration Options. - (line 9) -* --disable-lint configuration option: Additional Configuration Options. - (line 15) -* --disable-nls configuration option: Additional Configuration Options. - (line 32) -* --dump-variables option: Options. (line 94) -* --dump-variables option, using for library functions: Library Names. - (line 45) -* --exec option: Options. (line 125) -* --field-separator option: Options. (line 21) -* --file option: Options. (line 25) -* --gen-pot option: Options. (line 147) -* --gen-pot option <1>: String Extraction. (line 6) -* --gen-pot option <2>: String Extraction. (line 6) -* --help option: Options. (line 154) -* --include option: Options. (line 159) -* --lint option: Command Line. (line 20) -* --lint option <1>: Options. (line 184) -* --lint-old option: Options. (line 299) -* --load option: Options. (line 172) -* --no-optimize option: Options. (line 285) -* --non-decimal-data option: Options. (line 209) -* --non-decimal-data option <1>: Nondecimal Data. (line 6) -* --non-decimal-data option, strtonum() function and: Nondecimal Data. - (line 35) -* --optimize option: Options. (line 234) -* --posix option: Options. (line 257) -* --posix option, --traditional option and: Options. (line 272) -* --pretty-print option: Options. (line 223) -* --profile option: Options. (line 245) -* --profile option <1>: Profiling. (line 12) -* --re-interval option: Options. (line 278) -* --sandbox option: Options. (line 290) -* --sandbox option, disabling system() function: I/O Functions. - (line 129) -* --sandbox option, input redirection with getline: Getline. (line 19) -* --sandbox option, output redirection with print, printf: Redirection. - (line 6) -* --source option: Options. (line 117) -* --traditional option: Options. (line 82) -* --traditional option, --posix option and: Options. (line 272) -* --use-lc-numeric option: Options. (line 218) -* --version option: Options. (line 304) -* --with-whiny-user-strftime configuration option: Additional Configuration Options. - (line 37) -* -b option: Options. (line 69) -* -c option: Options. (line 82) -* -C option: Options. (line 89) -* -d option: Options. (line 94) -* -D option: Options. (line 108) -* -e option: Options. (line 117) -* -E option: Options. (line 125) -* -e option <1>: Options. (line 340) -* -f option: Long. (line 12) -* -F option: Options. (line 21) -* -f option <1>: Options. (line 25) -* -F option, -Ft sets FS to TAB: Options. (line 312) -* -F option, command-line: Command Line Field Separator. - (line 6) -* -f option, multiple uses: Options. (line 317) -* -g option: Options. (line 147) -* -h option: Options. (line 154) -* -i option: Options. (line 159) -* -l option: Options. (line 172) -* -l option <1>: Options. (line 184) -* -L option: Options. (line 299) -* -M option: Options. (line 203) -* -n option: Options. (line 209) -* -N option: Options. (line 218) -* -o option: Options. (line 223) -* -O option: Options. (line 234) -* -p option: Options. (line 245) -* -P option: Options. (line 257) -* -r option: Options. (line 278) -* -s option: Options. (line 285) -* -S option: Options. (line 290) -* -v option: Options. (line 32) -* -V option: Options. (line 304) -* -v option <1>: Assignment Options. (line 12) -* -W option: Options. (line 47) -* . (period), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 44) -* .gmo files: Explaining gettext. (line 42) -* .gmo files, specifying directory of: Explaining gettext. (line 54) -* .gmo files, specifying directory of <1>: Programmer i18n. (line 48) -* .mo files, converting from .po: I18N Example. (line 66) -* .po files: Explaining gettext. (line 37) -* .po files <1>: Translator i18n. (line 6) -* .po files, converting to .mo: I18N Example. (line 66) -* .pot files: Explaining gettext. (line 31) -* / (forward slash) to enclose regular expressions: Regexp. (line 10) -* / (forward slash), / operator: Precedence. (line 54) -* / (forward slash), /= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 129) -* / (forward slash), /= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* / (forward slash), /= operator, vs. /=.../ regexp constant: Assignment Ops. - (line 149) -* / (forward slash), patterns and: Expression Patterns. (line 24) -* /= operator vs. /=.../ regexp constant: Assignment Ops. (line 149) -* /dev/... special files: Special FD. (line 48) -* /dev/fd/N special files (gawk): Special FD. (line 48) -* /inet/... special files (gawk): TCP/IP Networking. (line 6) -* /inet4/... special files (gawk): TCP/IP Networking. (line 6) -* /inet6/... special files (gawk): TCP/IP Networking. (line 6) -* ; (semicolon), AWKPATH variable and: PC Using. (line 9) -* ; (semicolon), separating statements in actions: Statements/Lines. - (line 90) -* ; (semicolon), separating statements in actions <1>: Action Overview. - (line 19) -* ; (semicolon), separating statements in actions <2>: Statements. - (line 10) -* < (left angle bracket), < operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* < (left angle bracket), < operator <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* < (left angle bracket), < operator (I/O): Getline/File. (line 6) -* < (left angle bracket), <= operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* < (left angle bracket), <= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* = (equals sign), = operator: Assignment Ops. (line 6) -* = (equals sign), == operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* = (equals sign), == operator <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* > (right angle bracket), > operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* > (right angle bracket), > operator <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* > (right angle bracket), > operator (I/O): Redirection. (line 22) -* > (right angle bracket), >= operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* > (right angle bracket), >= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* > (right angle bracket), >> operator (I/O): Redirection. (line 50) -* > (right angle bracket), >> operator (I/O) <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* ? (question mark), ?: operator: Precedence. (line 91) -* ? (question mark), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 111) -* ? (question mark), regexp operator <1>: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 62) -* @-notation for indirect function calls: Indirect Calls. (line 47) -* @include directive: Include Files. (line 8) -* @load directive: Loading Shared Libraries. - (line 8) -* [] (square brackets), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 56) -* \ (backslash): Comments. (line 50) -* \ (backslash), as field separator: Command Line Field Separator. - (line 24) -* \ (backslash), continuing lines and: Statements/Lines. (line 19) -* \ (backslash), continuing lines and, comments and: Statements/Lines. - (line 75) -* \ (backslash), continuing lines and, in csh: Statements/Lines. - (line 43) -* \ (backslash), gsub()/gensub()/sub() functions and: Gory Details. - (line 6) -* \ (backslash), in bracket expressions: Bracket Expressions. (line 25) -* \ (backslash), in escape sequences: Escape Sequences. (line 6) -* \ (backslash), in escape sequences <1>: Escape Sequences. (line 103) -* \ (backslash), in escape sequences, POSIX and: Escape Sequences. - (line 108) -* \ (backslash), in regexp constants: Computed Regexps. (line 30) -* \ (backslash), in shell commands: Quoting. (line 48) -* \ (backslash), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 18) -* \ (backslash), \" escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 85) -* \ (backslash), \' operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 59) -* \ (backslash), \/ escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 76) -* \ (backslash), \< operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 33) -* \ (backslash), \> operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 37) -* \ (backslash), \a escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 34) -* \ (backslash), \b escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 38) -* \ (backslash), \B operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 46) -* \ (backslash), \f escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 41) -* \ (backslash), \n escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 44) -* \ (backslash), \NNN escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 56) -* \ (backslash), \r escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 47) -* \ (backslash), \s operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 13) -* \ (backslash), \S operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 17) -* \ (backslash), \t escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 50) -* \ (backslash), \v escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 53) -* \ (backslash), \w operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 22) -* \ (backslash), \W operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 28) -* \ (backslash), \x escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 61) -* \ (backslash), \y operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 41) -* \ (backslash), \` operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 57) -* ^ (caret), in bracket expressions: Bracket Expressions. (line 25) -* ^ (caret), in FS: Regexp Field Splitting. - (line 59) -* ^ (caret), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 22) -* ^ (caret), regexp operator <1>: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 62) -* ^ (caret), ^ operator: Precedence. (line 48) -* ^ (caret), ^= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 129) -* ^ (caret), ^= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* _ (underscore), C macro: Explaining gettext. (line 71) -* _ (underscore), in names of private variables: Library Names. - (line 29) -* _ (underscore), translatable string: Programmer i18n. (line 69) -* _gr_init() user-defined function: Group Functions. (line 83) -* _ord_init() user-defined function: Ordinal Functions. (line 16) -* _pw_init() user-defined function: Passwd Functions. (line 105) -* {} (braces): Profiling. (line 142) -* {} (braces), actions and: Action Overview. (line 19) -* {} (braces), statements, grouping: Statements. (line 10) -* | (vertical bar): Regexp Operators. (line 70) -* | (vertical bar), | operator (I/O): Getline/Pipe. (line 10) -* | (vertical bar), | operator (I/O) <1>: Redirection. (line 57) -* | (vertical bar), | operator (I/O) <2>: Precedence. (line 64) -* | (vertical bar), |& operator (I/O): Getline/Coprocess. (line 6) -* | (vertical bar), |& operator (I/O) <1>: Redirection. (line 96) -* | (vertical bar), |& operator (I/O) <2>: Precedence. (line 64) -* | (vertical bar), |& operator (I/O) <3>: Two-way I/O. (line 27) -* | (vertical bar), |& operator (I/O), pipes, closing: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 120) -* | (vertical bar), || operator: Boolean Ops. (line 59) -* | (vertical bar), || operator <1>: Precedence. (line 88) -* ~ (tilde), ~ operator: Regexp Usage. (line 19) -* ~ (tilde), ~ operator <1>: Computed Regexps. (line 6) -* ~ (tilde), ~ operator <2>: Case-sensitivity. (line 26) -* ~ (tilde), ~ operator <3>: Regexp Constants. (line 6) -* ~ (tilde), ~ operator <4>: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* ~ (tilde), ~ operator <5>: Comparison Operators. - (line 98) -* ~ (tilde), ~ operator <6>: Precedence. (line 79) -* ~ (tilde), ~ operator <7>: Expression Patterns. (line 24) -* accessing fields: Fields. (line 6) -* accessing global variables from extensions: Symbol Table Access. - (line 6) -* account information: Passwd Functions. (line 16) -* account information <1>: Group Functions. (line 6) -* actions: Action Overview. (line 6) -* actions, control statements in: Statements. (line 6) -* actions, default: Very Simple. (line 35) -* actions, empty: Very Simple. (line 40) -* Ada programming language: Glossary. (line 11) -* adding, features to gawk: Adding Code. (line 6) -* adding, fields: Changing Fields. (line 53) -* advanced features, fixed-width data: Constant Size. (line 6) -* advanced features, gawk: Advanced Features. (line 6) -* advanced features, network programming: TCP/IP Networking. (line 6) -* advanced features, nondecimal input data: Nondecimal Data. (line 6) -* advanced features, processes, communicating with: Two-way I/O. - (line 6) -* advanced features, specifying field content: Splitting By Content. - (line 9) -* Aho, Alfred: History. (line 17) -* Aho, Alfred <1>: Contributors. (line 12) -* alarm clock example program: Alarm Program. (line 11) -* alarm.awk program: Alarm Program. (line 31) -* algorithms: Basic High Level. (line 57) -* allocating memory for extensions: Memory Allocation Functions. - (line 6) -* amazing awk assembler (aaa): Glossary. (line 16) -* amazingly workable formatter (awf): Glossary. (line 24) -* ambiguity, syntactic: /= operator vs. /=.../ regexp constant: Assignment Ops. - (line 149) -* ampersand (&), && operator: Boolean Ops. (line 59) -* ampersand (&), && operator <1>: Precedence. (line 85) -* ampersand (&), gsub()/gensub()/sub() functions and: Gory Details. - (line 6) -* anagram.awk program: Anagram Program. (line 21) -* anagrams, finding: Anagram Program. (line 6) -* and: Bitwise Functions. (line 40) -* AND bitwise operation: Bitwise Functions. (line 6) -* and Boolean-logic operator: Boolean Ops. (line 6) -* ANSI: Glossary. (line 34) -* API informational variables: Extension API Informational Variables. - (line 6) -* API version: Extension Versioning. - (line 6) -* arbitrary precision: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic. - (line 6) -* arbitrary precision integers: Arbitrary Precision Integers. - (line 6) -* archaeologists: Bugs. (line 6) -* arctangent: Numeric Functions. (line 12) -* ARGC/ARGV variables: Auto-set. (line 15) -* ARGC/ARGV variables, command-line arguments: Other Arguments. - (line 15) -* ARGC/ARGV variables, how to use: ARGC and ARGV. (line 6) -* ARGC/ARGV variables, portability and: Executable Scripts. (line 59) -* ARGIND variable: Auto-set. (line 44) -* ARGIND variable, command-line arguments: Other Arguments. (line 15) -* arguments, command-line: Other Arguments. (line 6) -* arguments, command-line <1>: Auto-set. (line 15) -* arguments, command-line <2>: ARGC and ARGV. (line 6) -* arguments, command-line, invoking awk: Command Line. (line 6) -* arguments, in function calls: Function Calls. (line 18) -* arguments, processing: Getopt Function. (line 6) -* ARGV array, indexing into: Other Arguments. (line 15) -* arithmetic operators: Arithmetic Ops. (line 6) -* array manipulation in extensions: Array Manipulation. (line 6) -* array members: Reference to Elements. - (line 6) -* array scanning order, controlling: Controlling Scanning. - (line 14) -* array, number of elements: String Functions. (line 200) -* arrays: Arrays. (line 6) -* arrays of arrays: Arrays of Arrays. (line 6) -* arrays, an example of using: Array Example. (line 6) -* arrays, and IGNORECASE variable: Array Intro. (line 100) -* arrays, as parameters to functions: Pass By Value/Reference. - (line 44) -* arrays, associative: Array Intro. (line 48) -* arrays, associative, library functions and: Library Names. (line 58) -* arrays, deleting entire contents: Delete. (line 39) -* arrays, elements that don't exist: Reference to Elements. - (line 23) -* arrays, elements, assigning values: Assigning Elements. (line 6) -* arrays, elements, deleting: Delete. (line 6) -* arrays, elements, order of access by in operator: Scanning an Array. - (line 48) -* arrays, elements, retrieving number of: String Functions. (line 42) -* arrays, for statement and: Scanning an Array. (line 20) -* arrays, indexing: Array Intro. (line 48) -* arrays, merging into strings: Join Function. (line 6) -* arrays, multidimensional: Multidimensional. (line 10) -* arrays, multidimensional, scanning: Multiscanning. (line 11) -* arrays, numeric subscripts: Numeric Array Subscripts. - (line 6) -* arrays, referencing elements: Reference to Elements. - (line 6) -* arrays, scanning: Scanning an Array. (line 6) -* arrays, sorting: Array Sorting Functions. - (line 6) -* arrays, sorting, and IGNORECASE variable: Array Sorting Functions. - (line 83) -* arrays, sparse: Array Intro. (line 76) -* arrays, subscripts, uninitialized variables as: Uninitialized Subscripts. - (line 6) -* arrays, unassigned elements: Reference to Elements. - (line 18) -* artificial intelligence, gawk and: Distribution contents. - (line 52) -* ASCII: Ordinal Functions. (line 45) -* ASCII <1>: Glossary. (line 196) -* asort: String Functions. (line 42) -* asort <1>: Array Sorting Functions. - (line 6) -* asort() function (gawk), arrays, sorting: Array Sorting Functions. - (line 6) -* asorti: String Functions. (line 42) -* asorti <1>: Array Sorting Functions. - (line 6) -* asorti() function (gawk), arrays, sorting: Array Sorting Functions. - (line 6) -* assert() function (C library): Assert Function. (line 6) -* assert() user-defined function: Assert Function. (line 28) -* assertions: Assert Function. (line 6) -* assign values to variables, in debugger: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 58) -* assignment operators: Assignment Ops. (line 6) -* assignment operators, evaluation order: Assignment Ops. (line 110) -* assignment operators, lvalues/rvalues: Assignment Ops. (line 31) -* assignments as filenames: Ignoring Assigns. (line 6) -* associative arrays: Array Intro. (line 48) -* asterisk (*), * operator, as multiplication operator: Precedence. - (line 54) -* asterisk (*), * operator, as regexp operator: Regexp Operators. - (line 89) -* asterisk (*), * operator, null strings, matching: String Functions. - (line 537) -* asterisk (*), ** operator: Arithmetic Ops. (line 81) -* asterisk (*), ** operator <1>: Precedence. (line 48) -* asterisk (*), **= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 129) -* asterisk (*), **= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* asterisk (*), *= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 129) -* asterisk (*), *= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* atan2: Numeric Functions. (line 12) -* automatic displays, in debugger: Debugger Info. (line 24) -* awf (amazingly workable formatter) program: Glossary. (line 24) -* awk debugging, enabling: Options. (line 108) -* awk language, POSIX version: Assignment Ops. (line 138) -* awk profiling, enabling: Options. (line 245) -* awk programs: Getting Started. (line 12) -* awk programs <1>: Executable Scripts. (line 6) -* awk programs <2>: Two Rules. (line 6) -* awk programs, complex: When. (line 27) -* awk programs, documenting: Comments. (line 6) -* awk programs, documenting <1>: Library Names. (line 6) -* awk programs, examples of: Sample Programs. (line 6) -* awk programs, execution of: Next Statement. (line 16) -* awk programs, internationalizing: I18N Functions. (line 6) -* awk programs, internationalizing <1>: Programmer i18n. (line 6) -* awk programs, lengthy: Long. (line 6) -* awk programs, lengthy, assertions: Assert Function. (line 6) -* awk programs, location of: Options. (line 25) -* awk programs, location of <1>: Options. (line 125) -* awk programs, location of <2>: Options. (line 159) -* awk programs, one-line examples: Very Simple. (line 46) -* awk programs, profiling: Profiling. (line 6) -* awk programs, running: Running gawk. (line 6) -* awk programs, running <1>: Long. (line 6) -* awk programs, running, from shell scripts: One-shot. (line 22) -* awk programs, running, without input files: Read Terminal. (line 16) -* awk programs, shell variables in: Using Shell Variables. - (line 6) -* awk, function of: Getting Started. (line 6) -* awk, gawk and: Preface. (line 21) -* awk, gawk and <1>: This Manual. (line 14) -* awk, history of: History. (line 17) -* awk, implementation issues, pipes: Redirection. (line 129) -* awk, implementations: Other Versions. (line 6) -* awk, implementations, limits: Getline Notes. (line 14) -* awk, invoking: Command Line. (line 6) -* awk, new vs. old: Names. (line 6) -* awk, new vs. old, OFMT variable: Strings And Numbers. (line 56) -* awk, POSIX and: Preface. (line 21) -* awk, POSIX and, See Also POSIX awk: Preface. (line 21) -* awk, regexp constants and: Comparison Operators. - (line 103) -* awk, See Also gawk: Preface. (line 34) -* awk, terms describing: This Manual. (line 6) -* awk, uses for: Preface. (line 21) -* awk, uses for <1>: Getting Started. (line 12) -* awk, uses for <2>: When. (line 6) -* awk, versions of: V7/SVR3.1. (line 6) -* awk, versions of, changes between SVR3.1 and SVR4: SVR4. (line 6) -* awk, versions of, changes between SVR4 and POSIX awk: POSIX. - (line 6) -* awk, versions of, changes between V7 and SVR3.1: V7/SVR3.1. (line 6) -* awk, versions of, See Also Brian Kernighan's awk: BTL. (line 6) -* awk, versions of, See Also Brian Kernighan's awk <1>: Other Versions. - (line 13) -* awka compiler for awk: Other Versions. (line 68) -* AWKLIBPATH environment variable: AWKLIBPATH Variable. (line 6) -* AWKPATH environment variable: AWKPATH Variable. (line 6) -* AWKPATH environment variable <1>: PC Using. (line 9) -* awkprof.out file: Profiling. (line 6) -* awksed.awk program: Simple Sed. (line 25) -* awkvars.out file: Options. (line 94) -* b debugger command (alias for break): Breakpoint Control. (line 11) -* backslash (\): Comments. (line 50) -* backslash (\), as field separator: Command Line Field Separator. - (line 24) -* backslash (\), continuing lines and: Statements/Lines. (line 19) -* backslash (\), continuing lines and, comments and: Statements/Lines. - (line 75) -* backslash (\), continuing lines and, in csh: Statements/Lines. - (line 43) -* backslash (\), gsub()/gensub()/sub() functions and: Gory Details. - (line 6) -* backslash (\), in bracket expressions: Bracket Expressions. (line 25) -* backslash (\), in escape sequences: Escape Sequences. (line 6) -* backslash (\), in escape sequences <1>: Escape Sequences. (line 103) -* backslash (\), in escape sequences, POSIX and: Escape Sequences. - (line 108) -* backslash (\), in regexp constants: Computed Regexps. (line 30) -* backslash (\), in shell commands: Quoting. (line 48) -* backslash (\), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 18) -* backslash (\), \" escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 85) -* backslash (\), \' operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 59) -* backslash (\), \/ escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 76) -* backslash (\), \< operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 33) -* backslash (\), \> operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 37) -* backslash (\), \a escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 34) -* backslash (\), \b escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 38) -* backslash (\), \B operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 46) -* backslash (\), \f escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 41) -* backslash (\), \n escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 44) -* backslash (\), \NNN escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 56) -* backslash (\), \r escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 47) -* backslash (\), \s operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 13) -* backslash (\), \S operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 17) -* backslash (\), \t escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 50) -* backslash (\), \v escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 53) -* backslash (\), \w operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 22) -* backslash (\), \W operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 28) -* backslash (\), \x escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 61) -* backslash (\), \y operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 41) -* backslash (\), \` operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 57) -* backtrace debugger command: Execution Stack. (line 13) -* Beebe, Nelson H.F.: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Beebe, Nelson H.F. <1>: Other Versions. (line 82) -* BEGIN pattern: Field Separators. (line 44) -* BEGIN pattern <1>: BEGIN/END. (line 6) -* BEGIN pattern <2>: Using BEGIN/END. (line 6) -* BEGIN pattern, and profiling: Profiling. (line 62) -* BEGIN pattern, assert() user-defined function and: Assert Function. - (line 83) -* BEGIN pattern, Boolean patterns and: Expression Patterns. (line 70) -* BEGIN pattern, exit statement and: Exit Statement. (line 12) -* BEGIN pattern, getline and: Getline Notes. (line 19) -* BEGIN pattern, headings, adding: Print Examples. (line 42) -* BEGIN pattern, next/nextfile statements and: I/O And BEGIN/END. - (line 36) -* BEGIN pattern, next/nextfile statements and <1>: Next Statement. - (line 44) -* BEGIN pattern, OFS/ORS variables, assigning values to: Output Separators. - (line 20) -* BEGIN pattern, operators and: Using BEGIN/END. (line 17) -* BEGIN pattern, print statement and: I/O And BEGIN/END. (line 15) -* BEGIN pattern, pwcat program: Passwd Functions. (line 143) -* BEGIN pattern, running awk programs and: Cut Program. (line 63) -* BEGIN pattern, TEXTDOMAIN variable and: Programmer i18n. (line 60) -* BEGINFILE pattern: BEGINFILE/ENDFILE. (line 6) -* BEGINFILE pattern, Boolean patterns and: Expression Patterns. - (line 70) -* beginfile() user-defined function: Filetrans Function. (line 62) -* Bentley, Jon: Glossary. (line 206) -* Benzinger, Michael: Contributors. (line 98) -* Berry, Karl: Acknowledgments. (line 33) -* Berry, Karl <1>: Acknowledgments. (line 75) -* Berry, Karl <2>: Ranges and Locales. (line 74) -* binary input/output: User-modified. (line 15) -* bindtextdomain: I18N Functions. (line 11) -* bindtextdomain <1>: Programmer i18n. (line 48) -* bindtextdomain() function (C library): Explaining gettext. (line 50) -* bindtextdomain() function (gawk), portability and: I18N Portability. - (line 33) -* BINMODE variable: User-modified. (line 15) -* BINMODE variable <1>: PC Using. (line 16) -* bit-manipulation functions: Bitwise Functions. (line 6) -* bits2str() user-defined function: Bitwise Functions. (line 69) -* bitwise AND: Bitwise Functions. (line 40) -* bitwise complement: Bitwise Functions. (line 44) -* bitwise OR: Bitwise Functions. (line 50) -* bitwise XOR: Bitwise Functions. (line 57) -* bitwise, complement: Bitwise Functions. (line 25) -* bitwise, operations: Bitwise Functions. (line 6) -* bitwise, shift: Bitwise Functions. (line 32) -* body, in actions: Statements. (line 10) -* body, in loops: While Statement. (line 14) -* Boolean expressions: Boolean Ops. (line 6) -* Boolean expressions, as patterns: Expression Patterns. (line 39) -* Boolean operators, See Boolean expressions: Boolean Ops. (line 6) -* Bourne shell, quoting rules for: Quoting. (line 18) -* braces ({}): Profiling. (line 142) -* braces ({}), actions and: Action Overview. (line 19) -* braces ({}), statements, grouping: Statements. (line 10) -* bracket expressions: Regexp Operators. (line 56) -* bracket expressions <1>: Bracket Expressions. (line 6) -* bracket expressions, character classes: Bracket Expressions. - (line 40) -* bracket expressions, collating elements: Bracket Expressions. - (line 86) -* bracket expressions, collating symbols: Bracket Expressions. - (line 93) -* bracket expressions, complemented: Regexp Operators. (line 64) -* bracket expressions, equivalence classes: Bracket Expressions. - (line 99) -* bracket expressions, non-ASCII: Bracket Expressions. (line 86) -* bracket expressions, range expressions: Bracket Expressions. - (line 6) -* break debugger command: Breakpoint Control. (line 11) -* break statement: Break Statement. (line 6) -* breakpoint: Debugging Terms. (line 33) -* breakpoint at location, how to delete: Breakpoint Control. (line 36) -* breakpoint commands: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 10) -* breakpoint condition: Breakpoint Control. (line 54) -* breakpoint, delete by number: Breakpoint Control. (line 64) -* breakpoint, how to disable or enable: Breakpoint Control. (line 69) -* breakpoint, setting: Breakpoint Control. (line 11) -* Brennan, Michael: Foreword3. (line 84) -* Brennan, Michael <1>: Foreword4. (line 33) -* Brennan, Michael <2>: Acknowledgments. (line 79) -* Brennan, Michael <3>: Delete. (line 56) -* Brennan, Michael <4>: Simple Sed. (line 25) -* Brennan, Michael <5>: Other Versions. (line 6) -* Brennan, Michael <6>: Other Versions. (line 48) -* Brian Kernighan's awk: When. (line 21) -* Brian Kernighan's awk <1>: Escape Sequences. (line 112) -* Brian Kernighan's awk <2>: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 85) -* Brian Kernighan's awk <3>: Regexp Field Splitting. - (line 67) -* Brian Kernighan's awk <4>: Getline/Pipe. (line 62) -* Brian Kernighan's awk <5>: Concatenation. (line 36) -* Brian Kernighan's awk <6>: I/O And BEGIN/END. (line 15) -* Brian Kernighan's awk <7>: Break Statement. (line 51) -* Brian Kernighan's awk <8>: Continue Statement. (line 44) -* Brian Kernighan's awk <9>: Nextfile Statement. (line 47) -* Brian Kernighan's awk <10>: Delete. (line 51) -* Brian Kernighan's awk <11>: String Functions. (line 493) -* Brian Kernighan's awk <12>: Gory Details. (line 19) -* Brian Kernighan's awk <13>: I/O Functions. (line 43) -* Brian Kernighan's awk, extensions: BTL. (line 6) -* Brian Kernighan's awk, source code: Other Versions. (line 13) -* Brini, Davide: Signature Program. (line 6) -* Brink, Jeroen: DOS Quoting. (line 10) -* Broder, Alan J.: Contributors. (line 89) -* Brown, Martin: Contributors. (line 83) -* BSD-based operating systems: Glossary. (line 748) -* bt debugger command (alias for backtrace): Execution Stack. (line 13) -* Buening, Andreas: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Buening, Andreas <1>: Contributors. (line 93) -* Buening, Andreas <2>: Maintainers. (line 14) -* buffering, input/output: I/O Functions. (line 166) -* buffering, input/output <1>: Two-way I/O. (line 53) -* buffering, interactive vs. noninteractive: I/O Functions. (line 76) -* buffers, flushing: I/O Functions. (line 32) -* buffers, flushing <1>: I/O Functions. (line 166) -* buffers, operators for: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 51) -* bug reports, email address, bug-gawk@gnu.org: Bug address. (line 22) -* bug-gawk@gnu.org bug reporting address: Bug address. (line 22) -* built-in functions: Functions. (line 6) -* built-in functions, evaluation order: Calling Built-in. (line 30) -* BusyBox Awk: Other Versions. (line 92) -* c.e., See common extensions: Conventions. (line 51) -* call by reference: Pass By Value/Reference. - (line 44) -* call by value: Pass By Value/Reference. - (line 15) -* call stack, display in debugger: Execution Stack. (line 13) -* caret (^), in bracket expressions: Bracket Expressions. (line 25) -* caret (^), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 22) -* caret (^), regexp operator <1>: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 62) -* caret (^), ^ operator: Precedence. (line 48) -* caret (^), ^= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 129) -* caret (^), ^= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* case keyword: Switch Statement. (line 6) -* case sensitivity, and regexps: User-modified. (line 76) -* case sensitivity, and string comparisons: User-modified. (line 76) -* case sensitivity, array indices and: Array Intro. (line 100) -* case sensitivity, converting case: String Functions. (line 523) -* case sensitivity, example programs: Library Functions. (line 53) -* case sensitivity, gawk: Case-sensitivity. (line 26) -* case sensitivity, regexps and: Case-sensitivity. (line 6) -* CGI, awk scripts for: Options. (line 125) -* character classes, See bracket expressions: Regexp Operators. - (line 56) -* character lists in regular expression: Bracket Expressions. (line 6) -* character lists, See bracket expressions: Regexp Operators. (line 56) -* character sets (machine character encodings): Ordinal Functions. - (line 45) -* character sets (machine character encodings) <1>: Glossary. (line 196) -* character sets, See Also bracket expressions: Regexp Operators. - (line 56) -* characters, counting: Wc Program. (line 6) -* characters, transliterating: Translate Program. (line 6) -* characters, values of as numbers: Ordinal Functions. (line 6) -* Chassell, Robert J.: Acknowledgments. (line 33) -* chdir() extension function: Extension Sample File Functions. - (line 12) -* chem utility: Glossary. (line 206) -* chr() extension function: Extension Sample Ord. - (line 15) -* chr() user-defined function: Ordinal Functions. (line 16) -* clear debugger command: Breakpoint Control. (line 36) -* Cliff random numbers: Cliff Random Function. - (line 6) -* cliff_rand() user-defined function: Cliff Random Function. - (line 12) -* close: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 18) -* close <1>: I/O Functions. (line 10) -* close file or coprocess: I/O Functions. (line 10) -* close() function, portability: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 81) -* close() function, return value: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 132) -* close() function, two-way pipes and: Two-way I/O. (line 60) -* Close, Diane: Manual History. (line 34) -* Close, Diane <1>: Contributors. (line 21) -* Collado, Manuel: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* collating elements: Bracket Expressions. (line 86) -* collating symbols: Bracket Expressions. (line 93) -* Colombo, Antonio: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Colombo, Antonio <1>: Contributors. (line 141) -* columns, aligning: Print Examples. (line 69) -* columns, cutting: Cut Program. (line 6) -* comma (,), in range patterns: Ranges. (line 6) -* command completion, in debugger: Readline Support. (line 6) -* command line, arguments: Other Arguments. (line 6) -* command line, arguments <1>: Auto-set. (line 15) -* command line, arguments <2>: ARGC and ARGV. (line 6) -* command line, directories on: Command-line directories. - (line 6) -* command line, formats: Running gawk. (line 12) -* command line, FS on, setting: Command Line Field Separator. - (line 6) -* command line, invoking awk from: Command Line. (line 6) -* command line, option -f: Long. (line 12) -* command line, options: Options. (line 6) -* command line, options, end of: Options. (line 55) -* command line, variables, assigning on: Assignment Options. (line 6) -* command-line options, processing: Getopt Function. (line 6) -* command-line options, string extraction: String Extraction. (line 6) -* commands debugger command: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 10) -* commands to execute at breakpoint: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 10) -* commenting: Comments. (line 6) -* commenting, backslash continuation and: Statements/Lines. (line 75) -* common extensions, ** operator: Arithmetic Ops. (line 30) -* common extensions, **= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 138) -* common extensions, /dev/stderr special file: Special FD. (line 48) -* common extensions, /dev/stdin special file: Special FD. (line 48) -* common extensions, /dev/stdout special file: Special FD. (line 48) -* common extensions, BINMODE variable: PC Using. (line 16) -* common extensions, delete to delete entire arrays: Delete. (line 39) -* common extensions, func keyword: Definition Syntax. (line 99) -* common extensions, length() applied to an array: String Functions. - (line 200) -* common extensions, RS as a regexp: gawk split records. (line 6) -* common extensions, single character fields: Single Character Fields. - (line 6) -* common extensions, \x escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 61) -* comp.lang.awk newsgroup: Usenet. (line 11) -* comparison expressions: Typing and Comparison. - (line 9) -* comparison expressions, as patterns: Expression Patterns. (line 14) -* comparison expressions, string vs. regexp: Comparison Operators. - (line 79) -* compatibility mode (gawk), extensions: POSIX/GNU. (line 6) -* compatibility mode (gawk), file names: Special Caveats. (line 9) -* compatibility mode (gawk), hexadecimal numbers: Nondecimal-numbers. - (line 59) -* compatibility mode (gawk), octal numbers: Nondecimal-numbers. - (line 59) -* compatibility mode (gawk), specifying: Options. (line 82) -* compiled programs: Basic High Level. (line 13) -* compiled programs <1>: Glossary. (line 218) -* compiling gawk for Cygwin: Cygwin. (line 6) -* compiling gawk for MS-Windows: PC Compiling. (line 11) -* compiling gawk for VMS: VMS Compilation. (line 6) -* compl: Bitwise Functions. (line 44) -* complement, bitwise: Bitwise Functions. (line 25) -* compound statements, control statements and: Statements. (line 10) -* concatenating: Concatenation. (line 9) -* condition debugger command: Breakpoint Control. (line 54) -* conditional expressions: Conditional Exp. (line 6) -* configuration option, --disable-extensions: Additional Configuration Options. - (line 9) -* configuration option, --disable-lint: Additional Configuration Options. - (line 15) -* configuration option, --disable-nls: Additional Configuration Options. - (line 32) -* configuration option, --with-whiny-user-strftime: Additional Configuration Options. - (line 37) -* configuration options, gawk: Additional Configuration Options. - (line 6) -* constant regexps: Regexp Usage. (line 57) -* constants, nondecimal: Nondecimal Data. (line 6) -* constants, numeric: Scalar Constants. (line 6) -* constants, types of: Constants. (line 6) -* continue program, in debugger: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 33) -* continue statement: Continue Statement. (line 6) -* control statements: Statements. (line 6) -* controlling array scanning order: Controlling Scanning. - (line 14) -* convert string to lower case: String Functions. (line 524) -* convert string to number: String Functions. (line 391) -* convert string to upper case: String Functions. (line 530) -* converting integer array subscripts: Numeric Array Subscripts. - (line 31) -* converting, dates to timestamps: Time Functions. (line 76) -* converting, numbers to strings: Strings And Numbers. (line 6) -* converting, numbers to strings <1>: Bitwise Functions. (line 108) -* converting, strings to numbers: Strings And Numbers. (line 6) -* converting, strings to numbers <1>: Bitwise Functions. (line 108) -* CONVFMT variable: Strings And Numbers. (line 29) -* CONVFMT variable <1>: User-modified. (line 30) -* CONVFMT variable, and array subscripts: Numeric Array Subscripts. - (line 6) -* cookie: Glossary. (line 257) -* coprocesses: Redirection. (line 96) -* coprocesses <1>: Two-way I/O. (line 27) -* coprocesses, closing: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 6) -* coprocesses, getline from: Getline/Coprocess. (line 6) -* cos: Numeric Functions. (line 16) -* cosine: Numeric Functions. (line 16) -* counting: Wc Program. (line 6) -* csh utility: Statements/Lines. (line 43) -* csh utility, POSIXLY_CORRECT environment variable: Options. (line 358) -* csh utility, |& operator, comparison with: Two-way I/O. (line 27) -* ctime() user-defined function: Function Example. (line 74) -* currency symbols, localization: Explaining gettext. (line 104) -* current system time: Time Functions. (line 66) -* custom.h file: Configuration Philosophy. - (line 30) -* customized input parser: Input Parsers. (line 6) -* customized output wrapper: Output Wrappers. (line 6) -* customized two-way processor: Two-way processors. (line 6) -* cut utility: Cut Program. (line 6) -* cut utility <1>: Cut Program. (line 6) -* cut.awk program: Cut Program. (line 45) -* d debugger command (alias for delete): Breakpoint Control. (line 64) -* d.c., See dark corner: Conventions. (line 42) -* dark corner: Conventions. (line 42) -* dark corner <1>: Glossary. (line 268) -* dark corner, "0" is actually true: Truth Values. (line 24) -* dark corner, /= operator vs. /=.../ regexp constant: Assignment Ops. - (line 149) -* dark corner, array subscripts: Uninitialized Subscripts. - (line 43) -* dark corner, break statement: Break Statement. (line 51) -* dark corner, close() function: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 132) -* dark corner, command-line arguments: Assignment Options. (line 43) -* dark corner, continue statement: Continue Statement. (line 44) -* dark corner, CONVFMT variable: Strings And Numbers. (line 39) -* dark corner, escape sequences: Other Arguments. (line 38) -* dark corner, escape sequences, for metacharacters: Escape Sequences. - (line 144) -* dark corner, exit statement: Exit Statement. (line 30) -* dark corner, field separators: Full Line Fields. (line 22) -* dark corner, FILENAME variable: Getline Notes. (line 19) -* dark corner, FILENAME variable <1>: Auto-set. (line 108) -* dark corner, FNR/NR variables: Auto-set. (line 357) -* dark corner, format-control characters: Control Letters. (line 18) -* dark corner, format-control characters <1>: Control Letters. - (line 93) -* dark corner, FS as null string: Single Character Fields. - (line 20) -* dark corner, input files: awk split records. (line 110) -* dark corner, invoking awk: Command Line. (line 16) -* dark corner, length() function: String Functions. (line 186) -* dark corner, locale's decimal point character: Locale influences conversions. - (line 17) -* dark corner, multiline records: Multiple Line. (line 35) -* dark corner, NF variable, decrementing: Changing Fields. (line 107) -* dark corner, OFMT variable: OFMT. (line 27) -* dark corner, regexp as second argument to index(): String Functions. - (line 164) -* dark corner, regexp constants: Using Constant Regexps. - (line 6) -* dark corner, regexp constants, /= operator and: Assignment Ops. - (line 149) -* dark corner, regexp constants, as arguments to user-defined functions: Using Constant Regexps. - (line 43) -* dark corner, split() function: String Functions. (line 361) -* dark corner, strings, storing: gawk split records. (line 82) -* dark corner, value of ARGV[0]: Auto-set. (line 39) -* dark corner, ^, in FS: Regexp Field Splitting. - (line 59) -* data, fixed-width: Constant Size. (line 6) -* data-driven languages: Basic High Level. (line 74) -* database, group, reading: Group Functions. (line 6) -* database, users, reading: Passwd Functions. (line 6) -* date utility, GNU: Time Functions. (line 17) -* date utility, POSIX: Time Functions. (line 253) -* dates, converting to timestamps: Time Functions. (line 76) -* dates, information related to, localization: Explaining gettext. - (line 112) -* Davies, Stephen: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Davies, Stephen <1>: Contributors. (line 75) -* Day, Robert P.J.: Acknowledgments. (line 79) -* dcgettext: I18N Functions. (line 21) -* dcgettext <1>: Programmer i18n. (line 20) -* dcgettext() function (gawk), portability and: I18N Portability. - (line 33) -* dcngettext: I18N Functions. (line 27) -* dcngettext <1>: Programmer i18n. (line 37) -* dcngettext() function (gawk), portability and: I18N Portability. - (line 33) -* deadlocks: Two-way I/O. (line 53) -* debugger commands, b (break): Breakpoint Control. (line 11) -* debugger commands, backtrace: Execution Stack. (line 13) -* debugger commands, break: Breakpoint Control. (line 11) -* debugger commands, bt (backtrace): Execution Stack. (line 13) -* debugger commands, c (continue): Debugger Execution Control. - (line 33) -* debugger commands, clear: Breakpoint Control. (line 36) -* debugger commands, commands: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 10) -* debugger commands, condition: Breakpoint Control. (line 54) -* debugger commands, continue: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 33) -* debugger commands, d (delete): Breakpoint Control. (line 64) -* debugger commands, delete: Breakpoint Control. (line 64) -* debugger commands, disable: Breakpoint Control. (line 69) -* debugger commands, display: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 8) -* debugger commands, down: Execution Stack. (line 23) -* debugger commands, dump: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 9) -* debugger commands, e (enable): Breakpoint Control. (line 73) -* debugger commands, enable: Breakpoint Control. (line 73) -* debugger commands, end: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 10) -* debugger commands, eval: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 23) -* debugger commands, f (frame): Execution Stack. (line 27) -* debugger commands, finish: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 39) -* debugger commands, frame: Execution Stack. (line 27) -* debugger commands, h (help): Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 69) -* debugger commands, help: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 69) -* debugger commands, i (info): Debugger Info. (line 13) -* debugger commands, ignore: Breakpoint Control. (line 87) -* debugger commands, info: Debugger Info. (line 13) -* debugger commands, l (list): Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 75) -* debugger commands, list: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 75) -* debugger commands, n (next): Debugger Execution Control. - (line 43) -* debugger commands, next: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 43) -* debugger commands, nexti: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 49) -* debugger commands, ni (nexti): Debugger Execution Control. - (line 49) -* debugger commands, o (option): Debugger Info. (line 57) -* debugger commands, option: Debugger Info. (line 57) -* debugger commands, p (print): Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 35) -* debugger commands, print: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 35) -* debugger commands, printf: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 53) -* debugger commands, q (quit): Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 102) -* debugger commands, quit: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 102) -* debugger commands, r (run): Debugger Execution Control. - (line 62) -* debugger commands, return: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 54) -* debugger commands, run: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 62) -* debugger commands, s (step): Debugger Execution Control. - (line 68) -* debugger commands, set: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 58) -* debugger commands, si (stepi): Debugger Execution Control. - (line 75) -* debugger commands, silent: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 10) -* debugger commands, step: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 68) -* debugger commands, stepi: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 75) -* debugger commands, t (tbreak): Breakpoint Control. (line 90) -* debugger commands, tbreak: Breakpoint Control. (line 90) -* debugger commands, trace: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 110) -* debugger commands, u (until): Debugger Execution Control. - (line 82) -* debugger commands, undisplay: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 79) -* debugger commands, until: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 82) -* debugger commands, unwatch: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 83) -* debugger commands, up: Execution Stack. (line 36) -* debugger commands, w (watch): Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 66) -* debugger commands, watch: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 66) -* debugger commands, where (backtrace): Execution Stack. (line 13) -* debugger default list amount: Debugger Info. (line 69) -* debugger history file: Debugger Info. (line 81) -* debugger history size: Debugger Info. (line 65) -* debugger options: Debugger Info. (line 57) -* debugger prompt: Debugger Info. (line 78) -* debugger, how to start: Debugger Invocation. (line 6) -* debugger, read commands from a file: Debugger Info. (line 97) -* debugging awk programs: Debugger. (line 6) -* debugging gawk, bug reports: Bugs. (line 9) -* decimal point character, locale specific: Options. (line 269) -* decrement operators: Increment Ops. (line 35) -* default keyword: Switch Statement. (line 6) -* Deifik, Scott: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Deifik, Scott <1>: Contributors. (line 54) -* Deifik, Scott <2>: Maintainers. (line 14) -* delete ARRAY: Delete. (line 39) -* delete breakpoint at location: Breakpoint Control. (line 36) -* delete breakpoint by number: Breakpoint Control. (line 64) -* delete debugger command: Breakpoint Control. (line 64) -* delete statement: Delete. (line 6) -* delete watchpoint: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 83) -* deleting elements in arrays: Delete. (line 6) -* deleting entire arrays: Delete. (line 39) -* Demaille, Akim: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* describe call stack frame, in debugger: Debugger Info. (line 27) -* differences between gawk and awk: String Functions. (line 200) -* differences in awk and gawk, ARGC/ARGV variables: ARGC and ARGV. - (line 89) -* differences in awk and gawk, ARGIND variable: Auto-set. (line 44) -* differences in awk and gawk, array elements, deleting: Delete. - (line 39) -* differences in awk and gawk, AWKLIBPATH environment variable: AWKLIBPATH Variable. - (line 6) -* differences in awk and gawk, AWKPATH environment variable: AWKPATH Variable. - (line 6) -* differences in awk and gawk, BEGIN/END patterns: I/O And BEGIN/END. - (line 15) -* differences in awk and gawk, BEGINFILE/ENDFILE patterns: BEGINFILE/ENDFILE. - (line 6) -* differences in awk and gawk, BINMODE variable: User-modified. - (line 15) -* differences in awk and gawk, BINMODE variable <1>: PC Using. - (line 16) -* differences in awk and gawk, close() function: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 81) -* differences in awk and gawk, close() function <1>: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 132) -* differences in awk and gawk, command-line directories: Command-line directories. - (line 6) -* differences in awk and gawk, ERRNO variable: Auto-set. (line 87) -* differences in awk and gawk, error messages: Special FD. (line 19) -* differences in awk and gawk, FIELDWIDTHS variable: User-modified. - (line 37) -* differences in awk and gawk, FPAT variable: User-modified. (line 43) -* differences in awk and gawk, FUNCTAB variable: Auto-set. (line 134) -* differences in awk and gawk, function arguments (gawk): Calling Built-in. - (line 16) -* differences in awk and gawk, getline command: Getline. (line 19) -* differences in awk and gawk, IGNORECASE variable: User-modified. - (line 76) -* differences in awk and gawk, implementation limitations: Getline Notes. - (line 14) -* differences in awk and gawk, implementation limitations <1>: Redirection. - (line 129) -* differences in awk and gawk, indirect function calls: Indirect Calls. - (line 6) -* differences in awk and gawk, input/output operators: Getline/Coprocess. - (line 6) -* differences in awk and gawk, input/output operators <1>: Redirection. - (line 96) -* differences in awk and gawk, line continuations: Conditional Exp. - (line 34) -* differences in awk and gawk, LINT variable: User-modified. (line 87) -* differences in awk and gawk, match() function: String Functions. - (line 262) -* differences in awk and gawk, print/printf statements: Format Modifiers. - (line 13) -* differences in awk and gawk, PROCINFO array: Auto-set. (line 148) -* differences in awk and gawk, read timeouts: Read Timeout. (line 6) -* differences in awk and gawk, record separators: awk split records. - (line 124) -* differences in awk and gawk, regexp constants: Using Constant Regexps. - (line 43) -* differences in awk and gawk, regular expressions: Case-sensitivity. - (line 26) -* differences in awk and gawk, retrying input: Retrying Input. - (line 6) -* differences in awk and gawk, RS/RT variables: gawk split records. - (line 58) -* differences in awk and gawk, RT variable: Auto-set. (line 295) -* differences in awk and gawk, single-character fields: Single Character Fields. - (line 6) -* differences in awk and gawk, split() function: String Functions. - (line 348) -* differences in awk and gawk, strings: Scalar Constants. (line 20) -* differences in awk and gawk, strings, storing: gawk split records. - (line 76) -* differences in awk and gawk, SYMTAB variable: Auto-set. (line 299) -* differences in awk and gawk, TEXTDOMAIN variable: User-modified. - (line 152) -* differences in awk and gawk, trunc-mod operation: Arithmetic Ops. - (line 66) -* directories, command-line: Command-line directories. - (line 6) -* directories, searching: Programs Exercises. (line 70) -* directories, searching for loadable extensions: AWKLIBPATH Variable. - (line 6) -* directories, searching for source files: AWKPATH Variable. (line 6) -* disable breakpoint: Breakpoint Control. (line 69) -* disable debugger command: Breakpoint Control. (line 69) -* display debugger command: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 8) -* display debugger options: Debugger Info. (line 57) -* division: Arithmetic Ops. (line 44) -* do-while statement: Do Statement. (line 6) -* do-while statement, use of regexps in: Regexp Usage. (line 19) -* documentation, of awk programs: Library Names. (line 6) -* documentation, online: Manual History. (line 11) -* documents, searching: Dupword Program. (line 6) -* dollar sign ($), $ field operator: Fields. (line 19) -* dollar sign ($), $ field operator <1>: Precedence. (line 42) -* dollar sign ($), incrementing fields and arrays: Increment Ops. - (line 30) -* dollar sign ($), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 35) -* double quote ("), in regexp constants: Computed Regexps. (line 30) -* double quote ("), in shell commands: Quoting. (line 54) -* down debugger command: Execution Stack. (line 23) -* Drepper, Ulrich: Acknowledgments. (line 52) -* Duman, Patrice: Acknowledgments. (line 75) -* dump all variables of a program: Options. (line 94) -* dump debugger command: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 9) -* dupword.awk program: Dupword Program. (line 31) -* dynamic profiling: Profiling. (line 177) -* dynamically loaded extensions: Dynamic Extensions. (line 6) -* e debugger command (alias for enable): Breakpoint Control. (line 73) -* EBCDIC: Ordinal Functions. (line 45) -* effective group ID of gawk user: Auto-set. (line 153) -* effective user ID of gawk user: Auto-set. (line 161) -* egrep utility: Bracket Expressions. (line 34) -* egrep utility <1>: Egrep Program. (line 6) -* egrep.awk program: Egrep Program. (line 53) -* elements in arrays, assigning values: Assigning Elements. (line 6) -* elements in arrays, deleting: Delete. (line 6) -* elements in arrays, order of access by in operator: Scanning an Array. - (line 48) -* elements in arrays, scanning: Scanning an Array. (line 6) -* elements of arrays: Reference to Elements. - (line 6) -* email address for bug reports, bug-gawk@gnu.org: Bug address. - (line 22) -* empty array elements: Reference to Elements. - (line 18) -* empty pattern: Empty. (line 6) -* empty strings: awk split records. (line 114) -* empty strings, See null strings: Regexp Field Splitting. - (line 43) -* EMRED: TCP/IP Networking. (line 6) -* enable breakpoint: Breakpoint Control. (line 73) -* enable debugger command: Breakpoint Control. (line 73) -* end debugger command: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 10) -* END pattern: BEGIN/END. (line 6) -* END pattern <1>: Using BEGIN/END. (line 6) -* END pattern, and profiling: Profiling. (line 62) -* END pattern, assert() user-defined function and: Assert Function. - (line 75) -* END pattern, Boolean patterns and: Expression Patterns. (line 70) -* END pattern, exit statement and: Exit Statement. (line 12) -* END pattern, next/nextfile statements and: I/O And BEGIN/END. - (line 36) -* END pattern, next/nextfile statements and <1>: Next Statement. - (line 44) -* END pattern, operators and: Using BEGIN/END. (line 17) -* END pattern, print statement and: I/O And BEGIN/END. (line 15) -* ENDFILE pattern: BEGINFILE/ENDFILE. (line 6) -* ENDFILE pattern, Boolean patterns and: Expression Patterns. (line 70) -* endfile() user-defined function: Filetrans Function. (line 62) -* endgrent() function (C library): Group Functions. (line 213) -* endgrent() user-defined function: Group Functions. (line 216) -* endpwent() function (C library): Passwd Functions. (line 208) -* endpwent() user-defined function: Passwd Functions. (line 211) -* English, Steve: Advanced Features. (line 6) -* ENVIRON array: Auto-set. (line 59) -* environment variables used by gawk: Environment Variables. - (line 6) -* environment variables, in ENVIRON array: Auto-set. (line 59) -* epoch, definition of: Glossary. (line 312) -* equals sign (=), = operator: Assignment Ops. (line 6) -* equals sign (=), == operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* equals sign (=), == operator <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* EREs (Extended Regular Expressions): Bracket Expressions. (line 34) -* ERRNO variable: Auto-set. (line 87) -* ERRNO variable <1>: TCP/IP Networking. (line 54) -* ERRNO variable, with BEGINFILE pattern: BEGINFILE/ENDFILE. (line 26) -* ERRNO variable, with close() function: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 140) -* ERRNO variable, with getline command: Getline. (line 19) -* error handling: Special FD. (line 19) -* error handling, ERRNO variable and: Auto-set. (line 87) -* error output: Special FD. (line 6) -* escape processing, gsub()/gensub()/sub() functions: Gory Details. - (line 6) -* escape sequences, in strings: Escape Sequences. (line 6) -* eval debugger command: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 23) -* evaluate expressions, in debugger: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 23) -* evaluation order: Increment Ops. (line 60) -* evaluation order, concatenation: Concatenation. (line 41) -* evaluation order, functions: Calling Built-in. (line 30) -* examining fields: Fields. (line 6) -* exclamation point (!), ! operator: Boolean Ops. (line 69) -* exclamation point (!), ! operator <1>: Precedence. (line 51) -* exclamation point (!), ! operator <2>: Egrep Program. (line 174) -* exclamation point (!), != operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* exclamation point (!), != operator <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* exclamation point (!), !~ operator: Regexp Usage. (line 19) -* exclamation point (!), !~ operator <1>: Computed Regexps. (line 6) -* exclamation point (!), !~ operator <2>: Case-sensitivity. (line 26) -* exclamation point (!), !~ operator <3>: Regexp Constants. (line 6) -* exclamation point (!), !~ operator <4>: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* exclamation point (!), !~ operator <5>: Comparison Operators. - (line 98) -* exclamation point (!), !~ operator <6>: Precedence. (line 79) -* exclamation point (!), !~ operator <7>: Expression Patterns. - (line 24) -* exit debugger command: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 66) -* exit statement: Exit Statement. (line 6) -* exit status, of gawk: Exit Status. (line 6) -* exit status, of VMS: VMS Running. (line 28) -* exit the debugger: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 66) -* exit the debugger <1>: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 102) -* exp: Numeric Functions. (line 19) -* expand utility: Very Simple. (line 73) -* Expat XML parser library: gawkextlib. (line 37) -* exponent: Numeric Functions. (line 19) -* expressions: Expressions. (line 6) -* expressions, as patterns: Expression Patterns. (line 6) -* expressions, assignment: Assignment Ops. (line 6) -* expressions, Boolean: Boolean Ops. (line 6) -* expressions, comparison: Typing and Comparison. - (line 9) -* expressions, conditional: Conditional Exp. (line 6) -* expressions, matching, See comparison expressions: Typing and Comparison. - (line 9) -* expressions, selecting: Conditional Exp. (line 6) -* Extended Regular Expressions (EREs): Bracket Expressions. (line 34) -* extension API: Extension API Description. - (line 6) -* extension API informational variables: Extension API Informational Variables. - (line 6) -* extension API version: Extension Versioning. - (line 6) -* extension API, version number: Auto-set. (line 246) -* extension example: Extension Example. (line 6) -* extension registration: Registration Functions. - (line 6) -* extension search path: Finding Extensions. (line 6) -* extensions distributed with gawk: Extension Samples. (line 6) -* extensions, allocating memory: Memory Allocation Functions. - (line 6) -* extensions, Brian Kernighan's awk: BTL. (line 6) -* extensions, Brian Kernighan's awk <1>: Common Extensions. (line 6) -* extensions, common, ** operator: Arithmetic Ops. (line 30) -* extensions, common, **= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 138) -* extensions, common, /dev/stderr special file: Special FD. (line 48) -* extensions, common, /dev/stdin special file: Special FD. (line 48) -* extensions, common, /dev/stdout special file: Special FD. (line 48) -* extensions, common, BINMODE variable: PC Using. (line 16) -* extensions, common, delete to delete entire arrays: Delete. (line 39) -* extensions, common, fflush() function: I/O Functions. (line 43) -* extensions, common, func keyword: Definition Syntax. (line 99) -* extensions, common, length() applied to an array: String Functions. - (line 200) -* extensions, common, RS as a regexp: gawk split records. (line 6) -* extensions, common, single character fields: Single Character Fields. - (line 6) -* extensions, common, \x escape sequence: Escape Sequences. (line 61) -* extensions, in gawk, not in POSIX awk: POSIX/GNU. (line 6) -* extensions, loading, @load directive: Loading Shared Libraries. - (line 8) -* extensions, mawk: Common Extensions. (line 6) -* extensions, where to find: gawkextlib. (line 6) -* extract.awk program: Extract Program. (line 79) -* extraction, of marked strings (internationalization): String Extraction. - (line 6) -* f debugger command (alias for frame): Execution Stack. (line 27) -* false, logical: Truth Values. (line 6) -* FDL (Free Documentation License): GNU Free Documentation License. - (line 8) -* features, adding to gawk: Adding Code. (line 6) -* features, deprecated: Obsolete. (line 6) -* features, undocumented: Undocumented. (line 6) -* Fenlason, Jay: History. (line 30) -* Fenlason, Jay <1>: Contributors. (line 19) -* fflush: I/O Functions. (line 28) -* field numbers: Nonconstant Fields. (line 6) -* field operator $: Fields. (line 19) -* field operators, dollar sign as: Fields. (line 19) -* field separator, in multiline records: Multiple Line. (line 41) -* field separator, on command line: Command Line Field Separator. - (line 6) -* field separator, POSIX and: Full Line Fields. (line 16) -* field separators: Field Separators. (line 15) -* field separators <1>: User-modified. (line 50) -* field separators <2>: User-modified. (line 113) -* field separators, choice of: Field Separators. (line 50) -* field separators, FIELDWIDTHS variable and: User-modified. (line 37) -* field separators, FPAT variable and: User-modified. (line 43) -* field separators, regular expressions as: Field Separators. (line 50) -* field separators, regular expressions as <1>: Regexp Field Splitting. - (line 6) -* field separators, See Also OFS: Changing Fields. (line 64) -* field separators, spaces as: Cut Program. (line 103) -* fields: Reading Files. (line 14) -* fields <1>: Fields. (line 6) -* fields <2>: Basic High Level. (line 62) -* fields, adding: Changing Fields. (line 53) -* fields, changing contents of: Changing Fields. (line 6) -* fields, cutting: Cut Program. (line 6) -* fields, examining: Fields. (line 6) -* fields, number of: Fields. (line 33) -* fields, numbers: Nonconstant Fields. (line 6) -* fields, printing: Print Examples. (line 20) -* fields, separating: Field Separators. (line 15) -* fields, separating <1>: Field Separators. (line 15) -* fields, single-character: Single Character Fields. - (line 6) -* FIELDWIDTHS variable: Constant Size. (line 22) -* FIELDWIDTHS variable <1>: User-modified. (line 37) -* file descriptors: Special FD. (line 6) -* file inclusion, @include directive: Include Files. (line 8) -* file names, distinguishing: Auto-set. (line 55) -* file names, in compatibility mode: Special Caveats. (line 9) -* file names, standard streams in gawk: Special FD. (line 48) -* FILENAME variable: Reading Files. (line 6) -* FILENAME variable <1>: Auto-set. (line 108) -* FILENAME variable, getline, setting with: Getline Notes. (line 19) -* filenames, assignments as: Ignoring Assigns. (line 6) -* files, .gmo: Explaining gettext. (line 42) -* files, .gmo, specifying directory of: Explaining gettext. (line 54) -* files, .gmo, specifying directory of <1>: Programmer i18n. (line 48) -* files, .mo, converting from .po: I18N Example. (line 66) -* files, .po: Explaining gettext. (line 37) -* files, .po <1>: Translator i18n. (line 6) -* files, .po, converting to .mo: I18N Example. (line 66) -* files, .pot: Explaining gettext. (line 31) -* files, /dev/... special files: Special FD. (line 48) -* files, /inet/... (gawk): TCP/IP Networking. (line 6) -* files, /inet4/... (gawk): TCP/IP Networking. (line 6) -* files, /inet6/... (gawk): TCP/IP Networking. (line 6) -* files, awk programs in: Long. (line 6) -* files, awkprof.out: Profiling. (line 6) -* files, awkvars.out: Options. (line 94) -* files, closing: I/O Functions. (line 10) -* files, descriptors, See file descriptors: Special FD. (line 6) -* files, group: Group Functions. (line 6) -* files, initialization and cleanup: Filetrans Function. (line 6) -* files, input, See input files: Read Terminal. (line 16) -* files, log, timestamps in: Time Functions. (line 6) -* files, managing: Data File Management. - (line 6) -* files, managing, data file boundaries: Filetrans Function. (line 6) -* files, message object: Explaining gettext. (line 42) -* files, message object, converting from portable object files: I18N Example. - (line 66) -* files, message object, specifying directory of: Explaining gettext. - (line 54) -* files, message object, specifying directory of <1>: Programmer i18n. - (line 48) -* files, multiple passes over: Other Arguments. (line 56) -* files, multiple, duplicating output into: Tee Program. (line 6) -* files, output, See output files: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 6) -* files, password: Passwd Functions. (line 16) -* files, portable object: Explaining gettext. (line 37) -* files, portable object <1>: Translator i18n. (line 6) -* files, portable object template: Explaining gettext. (line 31) -* files, portable object, converting to message object files: I18N Example. - (line 66) -* files, portable object, generating: Options. (line 147) -* files, processing, ARGIND variable and: Auto-set. (line 50) -* files, reading: Rewind Function. (line 6) -* files, reading, multiline records: Multiple Line. (line 6) -* files, searching for regular expressions: Egrep Program. (line 6) -* files, skipping: File Checking. (line 6) -* files, source, search path for: Programs Exercises. (line 70) -* files, splitting: Split Program. (line 6) -* files, Texinfo, extracting programs from: Extract Program. (line 6) -* find substring in string: String Functions. (line 155) -* finding extensions: Finding Extensions. (line 6) -* finish debugger command: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 39) -* Fish, Fred: Contributors. (line 51) -* fixed-width data: Constant Size. (line 6) -* flag variables: Boolean Ops. (line 69) -* flag variables <1>: Tee Program. (line 20) -* floating-point, numbers, arbitrary precision: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic. - (line 6) -* floating-point, VAX/VMS: VMS Running. (line 50) -* flush buffered output: I/O Functions. (line 28) -* fnmatch() extension function: Extension Sample Fnmatch. - (line 12) -* FNR variable: Records. (line 6) -* FNR variable <1>: Auto-set. (line 118) -* FNR variable, changing: Auto-set. (line 357) -* for statement: For Statement. (line 6) -* for statement, looping over arrays: Scanning an Array. (line 20) -* fork() extension function: Extension Sample Fork. - (line 11) -* format specifiers: Basic Printf. (line 15) -* format specifiers, mixing regular with positional specifiers: Printf Ordering. - (line 57) -* format specifiers, printf statement: Control Letters. (line 6) -* format specifiers, strftime() function (gawk): Time Functions. - (line 89) -* format time string: Time Functions. (line 48) -* formats, numeric output: OFMT. (line 6) -* formatting output: Printf. (line 6) -* formatting strings: String Functions. (line 384) -* forward slash (/) to enclose regular expressions: Regexp. (line 10) -* forward slash (/), / operator: Precedence. (line 54) -* forward slash (/), /= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 129) -* forward slash (/), /= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* forward slash (/), /= operator, vs. /=.../ regexp constant: Assignment Ops. - (line 149) -* forward slash (/), patterns and: Expression Patterns. (line 24) -* FPAT variable: Splitting By Content. - (line 25) -* FPAT variable <1>: User-modified. (line 43) -* frame debugger command: Execution Stack. (line 27) -* Free Documentation License (FDL): GNU Free Documentation License. - (line 8) -* Free Software Foundation (FSF): Manual History. (line 6) -* Free Software Foundation (FSF) <1>: Getting. (line 10) -* Free Software Foundation (FSF) <2>: Glossary. (line 372) -* Free Software Foundation (FSF) <3>: Glossary. (line 405) -* FreeBSD: Glossary. (line 748) -* FS variable: Field Separators. (line 15) -* FS variable <1>: User-modified. (line 50) -* FS variable, --field-separator option and: Options. (line 21) -* FS variable, as null string: Single Character Fields. - (line 20) -* FS variable, as TAB character: Options. (line 266) -* FS variable, changing value of: Field Separators. (line 34) -* FS variable, running awk programs and: Cut Program. (line 63) -* FS variable, setting from command line: Command Line Field Separator. - (line 6) -* FS, containing ^: Regexp Field Splitting. - (line 59) -* FS, in multiline records: Multiple Line. (line 41) -* FSF (Free Software Foundation): Manual History. (line 6) -* FSF (Free Software Foundation) <1>: Getting. (line 10) -* FSF (Free Software Foundation) <2>: Glossary. (line 372) -* FSF (Free Software Foundation) <3>: Glossary. (line 405) -* fts() extension function: Extension Sample File Functions. - (line 60) -* FUNCTAB array: Auto-set. (line 134) -* function calls: Function Calls. (line 6) -* function calls, indirect: Indirect Calls. (line 6) -* function calls, indirect, @-notation for: Indirect Calls. (line 47) -* function definition example: Function Example. (line 6) -* function pointers: Indirect Calls. (line 6) -* functions, arrays as parameters to: Pass By Value/Reference. - (line 44) -* functions, built-in: Function Calls. (line 10) -* functions, built-in <1>: Functions. (line 6) -* functions, built-in, evaluation order: Calling Built-in. (line 30) -* functions, defining: Definition Syntax. (line 10) -* functions, library: Library Functions. (line 6) -* functions, library, assertions: Assert Function. (line 6) -* functions, library, associative arrays and: Library Names. (line 58) -* functions, library, C library: Getopt Function. (line 6) -* functions, library, character values as numbers: Ordinal Functions. - (line 6) -* functions, library, Cliff random numbers: Cliff Random Function. - (line 6) -* functions, library, command-line options: Getopt Function. (line 6) -* functions, library, example program for using: Igawk Program. - (line 6) -* functions, library, group database, reading: Group Functions. - (line 6) -* functions, library, managing data files: Data File Management. - (line 6) -* functions, library, managing time: Getlocaltime Function. - (line 6) -* functions, library, merging arrays into strings: Join Function. - (line 6) -* functions, library, rounding numbers: Round Function. (line 6) -* functions, library, user database, reading: Passwd Functions. - (line 6) -* functions, names of: Definition Syntax. (line 24) -* functions, recursive: Definition Syntax. (line 89) -* functions, string-translation: I18N Functions. (line 6) -* functions, undefined: Pass By Value/Reference. - (line 68) -* functions, user-defined: User-defined. (line 6) -* functions, user-defined, calling: Function Caveats. (line 6) -* functions, user-defined, counts, in a profile: Profiling. (line 137) -* functions, user-defined, library of: Library Functions. (line 6) -* functions, user-defined, next/nextfile statements and: Next Statement. - (line 44) -* functions, user-defined, next/nextfile statements and <1>: Nextfile Statement. - (line 47) -* G-d: Acknowledgments. (line 94) -* G., Daniel Richard: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* G., Daniel Richard <1>: Maintainers. (line 14) -* Garfinkle, Scott: Contributors. (line 35) -* gawk program, dynamic profiling: Profiling. (line 177) -* gawk version: Auto-set. (line 221) -* gawk, ARGIND variable in: Other Arguments. (line 15) -* gawk, awk and: Preface. (line 21) -* gawk, awk and <1>: This Manual. (line 14) -* gawk, bitwise operations in: Bitwise Functions. (line 40) -* gawk, break statement in: Break Statement. (line 51) -* gawk, character classes and: Bracket Expressions. (line 108) -* gawk, coding style in: Adding Code. (line 37) -* gawk, command-line options, and regular expressions: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 73) -* gawk, configuring: Configuration Philosophy. - (line 6) -* gawk, configuring, options: Additional Configuration Options. - (line 6) -* gawk, continue statement in: Continue Statement. (line 44) -* gawk, distribution: Distribution contents. - (line 6) -* gawk, ERRNO variable in: Getline. (line 19) -* gawk, ERRNO variable in <1>: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 140) -* gawk, ERRNO variable in <2>: BEGINFILE/ENDFILE. (line 26) -* gawk, ERRNO variable in <3>: Auto-set. (line 87) -* gawk, ERRNO variable in <4>: TCP/IP Networking. (line 54) -* gawk, escape sequences: Escape Sequences. (line 121) -* gawk, extensions, disabling: Options. (line 257) -* gawk, features, adding: Adding Code. (line 6) -* gawk, features, advanced: Advanced Features. (line 6) -* gawk, field separators and: User-modified. (line 71) -* gawk, FIELDWIDTHS variable in: Constant Size. (line 22) -* gawk, FIELDWIDTHS variable in <1>: User-modified. (line 37) -* gawk, file names in: Special Files. (line 6) -* gawk, format-control characters: Control Letters. (line 18) -* gawk, format-control characters <1>: Control Letters. (line 93) -* gawk, FPAT variable in: Splitting By Content. - (line 25) -* gawk, FPAT variable in <1>: User-modified. (line 43) -* gawk, FUNCTAB array in: Auto-set. (line 134) -* gawk, function arguments and: Calling Built-in. (line 16) -* gawk, hexadecimal numbers and: Nondecimal-numbers. (line 41) -* gawk, IGNORECASE variable in: Case-sensitivity. (line 26) -* gawk, IGNORECASE variable in <1>: User-modified. (line 76) -* gawk, IGNORECASE variable in <2>: Array Intro. (line 100) -* gawk, IGNORECASE variable in <3>: String Functions. (line 58) -* gawk, IGNORECASE variable in <4>: Array Sorting Functions. - (line 83) -* gawk, implementation issues: Notes. (line 6) -* gawk, implementation issues, debugging: Compatibility Mode. (line 6) -* gawk, implementation issues, downward compatibility: Compatibility Mode. - (line 6) -* gawk, implementation issues, limits: Getline Notes. (line 14) -* gawk, implementation issues, pipes: Redirection. (line 129) -* gawk, installing: Installation. (line 6) -* gawk, internationalization and, See internationalization: Internationalization. - (line 13) -* gawk, interpreter, adding code to: Using Internal File Ops. - (line 6) -* gawk, interval expressions and: Regexp Operators. (line 139) -* gawk, line continuation in: Conditional Exp. (line 34) -* gawk, LINT variable in: User-modified. (line 87) -* gawk, list of contributors to: Contributors. (line 6) -* gawk, MS-Windows version of: PC Using. (line 9) -* gawk, newlines in: Statements/Lines. (line 12) -* gawk, octal numbers and: Nondecimal-numbers. (line 41) -* gawk, predefined variables and: Built-in Variables. (line 14) -* gawk, PROCINFO array in: Auto-set. (line 148) -* gawk, PROCINFO array in <1>: Time Functions. (line 47) -* gawk, PROCINFO array in <2>: Two-way I/O. (line 114) -* gawk, regexp constants and: Using Constant Regexps. - (line 28) -* gawk, regular expressions, case sensitivity: Case-sensitivity. - (line 26) -* gawk, regular expressions, operators: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 6) -* gawk, regular expressions, precedence: Regexp Operators. (line 161) -* gawk, RT variable in: awk split records. (line 124) -* gawk, RT variable in <1>: Multiple Line. (line 130) -* gawk, RT variable in <2>: Auto-set. (line 295) -* gawk, See Also awk: Preface. (line 34) -* gawk, source code, obtaining: Getting. (line 6) -* gawk, splitting fields and: Constant Size. (line 86) -* gawk, string-translation functions: I18N Functions. (line 6) -* gawk, SYMTAB array in: Auto-set. (line 299) -* gawk, TEXTDOMAIN variable in: User-modified. (line 152) -* gawk, timestamps: Time Functions. (line 6) -* gawk, uses for: Preface. (line 34) -* gawk, versions of, information about, printing: Options. (line 304) -* gawk, VMS version of: VMS Installation. (line 6) -* gawk, word-boundary operator: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 66) -* gawkextlib: gawkextlib. (line 6) -* gawkextlib project: gawkextlib. (line 6) -* gawklibpath_append shell function: Shell Startup Files. (line 29) -* gawklibpath_default shell function: Shell Startup Files. (line 22) -* gawklibpath_prepend shell function: Shell Startup Files. (line 25) -* gawkpath_append shell function: Shell Startup Files. (line 19) -* gawkpath_default shell function: Shell Startup Files. (line 12) -* gawkpath_prepend shell function: Shell Startup Files. (line 15) -* General Public License (GPL): Glossary. (line 396) -* General Public License, See GPL: Manual History. (line 11) -* generate time values: Time Functions. (line 25) -* gensub: Using Constant Regexps. - (line 43) -* gensub <1>: String Functions. (line 89) -* gensub() function (gawk), escape processing: Gory Details. (line 6) -* getaddrinfo() function (C library): TCP/IP Networking. (line 39) -* getgrent() function (C library): Group Functions. (line 6) -* getgrent() function (C library) <1>: Group Functions. (line 202) -* getgrent() user-defined function: Group Functions. (line 6) -* getgrent() user-defined function <1>: Group Functions. (line 205) -* getgrgid() function (C library): Group Functions. (line 184) -* getgrgid() user-defined function: Group Functions. (line 187) -* getgrnam() function (C library): Group Functions. (line 173) -* getgrnam() user-defined function: Group Functions. (line 178) -* getgruser() function (C library): Group Functions. (line 193) -* getgruser() function, user-defined: Group Functions. (line 196) -* getline command: Reading Files. (line 20) -* getline command, coprocesses, using from: Getline/Coprocess. - (line 6) -* getline command, coprocesses, using from <1>: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 6) -* getline command, deadlock and: Two-way I/O. (line 53) -* getline command, explicit input with: Getline. (line 6) -* getline command, FILENAME variable and: Getline Notes. (line 19) -* getline command, return values: Getline. (line 19) -* getline command, variants: Getline Summary. (line 6) -* getline command, _gr_init() user-defined function: Group Functions. - (line 83) -* getline command, _pw_init() function: Passwd Functions. (line 154) -* getline from a file: Getline/File. (line 6) -* getline into a variable: Getline/Variable. (line 6) -* getline statement, BEGINFILE/ENDFILE patterns and: BEGINFILE/ENDFILE. - (line 53) -* getlocaltime() user-defined function: Getlocaltime Function. - (line 16) -* getopt() function (C library): Getopt Function. (line 15) -* getopt() user-defined function: Getopt Function. (line 108) -* getopt() user-defined function <1>: Getopt Function. (line 134) -* getpwent() function (C library): Passwd Functions. (line 16) -* getpwent() function (C library) <1>: Passwd Functions. (line 196) -* getpwent() user-defined function: Passwd Functions. (line 16) -* getpwent() user-defined function <1>: Passwd Functions. (line 200) -* getpwnam() function (C library): Passwd Functions. (line 175) -* getpwnam() user-defined function: Passwd Functions. (line 180) -* getpwuid() function (C library): Passwd Functions. (line 186) -* getpwuid() user-defined function: Passwd Functions. (line 190) -* gettext library: Explaining gettext. (line 6) -* gettext library, locale categories: Explaining gettext. (line 81) -* gettext() function (C library): Explaining gettext. (line 63) -* gettimeofday() extension function: Extension Sample Time. - (line 12) -* git utility: gawkextlib. (line 31) -* git utility <1>: Other Versions. (line 29) -* git utility <2>: Accessing The Source. - (line 10) -* git utility <3>: Adding Code. (line 112) -* Git, use of for gawk source code: Derived Files. (line 6) -* GNITS mailing list: Acknowledgments. (line 52) -* GNU awk, See gawk: Preface. (line 51) -* GNU Free Documentation License: GNU Free Documentation License. - (line 8) -* GNU General Public License: Glossary. (line 396) -* GNU Lesser General Public License: Glossary. (line 491) -* GNU long options: Command Line. (line 13) -* GNU long options <1>: Options. (line 6) -* GNU long options, printing list of: Options. (line 154) -* GNU Project: Manual History. (line 11) -* GNU Project <1>: Glossary. (line 405) -* GNU/Linux: Manual History. (line 28) -* GNU/Linux <1>: I18N Example. (line 57) -* GNU/Linux <2>: Glossary. (line 748) -* Gordon, Assaf: Contributors. (line 106) -* GPL (General Public License): Manual History. (line 11) -* GPL (General Public License) <1>: Glossary. (line 396) -* GPL (General Public License), printing: Options. (line 89) -* grcat program: Group Functions. (line 16) -* Grigera, Juan: Contributors. (line 58) -* group database, reading: Group Functions. (line 6) -* group file: Group Functions. (line 6) -* group ID of gawk user: Auto-set. (line 170) -* groups, information about: Group Functions. (line 6) -* gsub: Using Constant Regexps. - (line 43) -* gsub <1>: String Functions. (line 139) -* gsub() function, arguments of: String Functions. (line 463) -* gsub() function, escape processing: Gory Details. (line 6) -* h debugger command (alias for help): Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 69) -* Hankerson, Darrel: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Hankerson, Darrel <1>: Contributors. (line 61) -* Haque, John: Contributors. (line 109) -* Hartholz, Elaine: Acknowledgments. (line 38) -* Hartholz, Marshall: Acknowledgments. (line 38) -* Hasegawa, Isamu: Contributors. (line 95) -* help debugger command: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 69) -* hexadecimal numbers: Nondecimal-numbers. (line 6) -* hexadecimal values, enabling interpretation of: Options. (line 209) -* history expansion, in debugger: Readline Support. (line 6) -* histsort.awk program: History Sorting. (line 25) -* Hughes, Phil: Acknowledgments. (line 43) -* HUP signal, for dynamic profiling: Profiling. (line 209) -* hyphen (-), - operator: Precedence. (line 51) -* hyphen (-), - operator <1>: Precedence. (line 57) -* hyphen (-), -- operator: Increment Ops. (line 48) -* hyphen (-), -- operator <1>: Precedence. (line 45) -* hyphen (-), -= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 129) -* hyphen (-), -= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* hyphen (-), filenames beginning with: Options. (line 60) -* hyphen (-), in bracket expressions: Bracket Expressions. (line 25) -* i debugger command (alias for info): Debugger Info. (line 13) -* id utility: Id Program. (line 6) -* id.awk program: Id Program. (line 31) -* if statement: If Statement. (line 6) -* if statement, actions, changing: Ranges. (line 25) -* if statement, use of regexps in: Regexp Usage. (line 19) -* igawk.sh program: Igawk Program. (line 124) -* ignore breakpoint: Breakpoint Control. (line 87) -* ignore debugger command: Breakpoint Control. (line 87) -* IGNORECASE variable: User-modified. (line 76) -* IGNORECASE variable, and array indices: Array Intro. (line 100) -* IGNORECASE variable, and array sorting functions: Array Sorting Functions. - (line 83) -* IGNORECASE variable, in example programs: Library Functions. - (line 53) -* IGNORECASE variable, with ~ and !~ operators: Case-sensitivity. - (line 26) -* Illumos: Other Versions. (line 109) -* Illumos, POSIX-compliant awk: Other Versions. (line 109) -* implementation issues, gawk: Notes. (line 6) -* implementation issues, gawk, debugging: Compatibility Mode. (line 6) -* implementation issues, gawk, limits: Getline Notes. (line 14) -* implementation issues, gawk, limits <1>: Redirection. (line 129) -* in operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* in operator <1>: Precedence. (line 82) -* in operator <2>: For Statement. (line 75) -* in operator, index existence in multidimensional arrays: Multidimensional. - (line 41) -* in operator, order of array access: Scanning an Array. (line 48) -* in operator, testing if array element exists: Reference to Elements. - (line 38) -* in operator, use in loops: Scanning an Array. (line 17) -* including files, @include directive: Include Files. (line 8) -* increment operators: Increment Ops. (line 6) -* index: String Functions. (line 155) -* indexing arrays: Array Intro. (line 48) -* indirect function calls: Indirect Calls. (line 6) -* indirect function calls, @-notation: Indirect Calls. (line 47) -* infinite precision: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic. - (line 6) -* info debugger command: Debugger Info. (line 13) -* initialization, automatic: More Complex. (line 39) -* inplace extension: Extension Sample Inplace. - (line 6) -* input files: Reading Files. (line 6) -* input files, closing: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 6) -* input files, counting elements in: Wc Program. (line 6) -* input files, examples: Sample Data Files. (line 6) -* input files, reading: Reading Files. (line 6) -* input files, running awk without: Read Terminal. (line 6) -* input files, running awk without <1>: Read Terminal. (line 16) -* input files, variable assignments and: Other Arguments. (line 26) -* input pipeline: Getline/Pipe. (line 10) -* input record, length of: String Functions. (line 177) -* input redirection: Getline/File. (line 6) -* input, data, nondecimal: Nondecimal Data. (line 6) -* input, explicit: Getline. (line 6) -* input, files, See input files: Multiple Line. (line 6) -* input, multiline records: Multiple Line. (line 6) -* input, splitting into records: Records. (line 6) -* input, standard: Read Terminal. (line 6) -* input, standard <1>: Special FD. (line 6) -* input/output functions: I/O Functions. (line 6) -* input/output, binary: User-modified. (line 15) -* input/output, from BEGIN and END: I/O And BEGIN/END. (line 6) -* input/output, two-way: Two-way I/O. (line 27) -* insomnia, cure for: Alarm Program. (line 6) -* installation, VMS: VMS Installation. (line 6) -* installing gawk: Installation. (line 6) -* instruction tracing, in debugger: Debugger Info. (line 90) -* int: Numeric Functions. (line 24) -* INT signal (MS-Windows): Profiling. (line 212) -* intdiv: Numeric Functions. (line 29) -* intdiv <1>: Numeric Functions. (line 29) -* integer array indices: Numeric Array Subscripts. - (line 31) -* integers, arbitrary precision: Arbitrary Precision Integers. - (line 6) -* integers, unsigned: Computer Arithmetic. (line 41) -* interacting with other programs: I/O Functions. (line 107) -* internationalization: I18N Functions. (line 6) -* internationalization <1>: I18N and L10N. (line 6) -* internationalization, localization: User-modified. (line 152) -* internationalization, localization <1>: Internationalization. - (line 13) -* internationalization, localization, character classes: Bracket Expressions. - (line 108) -* internationalization, localization, gawk and: Internationalization. - (line 13) -* internationalization, localization, locale categories: Explaining gettext. - (line 81) -* internationalization, localization, marked strings: Programmer i18n. - (line 13) -* internationalization, localization, portability and: I18N Portability. - (line 6) -* internationalizing a program: Explaining gettext. (line 6) -* interpreted programs: Basic High Level. (line 13) -* interpreted programs <1>: Glossary. (line 445) -* interval expressions, regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 116) -* inventory-shipped file: Sample Data Files. (line 32) -* invoke shell command: I/O Functions. (line 107) -* isarray: Type Functions. (line 11) -* ISO: Glossary. (line 456) -* ISO 8859-1: Glossary. (line 196) -* ISO Latin-1: Glossary. (line 196) -* Jacobs, Andrew: Passwd Functions. (line 90) -* Jaegermann, Michal: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Jaegermann, Michal <1>: Contributors. (line 46) -* Java implementation of awk: Other Versions. (line 117) -* Java programming language: Glossary. (line 468) -* jawk: Other Versions. (line 117) -* Jedi knights: Undocumented. (line 6) -* Johansen, Chris: Signature Program. (line 25) -* join() user-defined function: Join Function. (line 18) -* Kahrs, Ju"rgen: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Kahrs, Ju"rgen <1>: Contributors. (line 71) -* Kasal, Stepan: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Kenobi, Obi-Wan: Undocumented. (line 6) -* Kernighan, Brian: History. (line 17) -* Kernighan, Brian <1>: Conventions. (line 38) -* Kernighan, Brian <2>: Acknowledgments. (line 79) -* Kernighan, Brian <3>: Getline/Pipe. (line 6) -* Kernighan, Brian <4>: Concatenation. (line 6) -* Kernighan, Brian <5>: Library Functions. (line 12) -* Kernighan, Brian <6>: BTL. (line 6) -* Kernighan, Brian <7>: Contributors. (line 12) -* Kernighan, Brian <8>: Other Versions. (line 13) -* Kernighan, Brian <9>: Basic Data Typing. (line 54) -* Kernighan, Brian <10>: Glossary. (line 206) -* kill command, dynamic profiling: Profiling. (line 186) -* Knights, jedi: Undocumented. (line 6) -* Kwok, Conrad: Contributors. (line 35) -* l debugger command (alias for list): Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 75) -* labels.awk program: Labels Program. (line 51) -* Langston, Peter: Advanced Features. (line 6) -* LANGUAGE environment variable: Explaining gettext. (line 120) -* languages, data-driven: Basic High Level. (line 74) -* LC_ALL locale category: Explaining gettext. (line 117) -* LC_COLLATE locale category: Explaining gettext. (line 94) -* LC_CTYPE locale category: Explaining gettext. (line 98) -* LC_MESSAGES locale category: Explaining gettext. (line 88) -* LC_MESSAGES locale category, bindtextdomain() function (gawk): Programmer i18n. - (line 101) -* LC_MONETARY locale category: Explaining gettext. (line 104) -* LC_NUMERIC locale category: Explaining gettext. (line 108) -* LC_TIME locale category: Explaining gettext. (line 112) -* left angle bracket (<), < operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* left angle bracket (<), < operator <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* left angle bracket (<), < operator (I/O): Getline/File. (line 6) -* left angle bracket (<), <= operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* left angle bracket (<), <= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* left shift: Bitwise Functions. (line 47) -* left shift, bitwise: Bitwise Functions. (line 32) -* leftmost longest match: Multiple Line. (line 26) -* length: String Functions. (line 170) -* length of input record: String Functions. (line 177) -* length of string: String Functions. (line 170) -* Lesser General Public License (LGPL): Glossary. (line 491) -* LGPL (Lesser General Public License): Glossary. (line 491) -* libmawk: Other Versions. (line 125) -* libraries of awk functions: Library Functions. (line 6) -* libraries of awk functions, assertions: Assert Function. (line 6) -* libraries of awk functions, associative arrays and: Library Names. - (line 58) -* libraries of awk functions, character values as numbers: Ordinal Functions. - (line 6) -* libraries of awk functions, command-line options: Getopt Function. - (line 6) -* libraries of awk functions, example program for using: Igawk Program. - (line 6) -* libraries of awk functions, group database, reading: Group Functions. - (line 6) -* libraries of awk functions, managing, data files: Data File Management. - (line 6) -* libraries of awk functions, managing, time: Getlocaltime Function. - (line 6) -* libraries of awk functions, merging arrays into strings: Join Function. - (line 6) -* libraries of awk functions, rounding numbers: Round Function. - (line 6) -* libraries of awk functions, user database, reading: Passwd Functions. - (line 6) -* line breaks: Statements/Lines. (line 6) -* line continuations: Boolean Ops. (line 64) -* line continuations, gawk: Conditional Exp. (line 34) -* line continuations, in print statement: Print Examples. (line 75) -* line continuations, with C shell: More Complex. (line 31) -* lines, blank, printing: Print. (line 22) -* lines, counting: Wc Program. (line 6) -* lines, duplicate, removing: History Sorting. (line 6) -* lines, matching ranges of: Ranges. (line 6) -* lines, skipping between markers: Ranges. (line 43) -* lint checking: User-modified. (line 87) -* lint checking, array elements: Delete. (line 34) -* lint checking, array subscripts: Uninitialized Subscripts. - (line 43) -* lint checking, empty programs: Command Line. (line 16) -* lint checking, issuing warnings: Options. (line 184) -* lint checking, POSIXLY_CORRECT environment variable: Options. - (line 343) -* lint checking, undefined functions: Pass By Value/Reference. - (line 85) -* LINT variable: User-modified. (line 87) -* Linux: Manual History. (line 28) -* Linux <1>: I18N Example. (line 57) -* Linux <2>: Glossary. (line 748) -* list all global variables, in debugger: Debugger Info. (line 48) -* list debugger command: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 75) -* list function definitions, in debugger: Debugger Info. (line 30) -* loading extensions, @load directive: Loading Shared Libraries. - (line 8) -* loading, extensions: Options. (line 172) -* local variables, in a function: Variable Scope. (line 6) -* locale categories: Explaining gettext. (line 81) -* locale decimal point character: Options. (line 269) -* locale, definition of: Locales. (line 6) -* localization: I18N and L10N. (line 6) -* localization, See internationalization, localization: I18N and L10N. - (line 6) -* log: Numeric Functions. (line 44) -* log files, timestamps in: Time Functions. (line 6) -* logarithm: Numeric Functions. (line 44) -* logical false/true: Truth Values. (line 6) -* logical operators, See Boolean expressions: Boolean Ops. (line 6) -* login information: Passwd Functions. (line 16) -* long options: Command Line. (line 13) -* loops: While Statement. (line 6) -* loops, break statement and: Break Statement. (line 6) -* loops, continue statements and: For Statement. (line 64) -* loops, count for header, in a profile: Profiling. (line 131) -* loops, do-while: Do Statement. (line 6) -* loops, exiting: Break Statement. (line 6) -* loops, for, array scanning: Scanning an Array. (line 6) -* loops, for, iterative: For Statement. (line 6) -* loops, See Also while statement: While Statement. (line 6) -* loops, while: While Statement. (line 6) -* ls utility: More Complex. (line 15) -* lshift: Bitwise Functions. (line 47) -* lvalues/rvalues: Assignment Ops. (line 31) -* mail-list file: Sample Data Files. (line 6) -* mailing labels, printing: Labels Program. (line 6) -* mailing list, GNITS: Acknowledgments. (line 52) -* Malmberg, John: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Malmberg, John <1>: Maintainers. (line 14) -* Malmberg, John E.: Contributors. (line 138) -* mark parity: Ordinal Functions. (line 45) -* marked string extraction (internationalization): String Extraction. - (line 6) -* marked strings, extracting: String Extraction. (line 6) -* Marx, Groucho: Increment Ops. (line 60) -* match: String Functions. (line 210) -* match regexp in string: String Functions. (line 210) -* match() function, RSTART/RLENGTH variables: String Functions. - (line 227) -* matching, expressions, See comparison expressions: Typing and Comparison. - (line 9) -* matching, leftmost longest: Multiple Line. (line 26) -* matching, null strings: String Functions. (line 537) -* mawk utility: Escape Sequences. (line 121) -* mawk utility <1>: Getline/Pipe. (line 62) -* mawk utility <2>: Concatenation. (line 36) -* mawk utility <3>: Nextfile Statement. (line 47) -* mawk utility <4>: Other Versions. (line 48) -* maximum precision supported by MPFR library: Auto-set. (line 235) -* McIlroy, Doug: Glossary. (line 257) -* McPhee, Patrick: Contributors. (line 101) -* message object files: Explaining gettext. (line 42) -* message object files, converting from portable object files: I18N Example. - (line 66) -* message object files, specifying directory of: Explaining gettext. - (line 54) -* message object files, specifying directory of <1>: Programmer i18n. - (line 48) -* messages from extensions: Printing Messages. (line 6) -* metacharacters in regular expressions: Regexp Operators. (line 6) -* metacharacters, escape sequences for: Escape Sequences. (line 140) -* minimum precision required by MPFR library: Auto-set. (line 238) -* mktime: Time Functions. (line 25) -* modifiers, in format specifiers: Format Modifiers. (line 6) -* monetary information, localization: Explaining gettext. (line 104) -* Moore, Duncan: Getline Notes. (line 40) -* msgfmt utility: I18N Example. (line 66) -* multiple precision: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic. - (line 6) -* multiple-line records: Multiple Line. (line 6) -* n debugger command (alias for next): Debugger Execution Control. - (line 43) -* names, arrays/variables: Library Names. (line 6) -* names, functions: Definition Syntax. (line 24) -* names, functions <1>: Library Names. (line 6) -* namespace issues: Library Names. (line 6) -* namespace issues, functions: Definition Syntax. (line 24) -* NetBSD: Glossary. (line 748) -* networks, programming: TCP/IP Networking. (line 6) -* networks, support for: Special Network. (line 6) -* newlines: Statements/Lines. (line 6) -* newlines <1>: Options. (line 263) -* newlines <2>: Boolean Ops. (line 69) -* newlines, as record separators: awk split records. (line 12) -* newlines, in dynamic regexps: Computed Regexps. (line 60) -* newlines, in regexp constants: Computed Regexps. (line 70) -* newlines, printing: Print Examples. (line 11) -* newlines, separating statements in actions: Action Overview. - (line 19) -* newlines, separating statements in actions <1>: Statements. (line 10) -* next debugger command: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 43) -* next file statement: Feature History. (line 168) -* next statement: Boolean Ops. (line 95) -* next statement <1>: Next Statement. (line 6) -* next statement, BEGIN/END patterns and: I/O And BEGIN/END. (line 36) -* next statement, BEGINFILE/ENDFILE patterns and: BEGINFILE/ENDFILE. - (line 49) -* next statement, user-defined functions and: Next Statement. (line 44) -* nextfile statement: Nextfile Statement. (line 6) -* nextfile statement, BEGIN/END patterns and: I/O And BEGIN/END. - (line 36) -* nextfile statement, BEGINFILE/ENDFILE patterns and: BEGINFILE/ENDFILE. - (line 26) -* nextfile statement, user-defined functions and: Nextfile Statement. - (line 47) -* nexti debugger command: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 49) -* NF variable: Fields. (line 33) -* NF variable <1>: Auto-set. (line 123) -* NF variable, decrementing: Changing Fields. (line 107) -* ni debugger command (alias for nexti): Debugger Execution Control. - (line 49) -* noassign.awk program: Ignoring Assigns. (line 15) -* non-existent array elements: Reference to Elements. - (line 23) -* not Boolean-logic operator: Boolean Ops. (line 6) -* NR variable: Records. (line 6) -* NR variable <1>: Auto-set. (line 143) -* NR variable, changing: Auto-set. (line 357) -* null strings: awk split records. (line 114) -* null strings <1>: Regexp Field Splitting. - (line 43) -* null strings <2>: Truth Values. (line 6) -* null strings <3>: Basic Data Typing. (line 26) -* null strings in gawk arguments, quoting and: Quoting. (line 82) -* null strings, and deleting array elements: Delete. (line 27) -* null strings, as array subscripts: Uninitialized Subscripts. - (line 43) -* null strings, converting numbers to strings: Strings And Numbers. - (line 21) -* null strings, matching: String Functions. (line 537) -* number as string of bits: Bitwise Functions. (line 108) -* number of array elements: String Functions. (line 200) -* number sign (#), #! (executable scripts): Executable Scripts. - (line 6) -* number sign (#), commenting: Comments. (line 6) -* numbers, as array subscripts: Numeric Array Subscripts. - (line 6) -* numbers, as values of characters: Ordinal Functions. (line 6) -* numbers, Cliff random: Cliff Random Function. - (line 6) -* numbers, converting: Strings And Numbers. (line 6) -* numbers, converting <1>: Bitwise Functions. (line 108) -* numbers, converting, to strings: User-modified. (line 30) -* numbers, converting, to strings <1>: User-modified. (line 104) -* numbers, hexadecimal: Nondecimal-numbers. (line 6) -* numbers, octal: Nondecimal-numbers. (line 6) -* numbers, rounding: Round Function. (line 6) -* numeric constants: Scalar Constants. (line 6) -* numeric functions: Numeric Functions. (line 6) -* numeric, output format: OFMT. (line 6) -* numeric, strings: Variable Typing. (line 6) -* o debugger command (alias for option): Debugger Info. (line 57) -* obsolete features: Obsolete. (line 6) -* octal numbers: Nondecimal-numbers. (line 6) -* octal values, enabling interpretation of: Options. (line 209) -* OFMT variable: OFMT. (line 15) -* OFMT variable <1>: Strings And Numbers. (line 56) -* OFMT variable <2>: User-modified. (line 104) -* OFMT variable, POSIX awk and: OFMT. (line 27) -* OFS variable: Changing Fields. (line 64) -* OFS variable <1>: Output Separators. (line 6) -* OFS variable <2>: User-modified. (line 113) -* OpenBSD: Glossary. (line 748) -* OpenSolaris: Other Versions. (line 100) -* operating systems, BSD-based: Manual History. (line 28) -* operating systems, PC, gawk on: PC Using. (line 6) -* operating systems, PC, gawk on, installing: PC Installation. - (line 6) -* operating systems, porting gawk to: New Ports. (line 6) -* operating systems, See Also GNU/Linux, PC operating systems, Unix: Installation. - (line 6) -* operations, bitwise: Bitwise Functions. (line 6) -* operators, arithmetic: Arithmetic Ops. (line 6) -* operators, assignment: Assignment Ops. (line 6) -* operators, assignment <1>: Assignment Ops. (line 31) -* operators, assignment, evaluation order: Assignment Ops. (line 110) -* operators, Boolean, See Boolean expressions: Boolean Ops. (line 6) -* operators, decrement/increment: Increment Ops. (line 6) -* operators, GNU-specific: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 6) -* operators, input/output: Getline/File. (line 6) -* operators, input/output <1>: Getline/Pipe. (line 10) -* operators, input/output <2>: Getline/Coprocess. (line 6) -* operators, input/output <3>: Redirection. (line 22) -* operators, input/output <4>: Redirection. (line 96) -* operators, input/output <5>: Precedence. (line 64) -* operators, input/output <6>: Precedence. (line 64) -* operators, input/output <7>: Precedence. (line 64) -* operators, logical, See Boolean expressions: Boolean Ops. (line 6) -* operators, precedence: Increment Ops. (line 60) -* operators, precedence <1>: Precedence. (line 6) -* operators, relational, See operators, comparison: Typing and Comparison. - (line 9) -* operators, short-circuit: Boolean Ops. (line 59) -* operators, string: Concatenation. (line 9) -* operators, string-matching: Regexp Usage. (line 19) -* operators, string-matching, for buffers: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 51) -* operators, word-boundary (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 66) -* option debugger command: Debugger Info. (line 57) -* options, command-line: Options. (line 6) -* options, command-line, end of: Options. (line 55) -* options, command-line, invoking awk: Command Line. (line 6) -* options, command-line, processing: Getopt Function. (line 6) -* options, deprecated: Obsolete. (line 6) -* options, long: Command Line. (line 13) -* options, long <1>: Options. (line 6) -* options, printing list of: Options. (line 154) -* or: Bitwise Functions. (line 50) -* OR bitwise operation: Bitwise Functions. (line 6) -* or Boolean-logic operator: Boolean Ops. (line 6) -* ord() extension function: Extension Sample Ord. - (line 12) -* ord() user-defined function: Ordinal Functions. (line 16) -* order of evaluation, concatenation: Concatenation. (line 41) -* ORS variable: Output Separators. (line 20) -* ORS variable <1>: User-modified. (line 119) -* output field separator, See OFS variable: Changing Fields. (line 64) -* output record separator, See ORS variable: Output Separators. - (line 20) -* output redirection: Redirection. (line 6) -* output wrapper: Output Wrappers. (line 6) -* output, buffering: I/O Functions. (line 32) -* output, buffering <1>: I/O Functions. (line 166) -* output, duplicating into files: Tee Program. (line 6) -* output, files, closing: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 6) -* output, format specifier, OFMT: OFMT. (line 15) -* output, formatted: Printf. (line 6) -* output, pipes: Redirection. (line 57) -* output, printing, See printing: Printing. (line 6) -* output, records: Output Separators. (line 20) -* output, standard: Special FD. (line 6) -* p debugger command (alias for print): Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 35) -* Papadopoulos, Panos: Contributors. (line 129) -* parent process ID of gawk process: Auto-set. (line 210) -* parentheses (), in a profile: Profiling. (line 146) -* parentheses (), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 81) -* password file: Passwd Functions. (line 16) -* patsplit: String Functions. (line 296) -* patterns: Patterns and Actions. - (line 6) -* patterns, comparison expressions as: Expression Patterns. (line 14) -* patterns, counts, in a profile: Profiling. (line 118) -* patterns, default: Very Simple. (line 35) -* patterns, empty: Empty. (line 6) -* patterns, expressions as: Regexp Patterns. (line 6) -* patterns, ranges in: Ranges. (line 6) -* patterns, regexp constants as: Expression Patterns. (line 34) -* patterns, types of: Pattern Overview. (line 15) -* pawk (profiling version of Brian Kernighan's awk): Other Versions. - (line 82) -* pawk, awk-like facilities for Python: Other Versions. (line 129) -* PC operating systems, gawk on: PC Using. (line 6) -* PC operating systems, gawk on, installing: PC Installation. (line 6) -* percent sign (%), % operator: Precedence. (line 54) -* percent sign (%), %= operator: Assignment Ops. (line 129) -* percent sign (%), %= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* period (.), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 44) -* Perl: Future Extensions. (line 6) -* Peters, Arno: Contributors. (line 86) -* Peterson, Hal: Contributors. (line 40) -* pipe, closing: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 6) -* pipe, input: Getline/Pipe. (line 10) -* pipe, output: Redirection. (line 57) -* Pitts, Dave: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Pitts, Dave <1>: Maintainers. (line 14) -* Plauger, P.J.: Library Functions. (line 12) -* plug-in: Extension Intro. (line 6) -* plus sign (+), + operator: Precedence. (line 51) -* plus sign (+), + operator <1>: Precedence. (line 57) -* plus sign (+), ++ operator: Increment Ops. (line 11) -* plus sign (+), ++ operator <1>: Increment Ops. (line 40) -* plus sign (+), ++ operator <2>: Precedence. (line 45) -* plus sign (+), += operator: Assignment Ops. (line 81) -* plus sign (+), += operator <1>: Precedence. (line 94) -* plus sign (+), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 105) -* pointers to functions: Indirect Calls. (line 6) -* portability: Escape Sequences. (line 103) -* portability, #! (executable scripts): Executable Scripts. (line 33) -* portability, ** operator and: Arithmetic Ops. (line 81) -* portability, **= operator and: Assignment Ops. (line 144) -* portability, ARGV variable: Executable Scripts. (line 59) -* portability, backslash continuation and: Statements/Lines. (line 30) -* portability, backslash in escape sequences: Escape Sequences. - (line 108) -* portability, close() function and: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 81) -* portability, data files as single record: gawk split records. - (line 65) -* portability, deleting array elements: Delete. (line 56) -* portability, example programs: Library Functions. (line 42) -* portability, functions, defining: Definition Syntax. (line 114) -* portability, gawk: New Ports. (line 6) -* portability, gettext library and: Explaining gettext. (line 11) -* portability, internationalization and: I18N Portability. (line 6) -* portability, length() function: String Functions. (line 179) -* portability, new awk vs. old awk: Strings And Numbers. (line 56) -* portability, next statement in user-defined functions: Pass By Value/Reference. - (line 88) -* portability, NF variable, decrementing: Changing Fields. (line 115) -* portability, operators: Increment Ops. (line 60) -* portability, operators, not in POSIX awk: Precedence. (line 97) -* portability, POSIXLY_CORRECT environment variable: Options. (line 363) -* portability, substr() function: String Functions. (line 513) -* portable object files: Explaining gettext. (line 37) -* portable object files <1>: Translator i18n. (line 6) -* portable object files, converting to message object files: I18N Example. - (line 66) -* portable object files, generating: Options. (line 147) -* portable object template files: Explaining gettext. (line 31) -* porting gawk: New Ports. (line 6) -* positional specifiers, printf statement: Format Modifiers. (line 13) -* positional specifiers, printf statement <1>: Printf Ordering. - (line 6) -* positional specifiers, printf statement, mixing with regular formats: Printf Ordering. - (line 57) -* POSIX awk: This Manual. (line 14) -* POSIX awk <1>: Assignment Ops. (line 138) -* POSIX awk, ** operator and: Precedence. (line 97) -* POSIX awk, **= operator and: Assignment Ops. (line 144) -* POSIX awk, < operator and: Getline/File. (line 26) -* POSIX awk, arithmetic operators and: Arithmetic Ops. (line 30) -* POSIX awk, backslashes in string constants: Escape Sequences. - (line 108) -* POSIX awk, BEGIN/END patterns: I/O And BEGIN/END. (line 15) -* POSIX awk, bracket expressions and: Bracket Expressions. (line 34) -* POSIX awk, bracket expressions and, character classes: Bracket Expressions. - (line 40) -* POSIX awk, bracket expressions and, character classes <1>: Bracket Expressions. - (line 108) -* POSIX awk, break statement and: Break Statement. (line 51) -* POSIX awk, changes in awk versions: POSIX. (line 6) -* POSIX awk, continue statement and: Continue Statement. (line 44) -* POSIX awk, CONVFMT variable and: User-modified. (line 30) -* POSIX awk, date utility and: Time Functions. (line 253) -* POSIX awk, field separators and: Full Line Fields. (line 16) -* POSIX awk, function keyword in: Definition Syntax. (line 99) -* POSIX awk, functions and, gsub()/sub(): Gory Details. (line 90) -* POSIX awk, functions and, length(): String Functions. (line 179) -* POSIX awk, GNU long options and: Options. (line 15) -* POSIX awk, interval expressions in: Regexp Operators. (line 135) -* POSIX awk, next/nextfile statements and: Next Statement. (line 44) -* POSIX awk, numeric strings and: Variable Typing. (line 6) -* POSIX awk, OFMT variable and: OFMT. (line 27) -* POSIX awk, OFMT variable and <1>: Strings And Numbers. (line 56) -* POSIX awk, period (.), using: Regexp Operators. (line 51) -* POSIX awk, printf format strings and: Format Modifiers. (line 157) -* POSIX awk, regular expressions and: Regexp Operators. (line 161) -* POSIX awk, timestamps and: Time Functions. (line 6) -* POSIX awk, | I/O operator and: Getline/Pipe. (line 56) -* POSIX mode: Options. (line 257) -* POSIX mode <1>: Options. (line 343) -* POSIX, awk and: Preface. (line 21) -* POSIX, gawk extensions not included in: POSIX/GNU. (line 6) -* POSIX, programs, implementing in awk: Clones. (line 6) -* POSIXLY_CORRECT environment variable: Options. (line 343) -* PREC variable: User-modified. (line 124) -* precedence: Increment Ops. (line 60) -* precedence <1>: Precedence. (line 6) -* precedence, regexp operators: Regexp Operators. (line 156) -* predefined variables: Built-in Variables. (line 6) -* predefined variables, -v option, setting with: Options. (line 41) -* predefined variables, conveying information: Auto-set. (line 6) -* predefined variables, user-modifiable: User-modified. (line 6) -* print debugger command: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 35) -* print statement: Printing. (line 16) -* print statement, BEGIN/END patterns and: I/O And BEGIN/END. (line 15) -* print statement, commas, omitting: Print Examples. (line 30) -* print statement, I/O operators in: Precedence. (line 70) -* print statement, line continuations and: Print Examples. (line 75) -* print statement, OFMT variable and: User-modified. (line 113) -* print statement, See Also redirection, of output: Redirection. - (line 17) -* print statement, sprintf() function and: Round Function. (line 6) -* print variables, in debugger: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 35) -* printf debugger command: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 53) -* printf statement: Printing. (line 16) -* printf statement <1>: Printf. (line 6) -* printf statement, columns, aligning: Print Examples. (line 69) -* printf statement, format-control characters: Control Letters. - (line 6) -* printf statement, I/O operators in: Precedence. (line 70) -* printf statement, modifiers: Format Modifiers. (line 6) -* printf statement, positional specifiers: Format Modifiers. (line 13) -* printf statement, positional specifiers <1>: Printf Ordering. - (line 6) -* printf statement, positional specifiers, mixing with regular formats: Printf Ordering. - (line 57) -* printf statement, See Also redirection, of output: Redirection. - (line 17) -* printf statement, sprintf() function and: Round Function. (line 6) -* printf statement, syntax of: Basic Printf. (line 6) -* printing: Printing. (line 6) -* printing messages from extensions: Printing Messages. (line 6) -* printing, list of options: Options. (line 154) -* printing, mailing labels: Labels Program. (line 6) -* printing, unduplicated lines of text: Uniq Program. (line 6) -* printing, user information: Id Program. (line 6) -* private variables: Library Names. (line 11) -* process group ID of gawk process: Auto-set. (line 204) -* process ID of gawk process: Auto-set. (line 207) -* processes, two-way communications with: Two-way I/O. (line 6) -* processing data: Basic High Level. (line 6) -* PROCINFO array: Auto-set. (line 148) -* PROCINFO array <1>: Time Functions. (line 47) -* PROCINFO array <2>: Passwd Functions. (line 6) -* PROCINFO array, and communications via ptys: Two-way I/O. (line 114) -* PROCINFO array, and group membership: Group Functions. (line 6) -* PROCINFO array, and user and group ID numbers: Id Program. (line 15) -* PROCINFO array, testing the field splitting: Passwd Functions. - (line 154) -* PROCINFO, values of sorted_in: Controlling Scanning. - (line 26) -* profiling awk programs: Profiling. (line 6) -* profiling awk programs, dynamically: Profiling. (line 177) -* program identifiers: Auto-set. (line 173) -* program, definition of: Getting Started. (line 21) -* programming conventions, --non-decimal-data option: Nondecimal Data. - (line 35) -* programming conventions, ARGC/ARGV variables: Auto-set. (line 35) -* programming conventions, exit statement: Exit Statement. (line 38) -* programming conventions, function parameters: Return Statement. - (line 44) -* programming conventions, functions, calling: Calling Built-in. - (line 10) -* programming conventions, functions, writing: Definition Syntax. - (line 71) -* programming conventions, gawk extensions: Internal File Ops. - (line 45) -* programming conventions, private variable names: Library Names. - (line 23) -* programming language, recipe for: History. (line 6) -* programming languages, Ada: Glossary. (line 11) -* programming languages, data-driven vs. procedural: Getting Started. - (line 12) -* programming languages, Java: Glossary. (line 468) -* programming, basic steps: Basic High Level. (line 18) -* programming, concepts: Basic Concepts. (line 6) -* programming, concepts <1>: Basic Concepts. (line 6) -* pwcat program: Passwd Functions. (line 23) -* q debugger command (alias for quit): Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 102) -* QSE awk: Other Versions. (line 135) -* Quanstrom, Erik: Alarm Program. (line 8) -* question mark (?), ?: operator: Precedence. (line 91) -* question mark (?), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 111) -* question mark (?), regexp operator <1>: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 62) -* QuikTrim Awk: Other Versions. (line 139) -* quit debugger command: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 102) -* QUIT signal (MS-Windows): Profiling. (line 212) -* quoting in gawk command lines: Long. (line 26) -* quoting in gawk command lines, tricks for: Quoting. (line 91) -* quoting, for small awk programs: Comments. (line 27) -* r debugger command (alias for run): Debugger Execution Control. - (line 62) -* Rakitzis, Byron: History Sorting. (line 25) -* Ramey, Chet: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Ramey, Chet <1>: General Data Types. (line 6) -* rand: Numeric Functions. (line 49) -* random numbers, Cliff: Cliff Random Function. - (line 6) -* random numbers, rand()/srand() functions: Numeric Functions. - (line 49) -* random numbers, seed of: Numeric Functions. (line 79) -* range expressions (regexps): Bracket Expressions. (line 6) -* range patterns: Ranges. (line 6) -* range patterns, line continuation and: Ranges. (line 64) -* Rankin, Pat: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Rankin, Pat <1>: Assignment Ops. (line 99) -* Rankin, Pat <2>: Contributors. (line 38) -* reada() extension function: Extension Sample Read write array. - (line 18) -* readable data files, checking: File Checking. (line 6) -* readable.awk program: File Checking. (line 11) -* readdir extension: Extension Sample Readdir. - (line 9) -* readfile() extension function: Extension Sample Readfile. - (line 12) -* readfile() user-defined function: Readfile Function. (line 30) -* reading input files: Reading Files. (line 6) -* recipe for a programming language: History. (line 6) -* record separators: awk split records. (line 6) -* record separators <1>: User-modified. (line 133) -* record separators, changing: awk split records. (line 85) -* record separators, regular expressions as: awk split records. - (line 124) -* record separators, with multiline records: Multiple Line. (line 10) -* records: Reading Files. (line 14) -* records <1>: Basic High Level. (line 62) -* records, multiline: Multiple Line. (line 6) -* records, printing: Print. (line 22) -* records, splitting input into: Records. (line 6) -* records, terminating: awk split records. (line 124) -* records, treating files as: gawk split records. (line 92) -* recursive functions: Definition Syntax. (line 89) -* redirect gawk output, in debugger: Debugger Info. (line 73) -* redirection of input: Getline/File. (line 6) -* redirection of output: Redirection. (line 6) -* redirection on VMS: VMS Running. (line 64) -* reference counting, sorting arrays: Array Sorting Functions. - (line 77) -* regexp: Regexp. (line 6) -* regexp constants: Regexp Usage. (line 57) -* regexp constants <1>: Regexp Constants. (line 6) -* regexp constants <2>: Comparison Operators. - (line 103) -* regexp constants, /=.../, /= operator and: Assignment Ops. (line 149) -* regexp constants, as patterns: Expression Patterns. (line 34) -* regexp constants, in gawk: Using Constant Regexps. - (line 28) -* regexp constants, slashes vs. quotes: Computed Regexps. (line 30) -* regexp constants, vs. string constants: Computed Regexps. (line 40) -* register extension: Registration Functions. - (line 6) -* regular expressions: Regexp. (line 6) -* regular expressions as field separators: Field Separators. (line 50) -* regular expressions, anchors in: Regexp Operators. (line 22) -* regular expressions, as field separators: Regexp Field Splitting. - (line 6) -* regular expressions, as patterns: Regexp Usage. (line 6) -* regular expressions, as patterns <1>: Regexp Patterns. (line 6) -* regular expressions, as record separators: awk split records. - (line 124) -* regular expressions, case sensitivity: Case-sensitivity. (line 6) -* regular expressions, case sensitivity <1>: User-modified. (line 76) -* regular expressions, computed: Computed Regexps. (line 6) -* regular expressions, constants, See regexp constants: Regexp Usage. - (line 57) -* regular expressions, dynamic: Computed Regexps. (line 6) -* regular expressions, dynamic, with embedded newlines: Computed Regexps. - (line 60) -* regular expressions, gawk, command-line options: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 73) -* regular expressions, interval expressions and: Options. (line 278) -* regular expressions, leftmost longest match: Leftmost Longest. - (line 6) -* regular expressions, operators: Regexp Usage. (line 19) -* regular expressions, operators <1>: Regexp Operators. (line 6) -* regular expressions, operators, for buffers: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 51) -* regular expressions, operators, for words: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 6) -* regular expressions, operators, gawk: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 6) -* regular expressions, operators, precedence of: Regexp Operators. - (line 156) -* regular expressions, searching for: Egrep Program. (line 6) -* relational operators, See comparison operators: Typing and Comparison. - (line 9) -* replace in string: String Functions. (line 409) -* retrying input: Retrying Input. (line 6) -* return debugger command: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 54) -* return statement, user-defined functions: Return Statement. (line 6) -* return value, close() function: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 132) -* rev() user-defined function: Function Example. (line 54) -* revoutput extension: Extension Sample Revout. - (line 11) -* revtwoway extension: Extension Sample Rev2way. - (line 12) -* rewind() user-defined function: Rewind Function. (line 15) -* right angle bracket (>), > operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* right angle bracket (>), > operator <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* right angle bracket (>), > operator (I/O): Redirection. (line 22) -* right angle bracket (>), >= operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* right angle bracket (>), >= operator <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* right angle bracket (>), >> operator (I/O): Redirection. (line 50) -* right angle bracket (>), >> operator (I/O) <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* right shift: Bitwise Functions. (line 54) -* right shift, bitwise: Bitwise Functions. (line 32) -* Ritchie, Dennis: Basic Data Typing. (line 54) -* RLENGTH variable: Auto-set. (line 282) -* RLENGTH variable, match() function and: String Functions. (line 227) -* Robbins, Arnold: Command Line Field Separator. - (line 71) -* Robbins, Arnold <1>: Getline/Pipe. (line 40) -* Robbins, Arnold <2>: Passwd Functions. (line 90) -* Robbins, Arnold <3>: Alarm Program. (line 6) -* Robbins, Arnold <4>: General Data Types. (line 6) -* Robbins, Arnold <5>: Contributors. (line 145) -* Robbins, Arnold <6>: Maintainers. (line 14) -* Robbins, Arnold <7>: Future Extensions. (line 6) -* Robbins, Bill: Getline/Pipe. (line 40) -* Robbins, Harry: Acknowledgments. (line 94) -* Robbins, Jean: Acknowledgments. (line 94) -* Robbins, Miriam: Acknowledgments. (line 94) -* Robbins, Miriam <1>: Getline/Pipe. (line 40) -* Robbins, Miriam <2>: Passwd Functions. (line 90) -* Rommel, Kai Uwe: Contributors. (line 43) -* round to nearest integer: Numeric Functions. (line 24) -* round() user-defined function: Round Function. (line 16) -* rounding numbers: Round Function. (line 6) -* ROUNDMODE variable: User-modified. (line 128) -* RS variable: awk split records. (line 12) -* RS variable <1>: User-modified. (line 133) -* RS variable, multiline records and: Multiple Line. (line 17) -* rshift: Bitwise Functions. (line 54) -* RSTART variable: Auto-set. (line 288) -* RSTART variable, match() function and: String Functions. (line 227) -* RT variable: awk split records. (line 124) -* RT variable <1>: Multiple Line. (line 130) -* RT variable <2>: Auto-set. (line 295) -* Rubin, Paul: History. (line 30) -* Rubin, Paul <1>: Contributors. (line 16) -* rule, definition of: Getting Started. (line 21) -* run debugger command: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 62) -* rvalues/lvalues: Assignment Ops. (line 31) -* s debugger command (alias for step): Debugger Execution Control. - (line 68) -* sample debugging session: Sample Debugging Session. - (line 6) -* sandbox mode: Options. (line 290) -* save debugger options: Debugger Info. (line 85) -* scalar or array: Type Functions. (line 11) -* scalar values: Basic Data Typing. (line 13) -* scanning arrays: Scanning an Array. (line 6) -* scanning multidimensional arrays: Multiscanning. (line 11) -* Schorr, Andrew: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Schorr, Andrew <1>: Auto-set. (line 327) -* Schorr, Andrew <2>: Contributors. (line 134) -* Schreiber, Bert: Acknowledgments. (line 38) -* Schreiber, Rita: Acknowledgments. (line 38) -* search and replace in strings: String Functions. (line 89) -* search in string: String Functions. (line 155) -* search paths: Programs Exercises. (line 70) -* search paths <1>: PC Using. (line 9) -* search paths <2>: VMS Running. (line 57) -* search paths, for loadable extensions: AWKLIBPATH Variable. (line 6) -* search paths, for source files: AWKPATH Variable. (line 6) -* search paths, for source files <1>: Programs Exercises. (line 70) -* search paths, for source files <2>: PC Using. (line 9) -* search paths, for source files <3>: VMS Running. (line 57) -* searching, files for regular expressions: Egrep Program. (line 6) -* searching, for words: Dupword Program. (line 6) -* sed utility: Full Line Fields. (line 22) -* sed utility <1>: Simple Sed. (line 6) -* sed utility <2>: Glossary. (line 16) -* seeding random number generator: Numeric Functions. (line 79) -* semicolon (;), AWKPATH variable and: PC Using. (line 9) -* semicolon (;), separating statements in actions: Statements/Lines. - (line 90) -* semicolon (;), separating statements in actions <1>: Action Overview. - (line 19) -* semicolon (;), separating statements in actions <2>: Statements. - (line 10) -* separators, field: User-modified. (line 50) -* separators, field <1>: User-modified. (line 113) -* separators, field, FIELDWIDTHS variable and: User-modified. (line 37) -* separators, field, FPAT variable and: User-modified. (line 43) -* separators, for records: awk split records. (line 6) -* separators, for records <1>: awk split records. (line 85) -* separators, for records <2>: User-modified. (line 133) -* separators, for records, regular expressions as: awk split records. - (line 124) -* separators, for statements in actions: Action Overview. (line 19) -* separators, subscript: User-modified. (line 146) -* set breakpoint: Breakpoint Control. (line 11) -* set debugger command: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 58) -* set directory of message catalogs: I18N Functions. (line 11) -* set watchpoint: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 66) -* shadowing of variable values: Definition Syntax. (line 77) -* shell quoting, rules for: Quoting. (line 6) -* shells, piping commands into: Redirection. (line 136) -* shells, quoting: Using Shell Variables. - (line 12) -* shells, quoting, rules for: Quoting. (line 18) -* shells, scripts: One-shot. (line 22) -* shells, sea: Undocumented. (line 9) -* shells, variables: Using Shell Variables. - (line 6) -* shift, bitwise: Bitwise Functions. (line 32) -* short-circuit operators: Boolean Ops. (line 59) -* show all source files, in debugger: Debugger Info. (line 45) -* show breakpoints: Debugger Info. (line 21) -* show function arguments, in debugger: Debugger Info. (line 18) -* show local variables, in debugger: Debugger Info. (line 34) -* show name of current source file, in debugger: Debugger Info. - (line 37) -* show watchpoints: Debugger Info. (line 51) -* si debugger command (alias for stepi): Debugger Execution Control. - (line 75) -* side effects: Concatenation. (line 41) -* side effects <1>: Increment Ops. (line 11) -* side effects <2>: Increment Ops. (line 75) -* side effects, array indexing: Reference to Elements. - (line 43) -* side effects, asort() function: Array Sorting Functions. - (line 24) -* side effects, assignment expressions: Assignment Ops. (line 22) -* side effects, Boolean operators: Boolean Ops. (line 30) -* side effects, conditional expressions: Conditional Exp. (line 22) -* side effects, decrement/increment operators: Increment Ops. (line 11) -* side effects, FILENAME variable: Getline Notes. (line 19) -* side effects, function calls: Function Calls. (line 57) -* side effects, statements: Action Overview. (line 32) -* sidebar, A Constant's Base Does Not Affect Its Value: Nondecimal-numbers. - (line 63) -* sidebar, Backslash Before Regular Characters: Escape Sequences. - (line 106) -* sidebar, Beware The Smoke and Mirrors!: Bitwise Functions. (line 126) -* sidebar, Changing FS Does Not Affect the Fields: Full Line Fields. - (line 14) -* sidebar, Changing NR and FNR: Auto-set. (line 355) -* sidebar, Controlling Output Buffering with system(): I/O Functions. - (line 164) -* sidebar, Escape Sequences for Metacharacters: Escape Sequences. - (line 138) -* sidebar, FS and IGNORECASE: Field Splitting Summary. - (line 37) -* sidebar, Interactive Versus Noninteractive Buffering: I/O Functions. - (line 74) -* sidebar, Matching the Null String: String Functions. (line 535) -* sidebar, Operator Evaluation Order: Increment Ops. (line 58) -* sidebar, Piping into sh: Redirection. (line 134) -* sidebar, Pre-POSIX awk Used OFMT for String Conversion: Strings And Numbers. - (line 54) -* sidebar, Recipe for a Programming Language: History. (line 6) -* sidebar, RS = "\0" Is Not Portable: gawk split records. (line 63) -* sidebar, So Why Does gawk Have BEGINFILE and ENDFILE?: Filetrans Function. - (line 83) -* sidebar, Syntactic Ambiguities Between /= and Regular Expressions: Assignment Ops. - (line 147) -* sidebar, Understanding #!: Executable Scripts. (line 31) -* sidebar, Understanding $0: Changing Fields. (line 134) -* sidebar, Using close()'s Return Value: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 130) -* sidebar, Using \n in Bracket Expressions of Dynamic Regexps: Computed Regexps. - (line 58) -* SIGHUP signal, for dynamic profiling: Profiling. (line 209) -* SIGINT signal (MS-Windows): Profiling. (line 212) -* signals, HUP/SIGHUP, for profiling: Profiling. (line 209) -* signals, INT/SIGINT (MS-Windows): Profiling. (line 212) -* signals, QUIT/SIGQUIT (MS-Windows): Profiling. (line 212) -* signals, USR1/SIGUSR1, for profiling: Profiling. (line 186) -* signature program: Signature Program. (line 6) -* SIGQUIT signal (MS-Windows): Profiling. (line 212) -* SIGUSR1 signal, for dynamic profiling: Profiling. (line 186) -* silent debugger command: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 10) -* sin: Numeric Functions. (line 90) -* sine: Numeric Functions. (line 90) -* single quote ('): One-shot. (line 15) -* single quote (') in gawk command lines: Long. (line 35) -* single quote ('), in shell commands: Quoting. (line 48) -* single quote ('), vs. apostrophe: Comments. (line 27) -* single quote ('), with double quotes: Quoting. (line 73) -* single-character fields: Single Character Fields. - (line 6) -* single-step execution, in the debugger: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 43) -* Skywalker, Luke: Undocumented. (line 6) -* sleep utility: Alarm Program. (line 109) -* sleep() extension function: Extension Sample Time. - (line 22) -* Solaris, POSIX-compliant awk: Other Versions. (line 100) -* sort array: String Functions. (line 42) -* sort array indices: String Functions. (line 42) -* sort function, arrays, sorting: Array Sorting Functions. - (line 6) -* sort utility: Word Sorting. (line 50) -* sort utility, coprocesses and: Two-way I/O. (line 66) -* sorting characters in different languages: Explaining gettext. - (line 94) -* source code, awka: Other Versions. (line 68) -* source code, Brian Kernighan's awk: Other Versions. (line 13) -* source code, BusyBox Awk: Other Versions. (line 92) -* source code, gawk: Gawk Distribution. (line 6) -* source code, Illumos awk: Other Versions. (line 109) -* source code, jawk: Other Versions. (line 117) -* source code, libmawk: Other Versions. (line 125) -* source code, mawk: Other Versions. (line 48) -* source code, mixing: Options. (line 117) -* source code, pawk: Other Versions. (line 82) -* source code, pawk (Python version): Other Versions. (line 129) -* source code, QSE awk: Other Versions. (line 135) -* source code, QuikTrim Awk: Other Versions. (line 139) -* source code, Solaris awk: Other Versions. (line 100) -* source files, search path for: Programs Exercises. (line 70) -* sparse arrays: Array Intro. (line 76) -* Spencer, Henry: Glossary. (line 16) -* split: String Functions. (line 315) -* split string into array: String Functions. (line 296) -* split utility: Split Program. (line 6) -* split() function, array elements, deleting: Delete. (line 61) -* split.awk program: Split Program. (line 30) -* sprintf: OFMT. (line 15) -* sprintf <1>: String Functions. (line 384) -* sprintf() function, OFMT variable and: User-modified. (line 113) -* sprintf() function, print/printf statements and: Round Function. - (line 6) -* sqrt: Numeric Functions. (line 93) -* square brackets ([]), regexp operator: Regexp Operators. (line 56) -* square root: Numeric Functions. (line 93) -* srand: Numeric Functions. (line 97) -* stack frame: Debugging Terms. (line 10) -* Stallman, Richard: Manual History. (line 6) -* Stallman, Richard <1>: Acknowledgments. (line 18) -* Stallman, Richard <2>: Contributors. (line 24) -* Stallman, Richard <3>: Glossary. (line 372) -* standard error: Special FD. (line 6) -* standard input: Read Terminal. (line 6) -* standard input <1>: Special FD. (line 6) -* standard output: Special FD. (line 6) -* starting the debugger: Debugger Invocation. (line 6) -* stat() extension function: Extension Sample File Functions. - (line 18) -* statements, compound, control statements and: Statements. (line 10) -* statements, control, in actions: Statements. (line 6) -* statements, multiple: Statements/Lines. (line 90) -* step debugger command: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 68) -* stepi debugger command: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 75) -* stop automatic display, in debugger: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 79) -* stream editors: Full Line Fields. (line 22) -* stream editors <1>: Simple Sed. (line 6) -* strftime: Time Functions. (line 48) -* string constants: Scalar Constants. (line 15) -* string constants, vs. regexp constants: Computed Regexps. (line 40) -* string extraction (internationalization): String Extraction. - (line 6) -* string length: String Functions. (line 170) -* string operators: Concatenation. (line 9) -* string, regular expression match: String Functions. (line 210) -* string-manipulation functions: String Functions. (line 6) -* string-matching operators: Regexp Usage. (line 19) -* string-translation functions: I18N Functions. (line 6) -* strings splitting, example: String Functions. (line 334) -* strings, converting: Strings And Numbers. (line 6) -* strings, converting <1>: Bitwise Functions. (line 108) -* strings, converting letter case: String Functions. (line 523) -* strings, converting, numbers to: User-modified. (line 30) -* strings, converting, numbers to <1>: User-modified. (line 104) -* strings, empty, See null strings: awk split records. (line 114) -* strings, extracting: String Extraction. (line 6) -* strings, for localization: Programmer i18n. (line 13) -* strings, length limitations: Scalar Constants. (line 20) -* strings, merging arrays into: Join Function. (line 6) -* strings, null: Regexp Field Splitting. - (line 43) -* strings, numeric: Variable Typing. (line 6) -* strtonum: String Functions. (line 391) -* strtonum() function (gawk), --non-decimal-data option and: Nondecimal Data. - (line 35) -* sub: Using Constant Regexps. - (line 43) -* sub <1>: String Functions. (line 409) -* sub() function, arguments of: String Functions. (line 463) -* sub() function, escape processing: Gory Details. (line 6) -* subscript separators: User-modified. (line 146) -* subscripts in arrays, multidimensional: Multidimensional. (line 10) -* subscripts in arrays, multidimensional, scanning: Multiscanning. - (line 11) -* subscripts in arrays, numbers as: Numeric Array Subscripts. - (line 6) -* subscripts in arrays, uninitialized variables as: Uninitialized Subscripts. - (line 6) -* SUBSEP variable: User-modified. (line 146) -* SUBSEP variable, and multidimensional arrays: Multidimensional. - (line 16) -* substitute in string: String Functions. (line 89) -* substr: String Functions. (line 482) -* substring: String Functions. (line 482) -* Sumner, Andrew: Other Versions. (line 68) -* supplementary groups of gawk process: Auto-set. (line 251) -* switch statement: Switch Statement. (line 6) -* SYMTAB array: Auto-set. (line 299) -* syntactic ambiguity: /= operator vs. /=.../ regexp constant: Assignment Ops. - (line 149) -* system: I/O Functions. (line 107) -* systime: Time Functions. (line 66) -* t debugger command (alias for tbreak): Breakpoint Control. (line 90) -* tbreak debugger command: Breakpoint Control. (line 90) -* Tcl: Library Names. (line 58) -* TCP/IP: TCP/IP Networking. (line 6) -* TCP/IP, support for: Special Network. (line 6) -* tee utility: Tee Program. (line 6) -* tee.awk program: Tee Program. (line 26) -* temporary breakpoint: Breakpoint Control. (line 90) -* terminating records: awk split records. (line 124) -* testbits.awk program: Bitwise Functions. (line 69) -* testext extension: Extension Sample API Tests. - (line 6) -* Texinfo: Conventions. (line 6) -* Texinfo <1>: Library Functions. (line 33) -* Texinfo <2>: Dupword Program. (line 17) -* Texinfo <3>: Extract Program. (line 12) -* Texinfo <4>: Distribution contents. - (line 77) -* Texinfo <5>: Adding Code. (line 100) -* Texinfo, chapter beginnings in files: Regexp Operators. (line 22) -* Texinfo, extracting programs from source files: Extract Program. - (line 6) -* text, printing: Print. (line 22) -* text, printing, unduplicated lines of: Uniq Program. (line 6) -* TEXTDOMAIN variable: User-modified. (line 152) -* TEXTDOMAIN variable <1>: Programmer i18n. (line 8) -* TEXTDOMAIN variable, BEGIN pattern and: Programmer i18n. (line 60) -* TEXTDOMAIN variable, portability and: I18N Portability. (line 20) -* textdomain() function (C library): Explaining gettext. (line 28) -* tilde (~), ~ operator: Regexp Usage. (line 19) -* tilde (~), ~ operator <1>: Computed Regexps. (line 6) -* tilde (~), ~ operator <2>: Case-sensitivity. (line 26) -* tilde (~), ~ operator <3>: Regexp Constants. (line 6) -* tilde (~), ~ operator <4>: Comparison Operators. - (line 11) -* tilde (~), ~ operator <5>: Comparison Operators. - (line 98) -* tilde (~), ~ operator <6>: Precedence. (line 79) -* tilde (~), ~ operator <7>: Expression Patterns. (line 24) -* time functions: Time Functions. (line 6) -* time, alarm clock example program: Alarm Program. (line 11) -* time, localization and: Explaining gettext. (line 112) -* time, managing: Getlocaltime Function. - (line 6) -* time, retrieving: Time Functions. (line 17) -* timeout, reading input: Read Timeout. (line 6) -* timestamps: Time Functions. (line 6) -* timestamps <1>: Time Functions. (line 66) -* timestamps, converting dates to: Time Functions. (line 76) -* timestamps, formatted: Getlocaltime Function. - (line 6) -* tolower: String Functions. (line 524) -* toupper: String Functions. (line 530) -* tr utility: Translate Program. (line 6) -* trace debugger command: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands. - (line 110) -* traceback, display in debugger: Execution Stack. (line 13) -* translate string: I18N Functions. (line 21) -* translate.awk program: Translate Program. (line 55) -* treating files, as single records: gawk split records. (line 92) -* troubleshooting, --non-decimal-data option: Options. (line 209) -* troubleshooting, == operator: Comparison Operators. - (line 37) -* troubleshooting, awk uses FS not IFS: Field Separators. (line 29) -* troubleshooting, backslash before nonspecial character: Escape Sequences. - (line 108) -* troubleshooting, division: Arithmetic Ops. (line 44) -* troubleshooting, fatal errors, field widths, specifying: Constant Size. - (line 22) -* troubleshooting, fatal errors, printf format strings: Format Modifiers. - (line 157) -* troubleshooting, fflush() function: I/O Functions. (line 63) -* troubleshooting, function call syntax: Function Calls. (line 30) -* troubleshooting, gawk: Compatibility Mode. (line 6) -* troubleshooting, gawk, bug reports: Bugs. (line 9) -* troubleshooting, gawk, fatal errors, function arguments: Calling Built-in. - (line 16) -* troubleshooting, getline function: File Checking. (line 25) -* troubleshooting, gsub()/sub() functions: String Functions. (line 473) -* troubleshooting, match() function: String Functions. (line 291) -* troubleshooting, print statement, omitting commas: Print Examples. - (line 30) -* troubleshooting, printing: Redirection. (line 112) -* troubleshooting, quotes with file names: Special FD. (line 62) -* troubleshooting, readable data files: File Checking. (line 6) -* troubleshooting, regexp constants vs. string constants: Computed Regexps. - (line 40) -* troubleshooting, string concatenation: Concatenation. (line 27) -* troubleshooting, substr() function: String Functions. (line 500) -* troubleshooting, system() function: I/O Functions. (line 129) -* troubleshooting, typographical errors, global variables: Options. - (line 99) -* true, logical: Truth Values. (line 6) -* Trueman, David: History. (line 30) -* Trueman, David <1>: Acknowledgments. (line 47) -* Trueman, David <2>: Contributors. (line 31) -* trunc-mod operation: Arithmetic Ops. (line 66) -* truth values: Truth Values. (line 6) -* type conversion: Strings And Numbers. (line 21) -* type, of variable: Type Functions. (line 14) -* typeof: Type Functions. (line 14) -* u debugger command (alias for until): Debugger Execution Control. - (line 82) -* unassigned array elements: Reference to Elements. - (line 18) -* undefined functions: Pass By Value/Reference. - (line 68) -* underscore (_), C macro: Explaining gettext. (line 71) -* underscore (_), in names of private variables: Library Names. - (line 29) -* underscore (_), translatable string: Programmer i18n. (line 69) -* undisplay debugger command: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 79) -* undocumented features: Undocumented. (line 6) -* Unicode: Ordinal Functions. (line 45) -* Unicode <1>: Ranges and Locales. (line 61) -* Unicode <2>: Glossary. (line 196) -* uninitialized variables, as array subscripts: Uninitialized Subscripts. - (line 6) -* uniq utility: Uniq Program. (line 6) -* uniq.awk program: Uniq Program. (line 65) -* Unix: Glossary. (line 748) -* Unix awk, backslashes in escape sequences: Escape Sequences. - (line 121) -* Unix awk, close() function and: Close Files And Pipes. - (line 132) -* Unix awk, password files, field separators and: Command Line Field Separator. - (line 62) -* Unix, awk scripts and: Executable Scripts. (line 6) -* unsigned integers: Computer Arithmetic. (line 41) -* until debugger command: Debugger Execution Control. - (line 82) -* unwatch debugger command: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 83) -* up debugger command: Execution Stack. (line 36) -* user database, reading: Passwd Functions. (line 6) -* user-defined functions: User-defined. (line 6) -* user-defined, functions, counts, in a profile: Profiling. (line 137) -* user-defined, variables: Variables. (line 6) -* user-modifiable variables: User-modified. (line 6) -* users, information about, printing: Id Program. (line 6) -* users, information about, retrieving: Passwd Functions. (line 16) -* USR1 signal, for dynamic profiling: Profiling. (line 186) -* values, numeric: Basic Data Typing. (line 13) -* values, string: Basic Data Typing. (line 13) -* variable assignments and input files: Other Arguments. (line 26) -* variable type: Type Functions. (line 14) -* variable typing: Typing and Comparison. - (line 9) -* variables: Other Features. (line 6) -* variables <1>: Basic Data Typing. (line 6) -* variables, assigning on command line: Assignment Options. (line 6) -* variables, built-in: Using Variables. (line 23) -* variables, flag: Boolean Ops. (line 69) -* variables, getline command into, using: Getline/Variable. (line 6) -* variables, getline command into, using <1>: Getline/Variable/File. - (line 6) -* variables, getline command into, using <2>: Getline/Variable/Pipe. - (line 6) -* variables, getline command into, using <3>: Getline/Variable/Coprocess. - (line 6) -* variables, global, for library functions: Library Names. (line 11) -* variables, global, printing list of: Options. (line 94) -* variables, initializing: Using Variables. (line 23) -* variables, local to a function: Variable Scope. (line 6) -* variables, predefined: Built-in Variables. (line 6) -* variables, predefined -v option, setting with: Options. (line 41) -* variables, predefined conveying information: Auto-set. (line 6) -* variables, private: Library Names. (line 11) -* variables, setting: Options. (line 32) -* variables, shadowing: Definition Syntax. (line 77) -* variables, types of: Assignment Ops. (line 39) -* variables, types of, comparison expressions and: Typing and Comparison. - (line 9) -* variables, uninitialized, as array subscripts: Uninitialized Subscripts. - (line 6) -* variables, user-defined: Variables. (line 6) -* version of gawk: Auto-set. (line 221) -* version of gawk extension API: Auto-set. (line 246) -* version of GNU MP library: Auto-set. (line 229) -* version of GNU MPFR library: Auto-set. (line 231) -* vertical bar (|): Regexp Operators. (line 70) -* vertical bar (|), | operator (I/O): Getline/Pipe. (line 10) -* vertical bar (|), | operator (I/O) <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* vertical bar (|), |& operator (I/O): Getline/Coprocess. (line 6) -* vertical bar (|), |& operator (I/O) <1>: Precedence. (line 64) -* vertical bar (|), |& operator (I/O) <2>: Two-way I/O. (line 27) -* vertical bar (|), || operator: Boolean Ops. (line 59) -* vertical bar (|), || operator <1>: Precedence. (line 88) -* Vinschen, Corinna: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* w debugger command (alias for watch): Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 66) -* w utility: Constant Size. (line 22) -* wait() extension function: Extension Sample Fork. - (line 22) -* waitpid() extension function: Extension Sample Fork. - (line 18) -* walk_array() user-defined function: Walking Arrays. (line 14) -* Wall, Larry: Array Intro. (line 6) -* Wall, Larry <1>: Future Extensions. (line 6) -* Wallin, Anders: Contributors. (line 104) -* warnings, issuing: Options. (line 184) -* watch debugger command: Viewing And Changing Data. - (line 66) -* watchpoint: Debugging Terms. (line 42) -* wc utility: Wc Program. (line 6) -* wc.awk program: Wc Program. (line 46) -* Weinberger, Peter: History. (line 17) -* Weinberger, Peter <1>: Contributors. (line 12) -* where debugger command: Execution Stack. (line 13) -* where debugger command (alias for backtrace): Execution Stack. - (line 13) -* while statement: While Statement. (line 6) -* while statement, use of regexps in: Regexp Usage. (line 19) -* whitespace, as field separators: Default Field Splitting. - (line 6) -* whitespace, functions, calling: Calling Built-in. (line 10) -* whitespace, newlines as: Options. (line 263) -* Williams, Kent: Contributors. (line 35) -* Woehlke, Matthew: Contributors. (line 80) -* Woods, John: Contributors. (line 28) -* word boundaries, matching: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 41) -* word, regexp definition of: GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 6) -* word-boundary operator (gawk): GNU Regexp Operators. - (line 66) -* wordfreq.awk program: Word Sorting. (line 56) -* words, counting: Wc Program. (line 6) -* words, duplicate, searching for: Dupword Program. (line 6) -* words, usage counts, generating: Word Sorting. (line 6) -* writea() extension function: Extension Sample Read write array. - (line 12) -* xgettext utility: String Extraction. (line 13) -* xor: Bitwise Functions. (line 57) -* XOR bitwise operation: Bitwise Functions. (line 6) -* Yawitz, Efraim: Contributors. (line 132) -* Zaretskii, Eli: Acknowledgments. (line 60) -* Zaretskii, Eli <1>: Contributors. (line 56) -* Zaretskii, Eli <2>: Maintainers. (line 14) -* zerofile.awk program: Empty Files. (line 20) -* Zoulas, Christos: Contributors. (line 67) - - - -Tag Table: -Node: Top1200 -Node: Foreword342530 -Node: Foreword446972 -Node: Preface48504 -Ref: Preface-Footnote-151363 -Ref: Preface-Footnote-251470 -Ref: Preface-Footnote-351704 -Node: History51846 -Node: Names54198 -Ref: Names-Footnote-155292 -Node: This Manual55439 -Ref: This Manual-Footnote-161924 -Node: Conventions62024 -Node: Manual History64378 -Ref: Manual History-Footnote-167373 -Ref: Manual History-Footnote-267414 -Node: How To Contribute67488 -Node: Acknowledgments68617 -Node: Getting Started73503 -Node: Running gawk75942 -Node: One-shot77132 -Node: Read Terminal78395 -Node: Long80388 -Node: Executable Scripts81901 -Ref: Executable Scripts-Footnote-184696 -Node: Comments84799 -Node: Quoting87283 -Node: DOS Quoting92800 -Node: Sample Data Files93475 -Node: Very Simple96070 -Node: Two Rules100972 -Node: More Complex102857 -Node: Statements/Lines105723 -Ref: Statements/Lines-Footnote-1110182 -Node: Other Features110447 -Node: When111383 -Ref: When-Footnote-1113137 -Node: Intro Summary113202 -Node: Invoking Gawk114086 -Node: Command Line115600 -Node: Options116398 -Ref: Options-Footnote-1132497 -Ref: Options-Footnote-2132727 -Node: Other Arguments132752 -Node: Naming Standard Input135699 -Node: Environment Variables136792 -Node: AWKPATH Variable137350 -Ref: AWKPATH Variable-Footnote-1140761 -Ref: AWKPATH Variable-Footnote-2140795 -Node: AWKLIBPATH Variable141056 -Node: Other Environment Variables142313 -Node: Exit Status146134 -Node: Include Files146811 -Node: Loading Shared Libraries150406 -Node: Obsolete151834 -Node: Undocumented152526 -Node: Invoking Summary152823 -Node: Regexp154483 -Node: Regexp Usage156002 -Node: Escape Sequences158039 -Node: Regexp Operators164271 -Ref: Regexp Operators-Footnote-1171687 -Ref: Regexp Operators-Footnote-2171834 -Node: Bracket Expressions171932 -Ref: table-char-classes174408 -Node: Leftmost Longest177545 -Node: Computed Regexps178848 -Node: GNU Regexp Operators182275 -Node: Case-sensitivity185954 -Ref: Case-sensitivity-Footnote-1188850 -Ref: Case-sensitivity-Footnote-2189085 -Node: Strong Regexp Constants189193 -Node: Regexp Summary189982 -Node: Reading Files191457 -Node: Records193620 -Node: awk split records194353 -Node: gawk split records199284 -Ref: gawk split records-Footnote-1203824 -Node: Fields203861 -Node: Nonconstant Fields206602 -Ref: Nonconstant Fields-Footnote-1208838 -Node: Changing Fields209042 -Node: Field Separators214970 -Node: Default Field Splitting217668 -Node: Regexp Field Splitting218786 -Node: Single Character Fields222139 -Node: Command Line Field Separator223199 -Node: Full Line Fields226417 -Ref: Full Line Fields-Footnote-1227939 -Ref: Full Line Fields-Footnote-2227985 -Node: Field Splitting Summary228086 -Node: Constant Size230160 -Node: Splitting By Content234738 -Ref: Splitting By Content-Footnote-1238709 -Node: Multiple Line238872 -Ref: Multiple Line-Footnote-1244754 -Node: Getline244933 -Node: Plain Getline247400 -Node: Getline/Variable250039 -Node: Getline/File251188 -Node: Getline/Variable/File252574 -Ref: Getline/Variable/File-Footnote-1254177 -Node: Getline/Pipe254265 -Node: Getline/Variable/Pipe256970 -Node: Getline/Coprocess258103 -Node: Getline/Variable/Coprocess259368 -Node: Getline Notes260108 -Node: Getline Summary262903 -Ref: table-getline-variants263325 -Node: Read Timeout264073 -Ref: Read Timeout-Footnote-1267979 -Node: Retrying Input268037 -Node: Command-line directories269236 -Node: Input Summary270142 -Node: Input Exercises273314 -Node: Printing274042 -Node: Print275876 -Node: Print Examples277333 -Node: Output Separators280113 -Node: OFMT282130 -Node: Printf283486 -Node: Basic Printf284271 -Node: Control Letters285845 -Node: Format Modifiers289833 -Node: Printf Examples295848 -Node: Redirection298334 -Node: Special FD305175 -Ref: Special FD-Footnote-1308343 -Node: Special Files308417 -Node: Other Inherited Files309034 -Node: Special Network310035 -Node: Special Caveats310895 -Node: 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Growth1204482 -Node: Old Extension Mechanism1205318 -Node: Notes summary1207081 -Node: Basic Concepts1208263 -Node: Basic High Level1208944 -Ref: figure-general-flow1209226 -Ref: figure-process-flow1209911 -Ref: Basic High Level-Footnote-11213212 -Node: Basic Data Typing1213397 -Node: Glossary1216725 -Node: Copying1248672 -Node: GNU Free Documentation License1286211 -Node: Index1311329 - -End Tag Table diff --git a/doc/gawkinet.info b/doc/gawkinet.info deleted file mode 100644 index d5a7abf8..00000000 --- a/doc/gawkinet.info +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4406 +0,0 @@ -This is gawkinet.info, produced by makeinfo version 6.1 from -gawkinet.texi. - -This is Edition 1.4 of 'TCP/IP Internetworking with 'gawk'', for the -4.1.4 (or later) version of the GNU implementation of AWK. - - - Copyright (C) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2016 Free Software -Foundation, Inc. - - - Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document -under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or -any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the -Invariant Sections being "GNU General Public License", the Front-Cover -texts being (a) (see below), and with the Back-Cover Texts being (b) -(see below). A copy of the license is included in the section entitled -"GNU Free Documentation License". - - a. "A GNU Manual" - - b. "You have the freedom to copy and modify this GNU manual. Buying - copies from the FSF supports it in developing GNU and promoting - software freedom." -INFO-DIR-SECTION Network applications -START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY -* Gawkinet: (gawkinet). TCP/IP Internetworking With 'gawk'. -END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY - - This file documents the networking features in GNU 'awk'. - - This is Edition 1.4 of 'TCP/IP Internetworking with 'gawk'', for the -4.1.4 (or later) version of the GNU implementation of AWK. - - - Copyright (C) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2016 Free Software -Foundation, Inc. - - - Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document -under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or -any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the -Invariant Sections being "GNU General Public License", the Front-Cover -texts being (a) (see below), and with the Back-Cover Texts being (b) -(see below). A copy of the license is included in the section entitled -"GNU Free Documentation License". - - a. "A GNU Manual" - - b. "You have the freedom to copy and modify this GNU manual. Buying - copies from the FSF supports it in developing GNU and promoting - software freedom." - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Top, Next: Preface, Prev: (dir), Up: (dir) - -General Introduction -******************** - -This file documents the networking features in GNU Awk ('gawk') version -4.0 and later. - - This is Edition 1.4 of 'TCP/IP Internetworking with 'gawk'', for the -4.1.4 (or later) version of the GNU implementation of AWK. - - - Copyright (C) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2016 Free Software -Foundation, Inc. - - - Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document -under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or -any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the -Invariant Sections being "GNU General Public License", the Front-Cover -texts being (a) (see below), and with the Back-Cover Texts being (b) -(see below). A copy of the license is included in the section entitled -"GNU Free Documentation License". - - a. "A GNU Manual" - - b. "You have the freedom to copy and modify this GNU manual. Buying - copies from the FSF supports it in developing GNU and promoting - software freedom." - -* Menu: - -* Preface:: About this document. -* Introduction:: About networking. -* Using Networking:: Some examples. -* Some Applications and Techniques:: More extended examples. -* Links:: Where to find the stuff mentioned in this - document. -* GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this document. -* Index:: The index. - -* Stream Communications:: Sending data streams. -* Datagram Communications:: Sending self-contained messages. -* The TCP/IP Protocols:: How these models work in the Internet. -* Basic Protocols:: The basic protocols. -* Ports:: The idea behind ports. -* Making Connections:: Making TCP/IP connections. -* Gawk Special Files:: How to do 'gawk' networking. -* Special File Fields:: The fields in the special file name. -* Comparing Protocols:: Differences between the protocols. -* File /inet/tcp:: The TCP special file. -* File /inet/udp:: The UDP special file. -* TCP Connecting:: Making a TCP connection. -* Troubleshooting:: Troubleshooting TCP/IP connections. -* Interacting:: Interacting with a service. -* Setting Up:: Setting up a service. -* Email:: Reading email. -* Web page:: Reading a Web page. -* Primitive Service:: A primitive Web service. -* Interacting Service:: A Web service with interaction. -* CGI Lib:: A simple CGI library. -* Simple Server:: A simple Web server. -* Caveats:: Network programming caveats. -* Challenges:: Where to go from here. -* PANIC:: An Emergency Web Server. -* GETURL:: Retrieving Web Pages. -* REMCONF:: Remote Configuration Of Embedded Systems. -* URLCHK:: Look For Changed Web Pages. -* WEBGRAB:: Extract Links From A Page. -* STATIST:: Graphing A Statistical Distribution. -* MAZE:: Walking Through A Maze In Virtual Reality. -* MOBAGWHO:: A Simple Mobile Agent. -* STOXPRED:: Stock Market Prediction As A Service. -* PROTBASE:: Searching Through A Protein Database. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Preface, Next: Introduction, Prev: Top, Up: Top - -Preface -******* - -In May of 1997, Ju"rgen Kahrs felt the need for network access from -'awk', and, with a little help from me, set about adding features to do -this for 'gawk'. At that time, he wrote the bulk of this Info file. - - The code and documentation were added to the 'gawk' 3.1 development -tree, and languished somewhat until I could finally get down to some -serious work on that version of 'gawk'. This finally happened in the -middle of 2000. - - Meantime, Ju"rgen wrote an article about the Internet special files -and '|&' operator for 'Linux Journal', and made a networking patch for -the production versions of 'gawk' available from his home page. In -August of 2000 (for 'gawk' 3.0.6), this patch also made it to the main -GNU 'ftp' distribution site. - - For release with 'gawk', I edited Ju"rgen's prose for English grammar -and style, as he is not a native English speaker. I also rearranged the -material somewhat for what I felt was a better order of presentation, -and (re)wrote some of the introductory material. - - The majority of this document and the code are his work, and the high -quality and interesting ideas speak for themselves. It is my hope that -these features will be of significant value to the 'awk' community. - - -Arnold Robbins -Nof Ayalon, ISRAEL -March, 2001 - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Introduction, Next: Using Networking, Prev: Preface, Up: Top - -1 Networking Concepts -********************* - -This major node provides a (necessarily) brief introduction to computer -networking concepts. For many applications of 'gawk' to TCP/IP -networking, we hope that this is enough. For more advanced tasks, you -will need deeper background, and it may be necessary to switch to -lower-level programming in C or C++. - - There are two real-life models for the way computers send messages to -each other over a network. While the analogies are not perfect, they -are close enough to convey the major concepts. These two models are the -phone system (reliable byte-stream communications), and the postal -system (best-effort datagrams). - -* Menu: - -* Stream Communications:: Sending data streams. -* Datagram Communications:: Sending self-contained messages. -* The TCP/IP Protocols:: How these models work in the Internet. -* Making Connections:: Making TCP/IP connections. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Stream Communications, Next: Datagram Communications, Prev: Introduction, Up: Introduction - -1.1 Reliable Byte-streams (Phone Calls) -======================================= - -When you make a phone call, the following steps occur: - - 1. You dial a number. - - 2. The phone system connects to the called party, telling them there - is an incoming call. (Their phone rings.) - - 3. The other party answers the call, or, in the case of a computer - network, refuses to answer the call. - - 4. Assuming the other party answers, the connection between you is now - a "duplex" (two-way), "reliable" (no data lost), sequenced (data - comes out in the order sent) data stream. - - 5. You and your friend may now talk freely, with the phone system - moving the data (your voices) from one end to the other. From your - point of view, you have a direct end-to-end connection with the - person on the other end. - - The same steps occur in a duplex reliable computer networking -connection. There is considerably more overhead in setting up the -communications, but once it's done, data moves in both directions, -reliably, in sequence. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Datagram Communications, Next: The TCP/IP Protocols, Prev: Stream Communications, Up: Introduction - -1.2 Best-effort Datagrams (Mailed Letters) -========================================== - -Suppose you mail three different documents to your office on the other -side of the country on two different days. Doing so entails the -following. - - 1. Each document travels in its own envelope. - - 2. Each envelope contains both the sender and the recipient address. - - 3. Each envelope may travel a different route to its destination. - - 4. The envelopes may arrive in a different order from the one in which - they were sent. - - 5. One or more may get lost in the mail. (Although, fortunately, this - does not occur very often.) - - 6. In a computer network, one or more "packets" may also arrive - multiple times. (This doesn't happen with the postal system!) - - The important characteristics of datagram communications, like those -of the postal system are thus: - - * Delivery is "best effort;" the data may never get there. - - * Each message is self-contained, including the source and - destination addresses. - - * Delivery is _not_ sequenced; packets may arrive out of order, - and/or multiple times. - - * Unlike the phone system, overhead is considerably lower. It is not - necessary to set up the call first. - - The price the user pays for the lower overhead of datagram -communications is exactly the lower reliability; it is often necessary -for user-level protocols that use datagram communications to add their -own reliability features on top of the basic communications. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: The TCP/IP Protocols, Next: Making Connections, Prev: Datagram Communications, Up: Introduction - -1.3 The Internet Protocols -========================== - -The Internet Protocol Suite (usually referred to as just TCP/IP)(1) -consists of a number of different protocols at different levels or -"layers." For our purposes, three protocols provide the fundamental -communications mechanisms. All other defined protocols are referred to -as user-level protocols (e.g., HTTP, used later in this Info file). - -* Menu: - -* Basic Protocols:: The basic protocols. -* Ports:: The idea behind ports. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) It should be noted that although the Internet seems to have -conquered the world, there are other networking protocol suites in -existence and in use. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Basic Protocols, Next: Ports, Prev: The TCP/IP Protocols, Up: The TCP/IP Protocols - -1.3.1 The Basic Internet Protocols ----------------------------------- - -IP - The Internet Protocol. This protocol is almost never used directly - by applications. It provides the basic packet delivery and routing - infrastructure of the Internet. Much like the phone company's - switching centers or the Post Office's trucks, it is not of much - day-to-day interest to the regular user (or programmer). It - happens to be a best effort datagram protocol. In the early - twenty-first century, there are two versions of this protocol in - use: - - IPv4 - The original version of the Internet Protocol, with 32-bit - addresses, on which most of the current Internet is based. - - IPv6 - The "next generation" of the Internet Protocol, with 128-bit - addresses. This protocol is in wide use in certain parts of - the world, but has not yet replaced IPv4.(1) - - Versions of the other protocols that sit "atop" IP exist for both - IPv4 and IPv6. However, as the IPv6 versions are fundamentally the - same as the original IPv4 versions, we will not distinguish further - between them. - -UDP - The User Datagram Protocol. This is a best effort datagram - protocol. It provides a small amount of extra reliability over IP, - and adds the notion of "ports", described in *note TCP and UDP - Ports: Ports. - -TCP - The Transmission Control Protocol. This is a duplex, reliable, - sequenced byte-stream protocol, again layered on top of IP, and - also providing the notion of ports. This is the protocol that you - will most likely use when using 'gawk' for network programming. - - All other user-level protocols use either TCP or UDP to do their -basic communications. Examples are SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer -Protocol), FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and HTTP (HyperText Transfer -Protocol). - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) There isn't an IPv5. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Ports, Prev: Basic Protocols, Up: The TCP/IP Protocols - -1.3.2 TCP and UDP Ports ------------------------ - -In the postal system, the address on an envelope indicates a physical -location, such as a residence or office building. But there may be more -than one person at the location; thus you have to further quantify the -recipient by putting a person or company name on the envelope. - - In the phone system, one phone number may represent an entire -company, in which case you need a person's extension number in order to -reach that individual directly. Or, when you call a home, you have to -say, "May I please speak to ..." before talking to the person directly. - - IP networking provides the concept of addressing. An IP address -represents a particular computer, but no more. In order to reach the -mail service on a system, or the FTP or WWW service on a system, you -must have some way to further specify which service you want. In the -Internet Protocol suite, this is done with "port numbers", which -represent the services, much like an extension number used with a phone -number. - - Port numbers are 16-bit integers. Unix and Unix-like systems reserve -ports below 1024 for "well known" services, such as SMTP, FTP, and HTTP. -Numbers 1024 and above may be used by any application, although there is -no promise made that a particular port number is always available. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Making Connections, Prev: The TCP/IP Protocols, Up: Introduction - -1.4 Making TCP/IP Connections (And Some Terminology) -==================================================== - -Two terms come up repeatedly when discussing networking: "client" and -"server". For now, we'll discuss these terms at the "connection level", -when first establishing connections between two processes on different -systems over a network. (Once the connection is established, the higher -level, or "application level" protocols, such as HTTP or FTP, determine -who is the client and who is the server. Often, it turns out that the -client and server are the same in both roles.) - - The "server" is the system providing the service, such as the web -server or email server. It is the "host" (system) which is _connected -to_ in a transaction. For this to work though, the server must be -expecting connections. Much as there has to be someone at the office -building to answer the phone(1), the server process (usually) has to be -started first and be waiting for a connection. - - The "client" is the system requesting the service. It is the system -_initiating the connection_ in a transaction. (Just as when you pick up -the phone to call an office or store.) - - In the TCP/IP framework, each end of a connection is represented by a -pair of (ADDRESS, PORT) pairs. For the duration of the connection, the -ports in use at each end are unique, and cannot be used simultaneously -by other processes on the same system. (Only after closing a connection -can a new one be built up on the same port. This is contrary to the -usual behavior of fully developed web servers which have to avoid -situations in which they are not reachable. We have to pay this price -in order to enjoy the benefits of a simple communication paradigm in -'gawk'.) - - Furthermore, once the connection is established, communications are -"synchronous".(2) I.e., each end waits on the other to finish -transmitting, before replying. This is much like two people in a phone -conversation. While both could talk simultaneously, doing so usually -doesn't work too well. - - In the case of TCP, the synchronicity is enforced by the protocol -when sending data. Data writes "block" until the data have been -received on the other end. For both TCP and UDP, data reads block until -there is incoming data waiting to be read. This is summarized in the -following table, where an "X" indicates that the given action blocks. - -TCP X X -UDP X - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) In the days before voice mail systems! - - (2) For the technically savvy, data reads block--if there's no -incoming data, the program is made to wait until there is, instead of -receiving a "there's no data" error return. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Using Networking, Next: Some Applications and Techniques, Prev: Introduction, Up: Top - -2 Networking With 'gawk' -************************ - -The 'awk' programming language was originally developed as a -pattern-matching language for writing short programs to perform data -manipulation tasks. 'awk''s strength is the manipulation of textual -data that is stored in files. It was never meant to be used for -networking purposes. To exploit its features in a networking context, -it's necessary to use an access mode for network connections that -resembles the access of files as closely as possible. - - 'awk' is also meant to be a prototyping language. It is used to -demonstrate feasibility and to play with features and user interfaces. -This can be done with file-like handling of network connections. 'gawk' -trades the lack of many of the advanced features of the TCP/IP family of -protocols for the convenience of simple connection handling. The -advanced features are available when programming in C or Perl. In fact, -the network programming in this major node is very similar to what is -described in books such as 'Internet Programming with Python', 'Advanced -Perl Programming', or 'Web Client Programming with Perl'. - - However, you can do the programming here without first having to -learn object-oriented ideology; underlying languages such as Tcl/Tk, -Perl, Python; or all of the libraries necessary to extend these -languages before they are ready for the Internet. - - This major node demonstrates how to use the TCP protocol. The UDP -protocol is much less important for most users. - -* Menu: - -* Gawk Special Files:: How to do 'gawk' networking. -* TCP Connecting:: Making a TCP connection. -* Troubleshooting:: Troubleshooting TCP/IP connections. -* Interacting:: Interacting with a service. -* Setting Up:: Setting up a service. -* Email:: Reading email. -* Web page:: Reading a Web page. -* Primitive Service:: A primitive Web service. -* Interacting Service:: A Web service with interaction. -* Simple Server:: A simple Web server. -* Caveats:: Network programming caveats. -* Challenges:: Where to go from here. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Gawk Special Files, Next: TCP Connecting, Prev: Using Networking, Up: Using Networking - -2.1 'gawk''s Networking Mechanisms -================================== - -The '|&' operator for use in communicating with a "coprocess" is -described in *note Two-way Communications With Another Process: -(gawk)Two-way I/O. It shows how to do two-way I/O to a separate process, -sending it data with 'print' or 'printf' and reading data with -'getline'. If you haven't read it already, you should detour there to -do so. - - 'gawk' transparently extends the two-way I/O mechanism to simple -networking through the use of special file names. When a "coprocess" -that matches the special files we are about to describe is started, -'gawk' creates the appropriate network connection, and then two-way I/O -proceeds as usual. - - At the C, C++, and Perl level, networking is accomplished via -"sockets", an Application Programming Interface (API) originally -developed at the University of California at Berkeley that is now used -almost universally for TCP/IP networking. Socket level programming, -while fairly straightforward, requires paying attention to a number of -details, as well as using binary data. It is not well-suited for use -from a high-level language like 'awk'. The special files provided in -'gawk' hide the details from the programmer, making things much simpler -and easier to use. - - The special file name for network access is made up of several -fields, all of which are mandatory: - - /NET-TYPE/PROTOCOL/LOCALPORT/HOSTNAME/REMOTEPORT - - The NET-TYPE field lets you specify IPv4 versus IPv6, or lets you -allow the system to choose. - -* Menu: - -* Special File Fields:: The fields in the special file name. -* Comparing Protocols:: Differences between the protocols. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Special File Fields, Next: Comparing Protocols, Prev: Gawk Special Files, Up: Gawk Special Files - -2.1.1 The Fields of the Special File Name ------------------------------------------ - -This node explains the meaning of all the other fields, as well as the -range of values and the defaults. All of the fields are mandatory. To -let the system pick a value, or if the field doesn't apply to the -protocol, specify it as '0': - -NET-TYPE - This is one of 'inet4' for IPv4, 'inet6' for IPv6, or 'inet' to use - the system default (which is likely to be IPv4). For the rest of - this document, we will use the generic '/inet' in our descriptions - of how 'gawk''s networking works. - -PROTOCOL - Determines which member of the TCP/IP family of protocols is - selected to transport the data across the network. There are two - possible values (always written in lowercase): 'tcp' and 'udp'. - The exact meaning of each is explained later in this node. - -LOCALPORT - Determines which port on the local machine is used to communicate - across the network. Application-level clients usually use '0' to - indicate they do not care which local port is used--instead they - specify a remote port to connect to. It is vital for - application-level servers to use a number different from '0' here - because their service has to be available at a specific publicly - known port number. It is possible to use a name from - '/etc/services' here. - -HOSTNAME - Determines which remote host is to be at the other end of the - connection. Application-level servers must fill this field with a - '0' to indicate their being open for all other hosts to connect to - them and enforce connection level server behavior this way. It is - not possible for an application-level server to restrict its - availability to one remote host by entering a host name here. - Application-level clients must enter a name different from '0'. - The name can be either symbolic (e.g., 'jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov') - or numeric (e.g., '128.149.1.143'). - -REMOTEPORT - Determines which port on the remote machine is used to communicate - across the network. For '/inet/tcp' and '/inet/udp', - application-level clients _must_ use a number other than '0' to - indicate to which port on the remote machine they want to connect. - Application-level servers must not fill this field with a '0'. - Instead they specify a local port to which clients connect. It is - possible to use a name from '/etc/services' here. - - Experts in network programming will notice that the usual -client/server asymmetry found at the level of the socket API is not -visible here. This is for the sake of simplicity of the high-level -concept. If this asymmetry is necessary for your application, use -another language. For 'gawk', it is more important to enable users to -write a client program with a minimum of code. What happens when first -accessing a network connection is seen in the following pseudocode: - - if ((name of remote host given) && (other side accepts connection)) { - rendez-vous successful; transmit with getline or print - } else { - if ((other side did not accept) && (localport == 0)) - exit unsuccessful - if (TCP) { - set up a server accepting connections - this means waiting for the client on the other side to connect - } else - ready - } - - The exact behavior of this algorithm depends on the values of the -fields of the special file name. When in doubt, *note Table 2.1: -table-inet-components. gives you the combinations of values and their -meaning. If this table is too complicated, focus on the three lines -printed in *bold*. All the examples in *note Networking With 'gawk': -Using Networking, use only the patterns printed in bold letters. - -PROTOCOL LOCAL HOST NAME REMOTE RESULTING CONNECTION-LEVEL - PORT PORT BEHAVIOR ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -*tcp* *0* *x* *x* *Dedicated client, fails if - immediately connecting to a - server on the other side - fails* -udp 0 x x Dedicated client -*tcp, *x* *x* *x* *Client, switches to -udp* dedicated server if - necessary* -*tcp, *x* *0* *0* *Dedicated server* -udp* -tcp, udp x x 0 Invalid -tcp, udp 0 0 x Invalid -tcp, udp x 0 x Invalid -tcp, udp 0 0 0 Invalid -tcp, udp 0 x 0 Invalid - -Table 2.1: /inet Special File Components - - In general, TCP is the preferred mechanism to use. It is the -simplest protocol to understand and to use. Use UDP only if -circumstances demand low-overhead. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Comparing Protocols, Prev: Special File Fields, Up: Gawk Special Files - -2.1.2 Comparing Protocols -------------------------- - -This node develops a pair of programs (sender and receiver) that do -nothing but send a timestamp from one machine to another. The sender -and the receiver are implemented with each of the two protocols -available and demonstrate the differences between them. - -* Menu: - -* File /inet/tcp:: The TCP special file. -* File /inet/udp:: The UDP special file. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: File /inet/tcp, Next: File /inet/udp, Prev: Comparing Protocols, Up: Comparing Protocols - -2.1.2.1 '/inet/tcp' -................... - -Once again, always use TCP. (Use UDP when low overhead is a necessity, -and use RAW for network experimentation.) The first example is the -sender program: - - # Server - BEGIN { - print strftime() |& "/inet/tcp/8888/0/0" - close("/inet/tcp/8888/0/0") - } - - The receiver is very simple: - - # Client - BEGIN { - "/inet/tcp/0/localhost/8888" |& getline - print $0 - close("/inet/tcp/0/localhost/8888") - } - - TCP guarantees that the bytes arrive at the receiving end in exactly -the same order that they were sent. No byte is lost (except for broken -connections), doubled, or out of order. Some overhead is necessary to -accomplish this, but this is the price to pay for a reliable service. -It does matter which side starts first. The sender/server has to be -started first, and it waits for the receiver to read a line. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: File /inet/udp, Prev: File /inet/tcp, Up: Comparing Protocols - -2.1.2.2 '/inet/udp' -................... - -The server and client programs that use UDP are almost identical to -their TCP counterparts; only the PROTOCOL has changed. As before, it -does matter which side starts first. The receiving side blocks and -waits for the sender. In this case, the receiver/client has to be -started first: - - # Server - BEGIN { - print strftime() |& "/inet/udp/8888/0/0" - close("/inet/udp/8888/0/0") - } - - The receiver is almost identical to the TCP receiver: - - # Client - BEGIN { - print "hi!" |& "/inet/udp/0/localhost/8888" - "/inet/udp/0/localhost/8888" |& getline - print $0 - close("/inet/udp/0/localhost/8888") - } - - In the case of UDP, the initial 'print' command is the one that -actually sends data so that there is a connection. UDP and "connection" -sounds strange to anyone who has learned that UDP is a connectionless -protocol. Here, "connection" means that the 'connect()' system call has -completed its work and completed the "association" between a certain -socket and an IP address. Thus there are subtle differences between -'connect()' for TCP and UDP; see the man page for details.(1) - - UDP cannot guarantee that the datagrams at the receiving end will -arrive in exactly the same order they were sent. Some datagrams could -be lost, some doubled, and some out of order. But no overhead is -necessary to accomplish this. This unreliable behavior is good enough -for tasks such as data acquisition, logging, and even stateless services -like the original versions of NFS. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) This subtlety is just one of many details that are hidden in the -socket API, invisible and intractable for the 'gawk' user. The -developers are currently considering how to rework the network -facilities to make them easier to understand and use. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: TCP Connecting, Next: Troubleshooting, Prev: Gawk Special Files, Up: Using Networking - -2.2 Establishing a TCP Connection -================================= - -Let's observe a network connection at work. Type in the following -program and watch the output. Within a second, it connects via TCP -('/inet/tcp') to the machine it is running on ('localhost') and asks the -service 'daytime' on the machine what time it is: - - BEGIN { - "/inet/tcp/0/localhost/daytime" |& getline - print $0 - close("/inet/tcp/0/localhost/daytime") - } - - Even experienced 'awk' users will find the second line strange in two -respects: - - * A special file is used as a shell command that pipes its output - into 'getline'. One would rather expect to see the special file - being read like any other file ('getline < - "/inet/tcp/0/localhost/daytime")'. - - * The operator '|&' has not been part of any 'awk' implementation - (until now). It is actually the only extension of the 'awk' - language needed (apart from the special files) to introduce network - access. - - The '|&' operator was introduced in 'gawk' 3.1 in order to overcome -the crucial restriction that access to files and pipes in 'awk' is -always unidirectional. It was formerly impossible to use both access -modes on the same file or pipe. Instead of changing the whole concept -of file access, the '|&' operator behaves exactly like the usual pipe -operator except for two additions: - - * Normal shell commands connected to their 'gawk' program with a '|&' - pipe can be accessed bidirectionally. The '|&' turns out to be a - quite general, useful, and natural extension of 'awk'. - - * Pipes that consist of a special file name for network connections - are not executed as shell commands. Instead, they can be read and - written to, just like a full-duplex network connection. - - In the earlier example, the '|&' operator tells 'getline' to read a -line from the special file '/inet/tcp/0/localhost/daytime'. We could -also have printed a line into the special file. But instead we just -read a line with the time, printed it, and closed the connection. -(While we could just let 'gawk' close the connection by finishing the -program, in this Info file we are pedantic and always explicitly close -the connections.) - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Troubleshooting, Next: Interacting, Prev: TCP Connecting, Up: Using Networking - -2.3 Troubleshooting Connection Problems -======================================= - -It may well be that for some reason the program shown in the previous -example does not run on your machine. When looking at possible reasons -for this, you will learn much about typical problems that arise in -network programming. First of all, your implementation of 'gawk' may -not support network access because it is a pre-3.1 version or you do not -have a network interface in your machine. Perhaps your machine uses -some other protocol, such as DECnet or Novell's IPX. For the rest of -this major node, we will assume you work on a Unix machine that supports -TCP/IP. If the previous example program does not run on your machine, it -may help to replace the name 'localhost' with the name of your machine -or its IP address. If it does, you could replace 'localhost' with the -name of another machine in your vicinity--this way, the program connects -to another machine. Now you should see the date and time being printed -by the program, otherwise your machine may not support the 'daytime' -service. Try changing the service to 'chargen' or 'ftp'. This way, the -program connects to other services that should give you some response. -If you are curious, you should have a look at your '/etc/services' file. -It could look like this: - - # /etc/services: - # - # Network services, Internet style - # - # Name Number/Protocol Alternate name # Comments - - echo 7/tcp - echo 7/udp - discard 9/tcp sink null - discard 9/udp sink null - daytime 13/tcp - daytime 13/udp - chargen 19/tcp ttytst source - chargen 19/udp ttytst source - ftp 21/tcp - telnet 23/tcp - smtp 25/tcp mail - finger 79/tcp - www 80/tcp http # WorldWideWeb HTTP - www 80/udp # HyperText Transfer Protocol - pop-2 109/tcp postoffice # POP version 2 - pop-2 109/udp - pop-3 110/tcp # POP version 3 - pop-3 110/udp - nntp 119/tcp readnews untp # USENET News - irc 194/tcp # Internet Relay Chat - irc 194/udp - ... - - Here, you find a list of services that traditional Unix machines -usually support. If your GNU/Linux machine does not do so, it may be -that these services are switched off in some startup script. Systems -running some flavor of Microsoft Windows usually do _not_ support these -services. Nevertheless, it _is_ possible to do networking with 'gawk' -on Microsoft Windows.(1) The first column of the file gives the name of -the service, and the second column gives a unique number and the -protocol that one can use to connect to this service. The rest of the -line is treated as a comment. You see that some services ('echo') -support TCP as well as UDP. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Microsoft preferred to ignore the TCP/IP family of protocols -until 1995. Then came the rise of the Netscape browser as a landmark -"killer application." Microsoft added TCP/IP support and their own -browser to Microsoft Windows 95 at the last minute. They even -back-ported their TCP/IP implementation to Microsoft Windows for -Workgroups 3.11, but it was a rather rudimentary and half-hearted -implementation. Nevertheless, the equivalent of '/etc/services' resides -under 'C:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc\services' on Microsoft Windows 2000 -and Microsoft Windows XP. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Interacting, Next: Setting Up, Prev: Troubleshooting, Up: Using Networking - -2.4 Interacting with a Network Service -====================================== - -The next program makes use of the possibility to really interact with a -network service by printing something into the special file. It asks -the so-called 'finger' service if a user of the machine is logged in. -When testing this program, try to change 'localhost' to some other -machine name in your local network: - - BEGIN { - NetService = "/inet/tcp/0/localhost/finger" - print "NAME" |& NetService - while ((NetService |& getline) > 0) - print $0 - close(NetService) - } - - After telling the service on the machine which user to look for, the -program repeatedly reads lines that come as a reply. When no more lines -are coming (because the service has closed the connection), the program -also closes the connection. Try replacing '"NAME"' with your login name -(or the name of someone else logged in). For a list of all users -currently logged in, replace NAME with an empty string ('""'). - - The final 'close()' command could be safely deleted from the above -script, because the operating system closes any open connection by -default when a script reaches the end of execution. In order to avoid -portability problems, it is best to always close connections explicitly. -With the Linux kernel, for example, proper closing results in flushing -of buffers. Letting the close happen by default may result in -discarding buffers. - - When looking at '/etc/services' you may have noticed that the -'daytime' service is also available with 'udp'. In the earlier example, -change 'tcp' to 'udp', and change 'finger' to 'daytime'. After starting -the modified program, you see the expected day and time message. The -program then hangs, because it waits for more lines coming from the -service. However, they never come. This behavior is a consequence of -the differences between TCP and UDP. When using UDP, neither party is -automatically informed about the other closing the connection. -Continuing to experiment this way reveals many other subtle differences -between TCP and UDP. To avoid such trouble, one should always remember -the advice Douglas E. Comer and David Stevens give in Volume III of -their series 'Internetworking With TCP' (page 14): - - When designing client-server applications, beginners are strongly - advised to use TCP because it provides reliable, - connection-oriented communication. Programs only use UDP if the - application protocol handles reliability, the application requires - hardware broadcast or multicast, or the application cannot tolerate - virtual circuit overhead. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Setting Up, Next: Email, Prev: Interacting, Up: Using Networking - -2.5 Setting Up a Service -======================== - -The preceding programs behaved as clients that connect to a server -somewhere on the Internet and request a particular service. Now we set -up such a service to mimic the behavior of the 'daytime' service. Such -a server does not know in advance who is going to connect to it over the -network. Therefore, we cannot insert a name for the host to connect to -in our special file name. - - Start the following program in one window. Notice that the service -does not have the name 'daytime', but the number '8888'. From looking -at '/etc/services', you know that names like 'daytime' are just -mnemonics for predetermined 16-bit integers. Only the system -administrator ('root') could enter our new service into '/etc/services' -with an appropriate name. Also notice that the service name has to be -entered into a different field of the special file name because we are -setting up a server, not a client: - - BEGIN { - print strftime() |& "/inet/tcp/8888/0/0" - close("/inet/tcp/8888/0/0") - } - - Now open another window on the same machine. Copy the client program -given as the first example (*note Establishing a TCP Connection: TCP -Connecting.) to a new file and edit it, changing the name 'daytime' to -'8888'. Then start the modified client. You should get a reply like -this: - - Sat Sep 27 19:08:16 CEST 1997 - -Both programs explicitly close the connection. - - Now we will intentionally make a mistake to see what happens when the -name '8888' (the so-called port) is already used by another service. -Start the server program in both windows. The first one works, but the -second one complains that it could not open the connection. Each port -on a single machine can only be used by one server program at a time. -Now terminate the server program and change the name '8888' to 'echo'. -After restarting it, the server program does not run any more, and you -know why: there is already an 'echo' service running on your machine. -But even if this isn't true, you would not get your own 'echo' server -running on a Unix machine, because the ports with numbers smaller than -1024 ('echo' is at port 7) are reserved for 'root'. On machines running -some flavor of Microsoft Windows, there is no restriction that reserves -ports 1 to 1024 for a privileged user; hence, you can start an 'echo' -server there. - - Turning this short server program into something really useful is -simple. Imagine a server that first reads a file name from the client -through the network connection, then does something with the file and -sends a result back to the client. The server-side processing could be: - - BEGIN { - NetService = "/inet/tcp/8888/0/0" - NetService |& getline - CatPipe = ("cat " $1) # sets $0 and the fields - while ((CatPipe | getline) > 0) - print $0 |& NetService - close(NetService) - } - -and we would have a remote copying facility. Such a server reads the -name of a file from any client that connects to it and transmits the -contents of the named file across the net. The server-side processing -could also be the execution of a command that is transmitted across the -network. From this example, you can see how simple it is to open up a -security hole on your machine. If you allow clients to connect to your -machine and execute arbitrary commands, anyone would be free to do 'rm --rf *'. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Email, Next: Web page, Prev: Setting Up, Up: Using Networking - -2.6 Reading Email -================= - -The distribution of email is usually done by dedicated email servers -that communicate with your machine using special protocols. To receive -email, we will use the Post Office Protocol (POP). Sending can be done -with the much older Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). - - When you type in the following program, replace the EMAILHOST by the -name of your local email server. Ask your administrator if the server -has a POP service, and then use its name or number in the program below. -Now the program is ready to connect to your email server, but it will -not succeed in retrieving your mail because it does not yet know your -login name or password. Replace them in the program and it shows you -the first email the server has in store: - - BEGIN { - POPService = "/inet/tcp/0/EMAILHOST/pop3" - RS = ORS = "\r\n" - print "user NAME" |& POPService - POPService |& getline - print "pass PASSWORD" |& POPService - POPService |& getline - print "retr 1" |& POPService - POPService |& getline - if ($1 != "+OK") exit - print "quit" |& POPService - RS = "\r\n\\.\r\n" - POPService |& getline - print $0 - close(POPService) - } - - The record separators 'RS' and 'ORS' are redefined because the -protocol (POP) requires CR-LF to separate lines. After identifying -yourself to the email service, the command 'retr 1' instructs the -service to send the first of all your email messages in line. If the -service replies with something other than '+OK', the program exits; -maybe there is no email. Otherwise, the program first announces that it -intends to finish reading email, and then redefines 'RS' in order to -read the entire email as multiline input in one record. From the POP -RFC, we know that the body of the email always ends with a single line -containing a single dot. The program looks for this using 'RS = -"\r\n\\.\r\n"'. When it finds this sequence in the mail message, it -quits. You can invoke this program as often as you like; it does not -delete the message it reads, but instead leaves it on the server. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Web page, Next: Primitive Service, Prev: Email, Up: Using Networking - -2.7 Reading a Web Page -====================== - -Retrieving a web page from a web server is as simple as retrieving email -from an email server. We only have to use a similar, but not identical, -protocol and a different port. The name of the protocol is HyperText -Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and the port number is usually 80. As in the -preceding node, ask your administrator about the name of your local web -server or proxy web server and its port number for HTTP requests. - - The following program employs a rather crude approach toward -retrieving a web page. It uses the prehistoric syntax of HTTP 0.9, -which almost all web servers still support. The most noticeable thing -about it is that the program directs the request to the local proxy -server whose name you insert in the special file name (which in turn -calls 'www.yahoo.com'): - - BEGIN { - RS = ORS = "\r\n" - HttpService = "/inet/tcp/0/PROXY/80" - print "GET http://www.yahoo.com" |& HttpService - while ((HttpService |& getline) > 0) - print $0 - close(HttpService) - } - - Again, lines are separated by a redefined 'RS' and 'ORS'. The 'GET' -request that we send to the server is the only kind of HTTP request that -existed when the web was created in the early 1990s. HTTP calls this -'GET' request a "method," which tells the service to transmit a web page -(here the home page of the Yahoo! search engine). Version 1.0 added -the request methods 'HEAD' and 'POST'. The current version of HTTP is -1.1,(1) and knows the additional request methods 'OPTIONS', 'PUT', -'DELETE', and 'TRACE'. You can fill in any valid web address, and the -program prints the HTML code of that page to your screen. - - Notice the similarity between the responses of the POP and HTTP -services. First, you get a header that is terminated by an empty line, -and then you get the body of the page in HTML. The lines of the headers -also have the same form as in POP. There is the name of a parameter, -then a colon, and finally the value of that parameter. - - Images ('.png' or '.gif' files) can also be retrieved this way, but -then you get binary data that should be redirected into a file. Another -application is calling a CGI (Common Gateway Interface) script on some -server. CGI scripts are used when the contents of a web page are not -constant, but generated instantly at the moment you send a request for -the page. For example, to get a detailed report about the current -quotes of Motorola stock shares, call a CGI script at Yahoo! with the -following: - - get = "GET http://quote.yahoo.com/q?s=MOT&d=t" - print get |& HttpService - - You can also request weather reports this way. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Version 1.0 of HTTP was defined in RFC 1945. HTTP 1.1 was -initially specified in RFC 2068. In June 1999, RFC 2068 was made -obsolete by RFC 2616, an update without any substantial changes. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Primitive Service, Next: Interacting Service, Prev: Web page, Up: Using Networking - -2.8 A Primitive Web Service -=========================== - -Now we know enough about HTTP to set up a primitive web service that -just says '"Hello, world"' when someone connects to it with a browser. -Compared to the situation in the preceding node, our program changes the -role. It tries to behave just like the server we have observed. Since -we are setting up a server here, we have to insert the port number in -the 'localport' field of the special file name. The other two fields -(HOSTNAME and REMOTEPORT) have to contain a '0' because we do not know -in advance which host will connect to our service. - - In the early 1990s, all a server had to do was send an HTML document -and close the connection. Here, we adhere to the modern syntax of HTTP. -The steps are as follows: - - 1. Send a status line telling the web browser that everything is okay. - - 2. Send a line to tell the browser how many bytes follow in the body - of the message. This was not necessary earlier because both - parties knew that the document ended when the connection closed. - Nowadays it is possible to stay connected after the transmission of - one web page. This is to avoid the network traffic necessary for - repeatedly establishing TCP connections for requesting several - images. Thus, there is the need to tell the receiving party how - many bytes will be sent. The header is terminated as usual with an - empty line. - - 3. Send the '"Hello, world"' body in HTML. The useless 'while' loop - swallows the request of the browser. We could actually omit the - loop, and on most machines the program would still work. First, - start the following program: - - BEGIN { - RS = ORS = "\r\n" - HttpService = "/inet/tcp/8080/0/0" - Hello = "" \ - "A Famous Greeting" \ - "

Hello, world

" - Len = length(Hello) + length(ORS) - print "HTTP/1.0 200 OK" |& HttpService - print "Content-Length: " Len ORS |& HttpService - print Hello |& HttpService - while ((HttpService |& getline) > 0) - continue; - close(HttpService) - } - - Now, on the same machine, start your favorite browser and let it -point to (the browser needs to know on which -port our server is listening for requests). If this does not work, the -browser probably tries to connect to a proxy server that does not know -your machine. If so, change the browser's configuration so that the -browser does not try to use a proxy to connect to your machine. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Interacting Service, Next: Simple Server, Prev: Primitive Service, Up: Using Networking - -2.9 A Web Service with Interaction -================================== - -This node shows how to set up a simple web server. The subnode is a -library file that we will use with all the examples in *note Some -Applications and Techniques::. - -* Menu: - -* CGI Lib:: A simple CGI library. - - Setting up a web service that allows user interaction is more -difficult and shows us the limits of network access in 'gawk'. In this -node, we develop a main program (a 'BEGIN' pattern and its action) that -will become the core of event-driven execution controlled by a graphical -user interface (GUI). Each HTTP event that the user triggers by some -action within the browser is received in this central procedure. -Parameters and menu choices are extracted from this request, and an -appropriate measure is taken according to the user's choice. For -example: - - BEGIN { - if (MyHost == "") { - "uname -n" | getline MyHost - close("uname -n") - } - if (MyPort == 0) MyPort = 8080 - HttpService = "/inet/tcp/" MyPort "/0/0" - MyPrefix = "http://" MyHost ":" MyPort - SetUpServer() - while ("awk" != "complex") { - # header lines are terminated this way - RS = ORS = "\r\n" - Status = 200 # this means OK - Reason = "OK" - Header = TopHeader - Document = TopDoc - Footer = TopFooter - if (GETARG["Method"] == "GET") { - HandleGET() - } else if (GETARG["Method"] == "HEAD") { - # not yet implemented - } else if (GETARG["Method"] != "") { - print "bad method", GETARG["Method"] - } - Prompt = Header Document Footer - print "HTTP/1.0", Status, Reason |& HttpService - print "Connection: Close" |& HttpService - print "Pragma: no-cache" |& HttpService - len = length(Prompt) + length(ORS) - print "Content-length:", len |& HttpService - print ORS Prompt |& HttpService - # ignore all the header lines - while ((HttpService |& getline) > 0) - ; - # stop talking to this client - close(HttpService) - # wait for new client request - HttpService |& getline - # do some logging - print systime(), strftime(), $0 - # read request parameters - CGI_setup($1, $2, $3) - } - } - - This web server presents menu choices in the form of HTML links. -Therefore, it has to tell the browser the name of the host it is -residing on. When starting the server, the user may supply the name of -the host from the command line with 'gawk -v MyHost="Rumpelstilzchen"'. -If the user does not do this, the server looks up the name of the host -it is running on for later use as a web address in HTML documents. The -same applies to the port number. These values are inserted later into -the HTML content of the web pages to refer to the home system. - - Each server that is built around this core has to initialize some -application-dependent variables (such as the default home page) in a -procedure 'SetUpServer()', which is called immediately before entering -the infinite loop of the server. For now, we will write an instance -that initiates a trivial interaction. With this home page, the client -user can click on two possible choices, and receive the current date -either in human-readable format or in seconds since 1970: - - function SetUpServer() { - TopHeader = "" - TopHeader = TopHeader \ - "My name is GAWK, GNU AWK" - TopDoc = "

\ - Do you prefer your date human or \ - POSIXed?

" ORS ORS - TopFooter = "" - } - - On the first run through the main loop, the default line terminators -are set and the default home page is copied to the actual home page. -Since this is the first run, 'GETARG["Method"]' is not initialized yet, -hence the case selection over the method does nothing. Now that the -home page is initialized, the server can start communicating to a client -browser. - - It does so by printing the HTTP header into the network connection -('print ... |& HttpService'). This command blocks execution of the -server script until a client connects. If this server script is -compared with the primitive one we wrote before, you will notice two -additional lines in the header. The first instructs the browser to -close the connection after each request. The second tells the browser -that it should never try to _remember_ earlier requests that had -identical web addresses (no caching). Otherwise, it could happen that -the browser retrieves the time of day in the previous example just once, -and later it takes the web page from the cache, always displaying the -same time of day although time advances each second. - - Having supplied the initial home page to the browser with a valid -document stored in the parameter 'Prompt', it closes the connection and -waits for the next request. When the request comes, a log line is -printed that allows us to see which request the server receives. The -final step in the loop is to call the function 'CGI_setup()', which -reads all the lines of the request (coming from the browser), processes -them, and stores the transmitted parameters in the array 'PARAM'. The -complete text of these application-independent functions can be found in -*note A Simple CGI Library: CGI Lib. For now, we use a simplified -version of 'CGI_setup()': - - function CGI_setup( method, uri, version, i) { - delete GETARG; delete MENU; delete PARAM - GETARG["Method"] = $1 - GETARG["URI"] = $2 - GETARG["Version"] = $3 - i = index($2, "?") - # is there a "?" indicating a CGI request? - if (i > 0) { - split(substr($2, 1, i-1), MENU, "[/:]") - split(substr($2, i+1), PARAM, "&") - for (i in PARAM) { - j = index(PARAM[i], "=") - GETARG[substr(PARAM[i], 1, j-1)] = \ - substr(PARAM[i], j+1) - } - } else { # there is no "?", no need for splitting PARAMs - split($2, MENU, "[/:]") - } - } - - At first, the function clears all variables used for global storage -of request parameters. The rest of the function serves the purpose of -filling the global parameters with the extracted new values. To -accomplish this, the name of the requested resource is split into parts -and stored for later evaluation. If the request contains a '?', then -the request has CGI variables seamlessly appended to the web address. -Everything in front of the '?' is split up into menu items, and -everything behind the '?' is a list of 'VARIABLE=VALUE' pairs (separated -by '&') that also need splitting. This way, CGI variables are isolated -and stored. This procedure lacks recognition of special characters that -are transmitted in coded form(1). Here, any optional request header and -body parts are ignored. We do not need header parameters and the -request body. However, when refining our approach or working with the -'POST' and 'PUT' methods, reading the header and body becomes -inevitable. Header parameters should then be stored in a global array -as well as the body. - - On each subsequent run through the main loop, one request from a -browser is received, evaluated, and answered according to the user's -choice. This can be done by letting the value of the HTTP method guide -the main loop into execution of the procedure 'HandleGET()', which -evaluates the user's choice. In this case, we have only one -hierarchical level of menus, but in the general case, menus are nested. -The menu choices at each level are separated by '/', just as in file -names. Notice how simple it is to construct menus of arbitrary depth: - - function HandleGET() { - if ( MENU[2] == "human") { - Footer = strftime() TopFooter - } else if (MENU[2] == "POSIX") { - Footer = systime() TopFooter - } - } - - The disadvantage of this approach is that our server is slow and can -handle only one request at a time. Its main advantage, however, is that -the server consists of just one 'gawk' program. No need for installing -an 'httpd', and no need for static separate HTML files, CGI scripts, or -'root' privileges. This is rapid prototyping. This program can be -started on the same host that runs your browser. Then let your browser -point to . - - It is also possible to include images into the HTML pages. Most -browsers support the not very well-known '.xbm' format, which may -contain only monochrome pictures but is an ASCII format. Binary images -are possible but not so easy to handle. Another way of including images -is to generate them with a tool such as GNUPlot, by calling the tool -with the 'system()' function or through a pipe. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) As defined in RFC 2068. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: CGI Lib, Prev: Interacting Service, Up: Interacting Service - -2.9.1 A Simple CGI Library --------------------------- - - HTTP is like being married: you have to be able to handle whatever - you're given, while being very careful what you send back. - Phil Smith III, - - - In *note A Web Service with Interaction: Interacting Service, we saw -the function 'CGI_setup()' as part of the web server "core logic" -framework. The code presented there handles almost everything necessary -for CGI requests. One thing it doesn't do is handle encoded characters -in the requests. For example, an '&' is encoded as a percent sign -followed by the hexadecimal value: '%26'. These encoded values should -be decoded. Following is a simple library to perform these tasks. This -code is used for all web server examples used throughout the rest of -this Info file. If you want to use it for your own web server, store -the source code into a file named 'inetlib.awk'. Then you can include -these functions into your code by placing the following statement into -your program (on the first line of your script): - - @include inetlib.awk - -But beware, this mechanism is only possible if you invoke your web -server script with 'igawk' instead of the usual 'awk' or 'gawk'. Here -is the code: - - # CGI Library and core of a web server - # Global arrays - # GETARG --- arguments to CGI GET command - # MENU --- menu items (path names) - # PARAM --- parameters of form x=y - - # Optional variable MyHost contains host address - # Optional variable MyPort contains port number - # Needs TopHeader, TopDoc, TopFooter - # Sets MyPrefix, HttpService, Status, Reason - - BEGIN { - if (MyHost == "") { - "uname -n" | getline MyHost - close("uname -n") - } - if (MyPort == 0) MyPort = 8080 - HttpService = "/inet/tcp/" MyPort "/0/0" - MyPrefix = "http://" MyHost ":" MyPort - SetUpServer() - while ("awk" != "complex") { - # header lines are terminated this way - RS = ORS = "\r\n" - Status = 200 # this means OK - Reason = "OK" - Header = TopHeader - Document = TopDoc - Footer = TopFooter - if (GETARG["Method"] == "GET") { - HandleGET() - } else if (GETARG["Method"] == "HEAD") { - # not yet implemented - } else if (GETARG["Method"] != "") { - print "bad method", GETARG["Method"] - } - Prompt = Header Document Footer - print "HTTP/1.0", Status, Reason |& HttpService - print "Connection: Close" |& HttpService - print "Pragma: no-cache" |& HttpService - len = length(Prompt) + length(ORS) - print "Content-length:", len |& HttpService - print ORS Prompt |& HttpService - # ignore all the header lines - while ((HttpService |& getline) > 0) - continue - # stop talking to this client - close(HttpService) - # wait for new client request - HttpService |& getline - # do some logging - print systime(), strftime(), $0 - CGI_setup($1, $2, $3) - } - } - - function CGI_setup( method, uri, version, i) - { - delete GETARG - delete MENU - delete PARAM - GETARG["Method"] = method - GETARG["URI"] = uri - GETARG["Version"] = version - - i = index(uri, "?") - if (i > 0) { # is there a "?" indicating a CGI request? - split(substr(uri, 1, i-1), MENU, "[/:]") - split(substr(uri, i+1), PARAM, "&") - for (i in PARAM) { - PARAM[i] = _CGI_decode(PARAM[i]) - j = index(PARAM[i], "=") - GETARG[substr(PARAM[i], 1, j-1)] = \ - substr(PARAM[i], j+1) - } - } else { # there is no "?", no need for splitting PARAMs - split(uri, MENU, "[/:]") - } - for (i in MENU) # decode characters in path - if (i > 4) # but not those in host name - MENU[i] = _CGI_decode(MENU[i]) - } - - This isolates details in a single function, 'CGI_setup()'. Decoding -of encoded characters is pushed off to a helper function, -'_CGI_decode()'. The use of the leading underscore ('_') in the -function name is intended to indicate that it is an "internal" function, -although there is nothing to enforce this: - - function _CGI_decode(str, hexdigs, i, pre, code1, code2, - val, result) - { - hexdigs = "123456789abcdef" - - i = index(str, "%") - if (i == 0) # no work to do - return str - - do { - pre = substr(str, 1, i-1) # part before %xx - code1 = substr(str, i+1, 1) # first hex digit - code2 = substr(str, i+2, 1) # second hex digit - str = substr(str, i+3) # rest of string - - code1 = tolower(code1) - code2 = tolower(code2) - val = index(hexdigs, code1) * 16 \ - + index(hexdigs, code2) - - result = result pre sprintf("%c", val) - i = index(str, "%") - } while (i != 0) - if (length(str) > 0) - result = result str - return result - } - - This works by splitting the string apart around an encoded character. -The two digits are converted to lowercase characters and looked up in a -string of hex digits. Note that '0' is not in the string on purpose; -'index()' returns zero when it's not found, automatically giving the -correct value! Once the hexadecimal value is converted from characters -in a string into a numerical value, 'sprintf()' converts the value back -into a real character. The following is a simple test harness for the -above functions: - - BEGIN { - CGI_setup("GET", - "http://www.gnu.org/cgi-bin/foo?p1=stuff&p2=stuff%26junk" \ - "&percent=a %25 sign", - "1.0") - for (i in MENU) - printf "MENU[\"%s\"] = %s\n", i, MENU[i] - for (i in PARAM) - printf "PARAM[\"%s\"] = %s\n", i, PARAM[i] - for (i in GETARG) - printf "GETARG[\"%s\"] = %s\n", i, GETARG[i] - } - - And this is the result when we run it: - - $ gawk -f testserv.awk - -| MENU["4"] = www.gnu.org - -| MENU["5"] = cgi-bin - -| MENU["6"] = foo - -| MENU["1"] = http - -| MENU["2"] = - -| MENU["3"] = - -| PARAM["1"] = p1=stuff - -| PARAM["2"] = p2=stuff&junk - -| PARAM["3"] = percent=a % sign - -| GETARG["p1"] = stuff - -| GETARG["percent"] = a % sign - -| GETARG["p2"] = stuff&junk - -| GETARG["Method"] = GET - -| GETARG["Version"] = 1.0 - -| GETARG["URI"] = http://www.gnu.org/cgi-bin/foo?p1=stuff& - p2=stuff%26junk&percent=a %25 sign - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Simple Server, Next: Caveats, Prev: Interacting Service, Up: Using Networking - -2.10 A Simple Web Server -======================== - -In the preceding node, we built the core logic for event-driven GUIs. -In this node, we finally extend the core to a real application. No one -would actually write a commercial web server in 'gawk', but it is -instructive to see that it is feasible in principle. - - The application is ELIZA, the famous program by Joseph Weizenbaum -that mimics the behavior of a professional psychotherapist when talking -to you. Weizenbaum would certainly object to this description, but this -is part of the legend around ELIZA. Take the site-independent core logic -and append the following code: - - function SetUpServer() { - SetUpEliza() - TopHeader = \ - "An HTTP-based System with GAWK\ - \ - " - TopDoc = "\ -

Please choose one of the following actions:

\ - " - TopFooter = "" - } - - 'SetUpServer()' is similar to the previous example, except for -calling another function, 'SetUpEliza()'. This approach can be used to -implement other kinds of servers. The only changes needed to do so are -hidden in the functions 'SetUpServer()' and 'HandleGET()'. Perhaps it -might be necessary to implement other HTTP methods. The 'igawk' program -that comes with 'gawk' may be useful for this process. - - When extending this example to a complete application, the first -thing to do is to implement the function 'SetUpServer()' to initialize -the HTML pages and some variables. These initializations determine the -way your HTML pages look (colors, titles, menu items, etc.). - - The function 'HandleGET()' is a nested case selection that decides -which page the user wants to see next. Each nesting level refers to a -menu level of the GUI. Each case implements a certain action of the -menu. On the deepest level of case selection, the handler essentially -knows what the user wants and stores the answer into the variable that -holds the HTML page contents: - - function HandleGET() { - # A real HTTP server would treat some parts of the URI as a file name. - # We take parts of the URI as menu choices and go on accordingly. - if(MENU[2] == "AboutServer") { - Document = "This is not a CGI script.\ - This is an httpd, an HTML file, and a CGI script all \ - in one GAWK script. It needs no separate www-server, \ - no installation, and no root privileges.\ -

To run it, do this:

    \ -
  • start this script with \"gawk -f httpserver.awk\",
    • \ -
  • and on the same host let your www browser open location\ - \"http://localhost:8080\"
    • \ -
\

\ Details of HTTP come from:

    \ -
  • Hethmon: Illustrated Guide to HTTP

    \ -
  • RFC 2068

JK 14.9.1997

" - } else if (MENU[2] == "AboutELIZA") { - Document = "This is an implementation of the famous ELIZA\ - program by Joseph Weizenbaum. It is written in GAWK and\ - uses an HTML GUI." - } else if (MENU[2] == "StartELIZA") { - gsub(/\+/, " ", GETARG["YouSay"]) - # Here we also have to substitute coded special characters - Document = "
" \ - "

" ElizaSays(GETARG["YouSay"]) "

\ -

\ -

" - } - } - - Now we are down to the heart of ELIZA, so you can see how it works. -Initially the user does not say anything; then ELIZA resets its money -counter and asks the user to tell what comes to mind open heartedly. -The subsequent answers are converted to uppercase characters and stored -for later comparison. ELIZA presents the bill when being confronted -with a sentence that contains the phrase "shut up." Otherwise, it looks -for keywords in the sentence, conjugates the rest of the sentence, -remembers the keyword for later use, and finally selects an answer from -the set of possible answers: - - function ElizaSays(YouSay) { - if (YouSay == "") { - cost = 0 - answer = "HI, IM ELIZA, TELL ME YOUR PROBLEM" - } else { - q = toupper(YouSay) - gsub("'", "", q) - if(q == qold) { - answer = "PLEASE DONT REPEAT YOURSELF !" - } else { - if (index(q, "SHUT UP") > 0) { - answer = "WELL, PLEASE PAY YOUR BILL. ITS EXACTLY ... $"\ - int(100*rand()+30+cost/100) - } else { - qold = q - w = "-" # no keyword recognized yet - for (i in k) { # search for keywords - if (index(q, i) > 0) { - w = i - break - } - } - if (w == "-") { # no keyword, take old subject - w = wold - subj = subjold - } else { # find subject - subj = substr(q, index(q, w) + length(w)+1) - wold = w - subjold = subj # remember keyword and subject - } - for (i in conj) - gsub(i, conj[i], q) # conjugation - # from all answers to this keyword, select one randomly - answer = r[indices[int(split(k[w], indices) * rand()) + 1]] - # insert subject into answer - gsub("_", subj, answer) - } - } - } - cost += length(answer) # for later payment : 1 cent per character - return answer - } - - In the long but simple function 'SetUpEliza()', you can see tables -for conjugation, keywords, and answers.(1) The associative array 'k' -contains indices into the array of answers 'r'. To choose an answer, -ELIZA just picks an index randomly: - - function SetUpEliza() { - srand() - wold = "-" - subjold = " " - - # table for conjugation - conj[" ARE " ] = " AM " - conj["WERE " ] = "WAS " - conj[" YOU " ] = " I " - conj["YOUR " ] = "MY " - conj[" IVE " ] =\ - conj[" I HAVE " ] = " YOU HAVE " - conj[" YOUVE " ] =\ - conj[" YOU HAVE "] = " I HAVE " - conj[" IM " ] =\ - conj[" I AM " ] = " YOU ARE " - conj[" YOURE " ] =\ - conj[" YOU ARE " ] = " I AM " - - # table of all answers - r[1] = "DONT YOU BELIEVE THAT I CAN _" - r[2] = "PERHAPS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO _ ?" - ... - - # table for looking up answers that - # fit to a certain keyword - k["CAN YOU"] = "1 2 3" - k["CAN I"] = "4 5" - k["YOU ARE"] =\ - k["YOURE"] = "6 7 8 9" - ... - } - - Some interesting remarks and details (including the original source -code of ELIZA) are found on Mark Humphrys' home page. Yahoo! also has -a page with a collection of ELIZA-like programs. Many of them are -written in Java, some of them disclosing the Java source code, and a few -even explain how to modify the Java source code. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) The version shown here is abbreviated. The full version comes -with the 'gawk' distribution. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Caveats, Next: Challenges, Prev: Simple Server, Up: Using Networking - -2.11 Network Programming Caveats -================================ - -By now it should be clear that debugging a networked application is more -complicated than debugging a single-process single-hosted application. -The behavior of a networked application sometimes looks noncausal -because it is not reproducible in a strong sense. Whether a network -application works or not sometimes depends on the following: - - * How crowded the underlying network is - - * If the party at the other end is running or not - - * The state of the party at the other end - - The most difficult problems for a beginner arise from the hidden -states of the underlying network. After closing a TCP connection, it's -often necessary to wait a short while before reopening the connection. -Even more difficult is the establishment of a connection that previously -ended with a "broken pipe." Those connections have to "time out" for a -minute or so before they can reopen. Check this with the command -'netstat -a', which provides a list of still "active" connections. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Challenges, Prev: Caveats, Up: Using Networking - -2.12 Where To Go From Here -========================== - -Now, you have learned enough to build your own application. You could, -for example, take part in the Loebner Contest to win $100,000. The -Loebner Prize is the first formal instantiation of a Turing Test. Hugh -Loebner agreed with The Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies to -underwrite a contest designed to implement the Turing Test. Dr. Loebner -pledged a Grand Prize of $100,000 for the first computer whose responses -were indistinguishable from a human's. Each year an annual prize of -$2000 and a bronze medal is awarded to the _most_ human computer. The -winner of the annual contest is the best entry relative to other entries -that year, irrespective of how good it is in an absolute sense. Here is -an example of a conversation with the winning program of 1997: - - (c)1997 Cambridge Center For Behavioral Studies all rights reserved [CONVERSE] - [Intelligent Research Ltd.] Start at: [1997/04/29 08:59:40] - PROGRAM[10:39:20]Hi, my name is Catherine, what's yours? - JUDGE02[10:39:36]My name is Nathan. - PROGRAM[10:39:37]Well, it's nice to meet you, Nathan. - PROGRAM[10:39:45]Did you see that story on CNN last night about the lesbian - PROGRAM[10:40:03]couple who came out at a White House party on Sunday? - JUDGE02[10:40:45]No. I'm sorry I missed that. How did the Prez take it? - PROGRAM[10:40:47]Ellen Degeneres was one of them - she was kissing her lover - PROGRAM[10:41:08]in front of Bill Clinton. Do you think he was very - PROGRAM[10:41:21]embarrassed? - JUDGE02[10:41:37]You tell me. I didn't see it. - PROGRAM[10:41:38]Are you still a Friend of Bill Clinton? - JUDGE02[10:42:22]Yes. I would like to talk about something else. Do you know anything about sculpture. - PROGRAM[10:42:24]Well, I suppose he's doing his best like most of us, but he - PROGRAM[10:42:35]does seem to attract an UNUSUAL amount of bad publicity, - PROGRAM[10:42:51]wouldnt you say--can it all be bad luck? - JUDGE02[10:43:20]I asked you if you knew anything about sculpture. - PROGRAM[10:43:21]OK, but what happens now--does it all drift on, with - PROGRAM[10:43:36]everyone waiting to see how much his friends have said about - PROGRAM[10:43:47]him under threat of lots and lots of jail-or will something - PROGRAM[10:44:01]dramatic actually happen? - JUDGE02[10:44:19]Do you know what sculpture is? - PROGRAM[10:44:20]Well, youre more a fan of his than I am I guess---though I - PROGRAM[10:44:34]cant SWEAR what Id have done in that locked hotel room, I - PROGRAM[10:44:51]must say. - JUDGE02[10:45:26]Have you ever been to the Salmagundi Club? - PROGRAM[10:45:29]Never. to go back to the original discussion Time to get - PROGRAM[10:45:43]off this one I think and onto something more down to earth! - JUDGE02[10:46:20]What is more down to earth than art? - PROGRAM[10:46:21]I don't know what -- to be honest. - - PROGRAM[10:46:30]I suppose it depends on where you're coming from, but as the - PROGRAM[10:46:46]song goes in My Fair Lady, "Why can't a woman be more like a - PROGRAM[10:47:03]man? " - JUDGE02[10:47:52]I liked that song but I prefer "Why can't children be more like we are" - JUDGE02[10:48:10]from another play the name of which I cannot remember. - PROGRAM[10:48:12]What, if anything, do you enjoy about being a man? - JUDGE02[10:49:01]I would enjoy all aspects of life no matter what my gender. - PROGRAM[10:49:02]Do you think of yourself as being attractive? - - This program insists on always speaking about the same story around -Bill Clinton. You see, even a program with a rather narrow mind can -behave so much like a human being that it can win this prize. It is -quite common to let these programs talk to each other via network -connections. But during the competition itself, the program and its -computer have to be present at the place the competition is held. We -all would love to see a 'gawk' program win in such an event. Maybe it -is up to you to accomplish this? - - Some other ideas for useful networked applications: - * Read the file 'doc/awkforai.txt' in the 'gawk' distribution. It - was written by Ronald P. Loui (at the time, Associate Professor of - Computer Science, at Washington University in St. Louis, - ) and summarizes why he taught 'gawk' to - students of Artificial Intelligence. Here are some passages from - the text: - - The GAWK manual can be consumed in a single lab session and - the language can be mastered by the next morning by the - average student. GAWK's automatic initialization, implicit - coercion, I/O support and lack of pointers forgive many of the - mistakes that young programmers are likely to make. Those who - have seen C but not mastered it are happy to see that GAWK - retains some of the same sensibilities while adding what must - be regarded as spoonsful of syntactic sugar. - ... - There are further simple answers. Probably the best is the - fact that increasingly, undergraduate AI programming is - involving the Web. Oren Etzioni (University of Washington, - Seattle) has for a while been arguing that the "softbot" is - replacing the mechanical engineers' robot as the most - glamorous AI testbed. If the artifact whose behavior needs to - be controlled in an intelligent way is the software agent, - then a language that is well-suited to controlling the - software environment is the appropriate language. That would - imply a scripting language. If the robot is KAREL, then the - right language is "turn left; turn right." If the robot is - Netscape, then the right language is something that can - generate 'netscape -remote - 'openURL(http://cs.wustl.edu/~loui)'' with elan. - ... - AI programming requires high-level thinking. There have - always been a few gifted programmers who can write high-level - programs in assembly language. Most however need the ambient - abstraction to have a higher floor. - ... - Second, inference is merely the expansion of notation. No - matter whether the logic that underlies an AI program is - fuzzy, probabilistic, deontic, defeasible, or deductive, the - logic merely defines how strings can be transformed into other - strings. A language that provides the best support for string - processing in the end provides the best support for logic, for - the exploration of various logics, and for most forms of - symbolic processing that AI might choose to call "reasoning" - instead of "logic." The implication is that PROLOG, which - saves the AI programmer from having to write a unifier, saves - perhaps two dozen lines of GAWK code at the expense of - strongly biasing the logic and representational expressiveness - of any approach. - - Now that 'gawk' itself can connect to the Internet, it should be - obvious that it is suitable for writing intelligent web agents. - - * 'awk' is strong at pattern recognition and string processing. So, - it is well suited to the classic problem of language translation. - A first try could be a program that knows the 100 most frequent - English words and their counterparts in German or French. The - service could be implemented by regularly reading email with the - program above, replacing each word by its translation and sending - the translation back via SMTP. Users would send English email to - their translation service and get back a translated email message - in return. As soon as this works, more effort can be spent on a - real translation program. - - * Another dialogue-oriented application (on the verge of ridicule) is - the email "support service." Troubled customers write an email to - an automatic 'gawk' service that reads the email. It looks for - keywords in the mail and assembles a reply email accordingly. By - carefully investigating the email header, and repeating these - keywords through the reply email, it is rather simple to give the - customer a feeling that someone cares. Ideally, such a service - would search a database of previous cases for solutions. If none - exists, the database could, for example, consist of all the - newsgroups, mailing lists and FAQs on the Internet. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Some Applications and Techniques, Next: Links, Prev: Using Networking, Up: Top - -3 Some Applications and Techniques -********************************** - -In this major node, we look at a number of self-contained scripts, with -an emphasis on concise networking. Along the way, we work towards -creating building blocks that encapsulate often needed functions of the -networking world, show new techniques that broaden the scope of problems -that can be solved with 'gawk', and explore leading edge technology that -may shape the future of networking. - - We often refer to the site-independent core of the server that we -built in *note A Simple Web Server: Simple Server. When building new -and nontrivial servers, we always copy this building block and append -new instances of the two functions 'SetUpServer()' and 'HandleGET()'. - - This makes a lot of sense, since this scheme of event-driven -execution provides 'gawk' with an interface to the most widely accepted -standard for GUIs: the web browser. Now, 'gawk' can rival even Tcl/Tk. - - Tcl and 'gawk' have much in common. Both are simple scripting -languages that allow us to quickly solve problems with short programs. -But Tcl has Tk on top of it, and 'gawk' had nothing comparable up to -now. While Tcl needs a large and ever-changing library (Tk, which was -bound to the X Window System until recently), 'gawk' needs just the -networking interface and some kind of browser on the client's side. -Besides better portability, the most important advantage of this -approach (embracing well-established standards such HTTP and HTML) is -that _we do not need to change the language_. We let others do the work -of fighting over protocols and standards. We can use HTML, JavaScript, -VRML, or whatever else comes along to do our work. - -* Menu: - -* PANIC:: An Emergency Web Server. -* GETURL:: Retrieving Web Pages. -* REMCONF:: Remote Configuration Of Embedded Systems. -* URLCHK:: Look For Changed Web Pages. -* WEBGRAB:: Extract Links From A Page. -* STATIST:: Graphing A Statistical Distribution. -* MAZE:: Walking Through A Maze In Virtual Reality. -* MOBAGWHO:: A Simple Mobile Agent. -* STOXPRED:: Stock Market Prediction As A Service. -* PROTBASE:: Searching Through A Protein Database. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: PANIC, Next: GETURL, Prev: Some Applications and Techniques, Up: Some Applications and Techniques - -3.1 PANIC: An Emergency Web Server -================================== - -At first glance, the '"Hello, world"' example in *note A Primitive Web -Service: Primitive Service, seems useless. By adding just a few lines, -we can turn it into something useful. - - The PANIC program tells everyone who connects that the local site is -not working. When a web server breaks down, it makes a difference if -customers get a strange "network unreachable" message, or a short -message telling them that the server has a problem. In such an -emergency, the hard disk and everything on it (including the regular web -service) may be unavailable. Rebooting the web server off a diskette -makes sense in this setting. - - To use the PANIC program as an emergency web server, all you need are -the 'gawk' executable and the program below on a diskette. By default, -it connects to port 8080. A different value may be supplied on the -command line: - - BEGIN { - RS = ORS = "\r\n" - if (MyPort == 0) MyPort = 8080 - HttpService = "/inet/tcp/" MyPort "/0/0" - Hello = "Out Of Service" \ - "

" \ - "This site is temporarily out of service." \ - "

" - Len = length(Hello) + length(ORS) - while ("awk" != "complex") { - print "HTTP/1.0 200 OK" |& HttpService - print "Content-Length: " Len ORS |& HttpService - print Hello |& HttpService - while ((HttpService |& getline) > 0) - continue; - close(HttpService) - } - } - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: GETURL, Next: REMCONF, Prev: PANIC, Up: Some Applications and Techniques - -3.2 GETURL: Retrieving Web Pages -================================ - -GETURL is a versatile building block for shell scripts that need to -retrieve files from the Internet. It takes a web address as a -command-line parameter and tries to retrieve the contents of this -address. The contents are printed to standard output, while the header -is printed to '/dev/stderr'. A surrounding shell script could analyze -the contents and extract the text or the links. An ASCII browser could -be written around GETURL. But more interestingly, web robots are -straightforward to write on top of GETURL. On the Internet, you can find -several programs of the same name that do the same job. They are -usually much more complex internally and at least 10 times longer. - - At first, GETURL checks if it was called with exactly one web -address. Then, it checks if the user chose to use a special proxy -server whose name is handed over in a variable. By default, it is -assumed that the local machine serves as proxy. GETURL uses the 'GET' -method by default to access the web page. By handing over the name of a -different method (such as 'HEAD'), it is possible to choose a different -behavior. With the 'HEAD' method, the user does not receive the body of -the page content, but does receive the header: - - BEGIN { - if (ARGC != 2) { - print "GETURL - retrieve Web page via HTTP 1.0" - print "IN:\n the URL as a command-line parameter" - print "PARAM(S):\n -v Proxy=MyProxy" - print "OUT:\n the page content on stdout" - print " the page header on stderr" - print "JK 16.05.1997" - print "ADR 13.08.2000" - exit - } - URL = ARGV[1]; ARGV[1] = "" - if (Proxy == "") Proxy = "127.0.0.1" - if (ProxyPort == 0) ProxyPort = 80 - if (Method == "") Method = "GET" - HttpService = "/inet/tcp/0/" Proxy "/" ProxyPort - ORS = RS = "\r\n\r\n" - print Method " " URL " HTTP/1.0" |& HttpService - HttpService |& getline Header - print Header > "/dev/stderr" - while ((HttpService |& getline) > 0) - printf "%s", $0 - close(HttpService) - } - - This program can be changed as needed, but be careful with the last -lines. Make sure transmission of binary data is not corrupted by -additional line breaks. Even as it is now, the byte sequence -'"\r\n\r\n"' would disappear if it were contained in binary data. Don't -get caught in a trap when trying a quick fix on this one. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: REMCONF, Next: URLCHK, Prev: GETURL, Up: Some Applications and Techniques - -3.3 REMCONF: Remote Configuration of Embedded Systems -===================================================== - -Today, you often find powerful processors in embedded systems. -Dedicated network routers and controllers for all kinds of machinery are -examples of embedded systems. Processors like the Intel 80x86 or the -AMD Elan are able to run multitasking operating systems, such as XINU or -GNU/Linux in embedded PCs. These systems are small and usually do not -have a keyboard or a display. Therefore it is difficult to set up their -configuration. There are several widespread ways to set them up: - - * DIP switches - - * Read Only Memories such as EPROMs - - * Serial lines or some kind of keyboard - - * Network connections via 'telnet' or SNMP - - * HTTP connections with HTML GUIs - - In this node, we look at a solution that uses HTTP connections to -control variables of an embedded system that are stored in a file. -Since embedded systems have tight limits on resources like memory, it is -difficult to employ advanced techniques such as SNMP and HTTP servers. -'gawk' fits in quite nicely with its single executable which needs just -a short script to start working. The following program stores the -variables in a file, and a concurrent process in the embedded system may -read the file. The program uses the site-independent part of the simple -web server that we developed in *note A Web Service with Interaction: -Interacting Service. As mentioned there, all we have to do is to write -two new procedures 'SetUpServer()' and 'HandleGET()': - - function SetUpServer() { - TopHeader = "Remote Configuration" - TopDoc = "\ -

Please choose one of the following actions:

\ - " - TopFooter = "" - if (ConfigFile == "") ConfigFile = "config.asc" - } - - The function 'SetUpServer()' initializes the top level HTML texts as -usual. It also initializes the name of the file that contains the -configuration parameters and their values. In case the user supplies a -name from the command line, that name is used. The file is expected to -contain one parameter per line, with the name of the parameter in column -one and the value in column two. - - The function 'HandleGET()' reflects the structure of the menu tree as -usual. The first menu choice tells the user what this is all about. -The second choice reads the configuration file line by line and stores -the parameters and their values. Notice that the record separator for -this file is '"\n"', in contrast to the record separator for HTTP. The -third menu choice builds an HTML table to show the contents of the -configuration file just read. The fourth choice does the real work of -changing parameters, and the last one just saves the configuration into -a file: - - function HandleGET() { - if(MENU[2] == "AboutServer") { - Document = "This is a GUI for remote configuration of an\ - embedded system. It is is implemented as one GAWK script." - } else if (MENU[2] == "ReadConfig") { - RS = "\n" - while ((getline < ConfigFile) > 0) - config[$1] = $2; - close(ConfigFile) - RS = "\r\n" - Document = "Configuration has been read." - } else if (MENU[2] == "CheckConfig") { - Document = "" - for (i in config) - Document = Document "" \ - "" - Document = Document "
" i "" config[i] "
" - } else if (MENU[2] == "ChangeConfig") { - if ("Param" in GETARG) { # any parameter to set? - if (GETARG["Param"] in config) { # is parameter valid? - config[GETARG["Param"]] = GETARG["Value"] - Document = (GETARG["Param"] " = " GETARG["Value"] ".") - } else { - Document = "Parameter " GETARG["Param"] " is invalid." - } - } else { - Document = "

Change one parameter

\ - \ - \ - \ - \ -
ParameterValue
" - } - } else if (MENU[2] == "SaveConfig") { - for (i in config) - printf("%s %s\n", i, config[i]) > ConfigFile - close(ConfigFile) - Document = "Configuration has been saved." - } - } - - We could also view the configuration file as a database. From this -point of view, the previous program acts like a primitive database -server. Real SQL database systems also make a service available by -providing a TCP port that clients can connect to. But the application -level protocols they use are usually proprietary and also change from -time to time. This is also true for the protocol that MiniSQL uses. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: URLCHK, Next: WEBGRAB, Prev: REMCONF, Up: Some Applications and Techniques - -3.4 URLCHK: Look for Changed Web Pages -====================================== - -Most people who make heavy use of Internet resources have a large -bookmark file with pointers to interesting web sites. It is impossible -to regularly check by hand if any of these sites have changed. A -program is needed to automatically look at the headers of web pages and -tell which ones have changed. URLCHK does the comparison after using -GETURL with the 'HEAD' method to retrieve the header. - - Like GETURL, this program first checks that it is called with exactly -one command-line parameter. URLCHK also takes the same command-line -variables 'Proxy' and 'ProxyPort' as GETURL, because these variables are -handed over to GETURL for each URL that gets checked. The one and only -parameter is the name of a file that contains one line for each URL. In -the first column, we find the URL, and the second and third columns hold -the length of the URL's body when checked for the two last times. Now, -we follow this plan: - - 1. Read the URLs from the file and remember their most recent lengths - - 2. Delete the contents of the file - - 3. For each URL, check its new length and write it into the file - - 4. If the most recent and the new length differ, tell the user - - It may seem a bit peculiar to read the URLs from a file together with -their two most recent lengths, but this approach has several advantages. -You can call the program again and again with the same file. After -running the program, you can regenerate the changed URLs by extracting -those lines that differ in their second and third columns: - - BEGIN { - if (ARGC != 2) { - print "URLCHK - check if URLs have changed" - print "IN:\n the file with URLs as a command-line parameter" - print " file contains URL, old length, new length" - print "PARAMS:\n -v Proxy=MyProxy -v ProxyPort=8080" - print "OUT:\n same as file with URLs" - print "JK 02.03.1998" - exit - } - URLfile = ARGV[1]; ARGV[1] = "" - if (Proxy != "") Proxy = " -v Proxy=" Proxy - if (ProxyPort != "") ProxyPort = " -v ProxyPort=" ProxyPort - while ((getline < URLfile) > 0) - Length[$1] = $3 + 0 - close(URLfile) # now, URLfile is read in and can be updated - GetHeader = "gawk " Proxy ProxyPort " -v Method=\"HEAD\" -f geturl.awk " - for (i in Length) { - GetThisHeader = GetHeader i " 2>&1" - while ((GetThisHeader | getline) > 0) - if (toupper($0) ~ /CONTENT-LENGTH/) NewLength = $2 + 0 - close(GetThisHeader) - print i, Length[i], NewLength > URLfile - if (Length[i] != NewLength) # report only changed URLs - print i, Length[i], NewLength - } - close(URLfile) - } - - Another thing that may look strange is the way GETURL is called. -Before calling GETURL, we have to check if the proxy variables need to -be passed on. If so, we prepare strings that will become part of the -command line later. In 'GetHeader()', we store these strings together -with the longest part of the command line. Later, in the loop over the -URLs, 'GetHeader()' is appended with the URL and a redirection operator -to form the command that reads the URL's header over the Internet. -GETURL always produces the headers over '/dev/stderr'. That is the -reason why we need the redirection operator to have the header piped in. - - This program is not perfect because it assumes that changing URLs -results in changed lengths, which is not necessarily true. A more -advanced approach is to look at some other header line that holds time -information. But, as always when things get a bit more complicated, -this is left as an exercise to the reader. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: WEBGRAB, Next: STATIST, Prev: URLCHK, Up: Some Applications and Techniques - -3.5 WEBGRAB: Extract Links from a Page -====================================== - -Sometimes it is necessary to extract links from web pages. Browsers do -it, web robots do it, and sometimes even humans do it. Since we have a -tool like GETURL at hand, we can solve this problem with some help from -the Bourne shell: - - BEGIN { RS = "http://[#%&\\+\\-\\./0-9\\:;\\?A-Z_a-z\\~]*" } - RT != "" { - command = ("gawk -v Proxy=MyProxy -f geturl.awk " RT \ - " > doc" NR ".html") - print command - } - - Notice that the regular expression for URLs is rather crude. A -precise regular expression is much more complex. But this one works -rather well. One problem is that it is unable to find internal links of -an HTML document. Another problem is that 'ftp', 'telnet', 'news', -'mailto', and other kinds of links are missing in the regular -expression. However, it is straightforward to add them, if doing so is -necessary for other tasks. - - This program reads an HTML file and prints all the HTTP links that it -finds. It relies on 'gawk''s ability to use regular expressions as -record separators. With 'RS' set to a regular expression that matches -links, the second action is executed each time a non-empty link is -found. We can find the matching link itself in 'RT'. - - The action could use the 'system()' function to let another GETURL -retrieve the page, but here we use a different approach. This simple -program prints shell commands that can be piped into 'sh' for execution. -This way it is possible to first extract the links, wrap shell commands -around them, and pipe all the shell commands into a file. After editing -the file, execution of the file retrieves exactly those files that we -really need. In case we do not want to edit, we can retrieve all the -pages like this: - - gawk -f geturl.awk http://www.suse.de | gawk -f webgrab.awk | sh - - After this, you will find the contents of all referenced documents in -files named 'doc*.html' even if they do not contain HTML code. The most -annoying thing is that we always have to pass the proxy to GETURL. If -you do not like to see the headers of the web pages appear on the -screen, you can redirect them to '/dev/null'. Watching the headers -appear can be quite interesting, because it reveals interesting details -such as which web server the companies use. Now, it is clear how the -clever marketing people use web robots to determine the market shares of -Microsoft and Netscape in the web server market. - - Port 80 of any web server is like a small hole in a repellent -firewall. After attaching a browser to port 80, we usually catch a -glimpse of the bright side of the server (its home page). With a tool -like GETURL at hand, we are able to discover some of the more concealed -or even "indecent" services (i.e., lacking conformity to standards of -quality). It can be exciting to see the fancy CGI scripts that lie -there, revealing the inner workings of the server, ready to be called: - - * With a command such as: - - gawk -f geturl.awk http://any.host.on.the.net/cgi-bin/ - - some servers give you a directory listing of the CGI files. - Knowing the names, you can try to call some of them and watch for - useful results. Sometimes there are executables in such - directories (such as Perl interpreters) that you may call remotely. - If there are subdirectories with configuration data of the web - server, this can also be quite interesting to read. - - * The well-known Apache web server usually has its CGI files in the - directory '/cgi-bin'. There you can often find the scripts - 'test-cgi' and 'printenv'. Both tell you some things about the - current connection and the installation of the web server. Just - call: - - gawk -f geturl.awk http://any.host.on.the.net/cgi-bin/test-cgi - gawk -f geturl.awk http://any.host.on.the.net/cgi-bin/printenv - - * Sometimes it is even possible to retrieve system files like the web - server's log file--possibly containing customer data--or even the - file '/etc/passwd'. (We don't recommend this!) - - *Caution:* Although this may sound funny or simply irrelevant, we are -talking about severe security holes. Try to explore your own system -this way and make sure that none of the above reveals too much -information about your system. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: STATIST, Next: MAZE, Prev: WEBGRAB, Up: Some Applications and Techniques - -3.6 STATIST: Graphing a Statistical Distribution -================================================ - -In the HTTP server examples we've shown thus far, we never present an -image to the browser and its user. Presenting images is one task. -Generating images that reflect some user input and presenting these -dynamically generated images is another. In this node, we use GNUPlot -for generating '.png', '.ps', or '.gif' files.(1) - - The program we develop takes the statistical parameters of two -samples and computes the t-test statistics. As a result, we get the -probabilities that the means and the variances of both samples are the -same. In order to let the user check plausibility, the program presents -an image of the distributions. The statistical computation follows -'Numerical Recipes in C: The Art of Scientific Computing' by William H. -Press, Saul A. Teukolsky, William T. Vetterling, and Brian P. Flannery. -Since 'gawk' does not have a built-in function for the computation of -the beta function, we use the 'ibeta()' function of GNUPlot. As a side -effect, we learn how to use GNUPlot as a sophisticated calculator. The -comparison of means is done as in 'tutest', paragraph 14.2, page 613, -and the comparison of variances is done as in 'ftest', page 611 in -'Numerical Recipes'. - - As usual, we take the site-independent code for servers and append -our own functions 'SetUpServer()' and 'HandleGET()': - - function SetUpServer() { - TopHeader = "Statistics with GAWK" - TopDoc = "\ -

Please choose one of the following actions:

\ - " - TopFooter = "" - GnuPlot = "gnuplot 2>&1" - m1=m2=0; v1=v2=1; n1=n2=10 - } - - Here, you see the menu structure that the user sees. Later, we will -see how the program structure of the 'HandleGET()' function reflects the -menu structure. What is missing here is the link for the image we -generate. In an event-driven environment, request, generation, and -delivery of images are separated. - - Notice the way we initialize the 'GnuPlot' command string for the -pipe. By default, GNUPlot outputs the generated image via standard -output, as well as the results of 'print'(ed) calculations via standard -error. The redirection causes standard error to be mixed into standard -output, enabling us to read results of calculations with 'getline'. By -initializing the statistical parameters with some meaningful defaults, -we make sure the user gets an image the first time he uses the program. - - Following is the rather long function 'HandleGET()', which implements -the contents of this service by reacting to the different kinds of -requests from the browser. Before you start playing with this script, -make sure that your browser supports JavaScript and that it also has -this option switched on. The script uses a short snippet of JavaScript -code for delayed opening of a window with an image. A more detailed -explanation follows: - - function HandleGET() { - if(MENU[2] == "AboutServer") { - Document = "This is a GUI for a statistical computation.\ - It compares means and variances of two distributions.\ - It is implemented as one GAWK script and uses GNUPLOT." - } else if (MENU[2] == "EnterParameters") { - Document = "" - if ("m1" in GETARG) { # are there parameters to compare? - Document = Document "" - m1 = GETARG["m1"]; v1 = GETARG["v1"]; n1 = GETARG["n1"] - m2 = GETARG["m2"]; v2 = GETARG["v2"]; n2 = GETARG["n2"] - t = (m1-m2)/sqrt(v1/n1+v2/n2) - df = (v1/n1+v2/n2)*(v1/n1+v2/n2)/((v1/n1)*(v1/n1)/(n1-1) \ - + (v2/n2)*(v2/n2) /(n2-1)) - if (v1>v2) { - f = v1/v2 - df1 = n1 - 1 - df2 = n2 - 1 - } else { - f = v2/v1 - df1 = n2 - 1 - df2 = n1 - 1 - } - print "pt=ibeta(" df/2 ",0.5," df/(df+t*t) ")" |& GnuPlot - print "pF=2.0*ibeta(" df2/2 "," df1/2 "," \ - df2/(df2+df1*f) ")" |& GnuPlot - print "print pt, pF" |& GnuPlot - RS="\n"; GnuPlot |& getline; RS="\r\n" # $1 is pt, $2 is pF - print "invsqrt2pi=1.0/sqrt(2.0*pi)" |& GnuPlot - print "nd(x)=invsqrt2pi/sd*exp(-0.5*((x-mu)/sd)**2)" |& GnuPlot - print "set term png small color" |& GnuPlot - #print "set term postscript color" |& GnuPlot - #print "set term gif medium size 320,240" |& GnuPlot - print "set yrange[-0.3:]" |& GnuPlot - print "set label 'p(m1=m2) =" $1 "' at 0,-0.1 left" |& GnuPlot - print "set label 'p(v1=v2) =" $2 "' at 0,-0.2 left" |& GnuPlot - print "plot mu=" m1 ",sd=" sqrt(v1) ", nd(x) title 'sample 1',\ - mu=" m2 ",sd=" sqrt(v2) ", nd(x) title 'sample 2'" |& GnuPlot - print "quit" |& GnuPlot - GnuPlot |& getline Image - while ((GnuPlot |& getline) > 0) - Image = Image RS $0 - close(GnuPlot) - } - Document = Document "\ -

Do these samples have the same Gaussian distribution?

\ -
\ - \ - - \ - - \ - - \ - \ - - \ - - \ - - \ - \ -
1. Mean 1. Variance1. Count
2. Mean 2. Variance2. Count

" - } else if (MENU[2] ~ "Image") { - Reason = "OK" ORS "Content-type: image/png" - #Reason = "OK" ORS "Content-type: application/x-postscript" - #Reason = "OK" ORS "Content-type: image/gif" - Header = Footer = "" - Document = Image - } - } - - As usual, we give a short description of the service in the first -menu choice. The third menu choice shows us that generation and -presentation of an image are two separate actions. While the latter -takes place quite instantly in the third menu choice, the former takes -place in the much longer second choice. Image data passes from the -generating action to the presenting action via the variable 'Image' that -contains a complete '.png' image, which is otherwise stored in a file. -If you prefer '.ps' or '.gif' images over the default '.png' images, you -may select these options by uncommenting the appropriate lines. But -remember to do so in two places: when telling GNUPlot which kind of -images to generate, and when transmitting the image at the end of the -program. - - Looking at the end of the program, the way we pass the 'Content-type' -to the browser is a bit unusual. It is appended to the 'OK' of the -first header line to make sure the type information becomes part of the -header. The other variables that get transmitted across the network are -made empty, because in this case we do not have an HTML document to -transmit, but rather raw image data to contain in the body. - - Most of the work is done in the second menu choice. It starts with a -strange JavaScript code snippet. When first implementing this server, -we used a short '""' here. But then -browsers got smarter and tried to improve on speed by requesting the -image and the HTML code at the same time. When doing this, the browser -tries to build up a connection for the image request while the request -for the HTML text is not yet completed. The browser tries to connect to -the 'gawk' server on port 8080 while port 8080 is still in use for -transmission of the HTML text. The connection for the image cannot be -built up, so the image appears as "broken" in the browser window. We -solved this problem by telling the browser to open a separate window for -the image, but only after a delay of 1000 milliseconds. By this time, -the server should be ready for serving the next request. - - But there is one more subtlety in the JavaScript code. Each time the -JavaScript code opens a window for the image, the name of the image is -appended with a timestamp ('systime()'). Why this constant change of -name for the image? Initially, we always named the image 'Image', but -then the Netscape browser noticed the name had _not_ changed since the -previous request and displayed the previous image (caching behavior). -The server core is implemented so that browsers are told _not_ to cache -anything. Obviously HTTP requests do not always work as expected. One -way to circumvent the cache of such overly smart browsers is to change -the name of the image with each request. These three lines of -JavaScript caused us a lot of trouble. - - The rest can be broken down into two phases. At first, we check if -there are statistical parameters. When the program is first started, -there usually are no parameters because it enters the page coming from -the top menu. Then, we only have to present the user a form that he can -use to change statistical parameters and submit them. Subsequently, the -submission of the form causes the execution of the first phase because -_now_ there _are_ parameters to handle. - - Now that we have parameters, we know there will be an image -available. Therefore we insert the JavaScript code here to initiate the -opening of the image in a separate window. Then, we prepare some -variables that will be passed to GNUPlot for calculation of the -probabilities. Prior to reading the results, we must temporarily change -'RS' because GNUPlot separates lines with newlines. After instructing -GNUPlot to generate a '.png' (or '.ps' or '.gif') image, we initiate the -insertion of some text, explaining the resulting probabilities. The -final 'plot' command actually generates the image data. This raw binary -has to be read in carefully without adding, changing, or deleting a -single byte. Hence the unusual initialization of 'Image' and completion -with a 'while' loop. - - When using this server, it soon becomes clear that it is far from -being perfect. It mixes source code of six scripting languages or -protocols: - - * GNU 'awk' implements a server for the protocol: - * HTTP which transmits: - * HTML text which contains a short piece of: - * JavaScript code opening a separate window. - * A Bourne shell script is used for piping commands into: - * GNUPlot to generate the image to be opened. - - After all this work, the GNUPlot image opens in the JavaScript window -where it can be viewed by the user. - - It is probably better not to mix up so many different languages. The -result is not very readable. Furthermore, the statistical part of the -server does not take care of invalid input. Among others, using -negative variances will cause invalid results. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) Due to licensing problems, the default installation of GNUPlot -disables the generation of '.gif' files. If your installed version does -not accept 'set term gif', just download and install the most recent -version of GNUPlot and the GD library (http://www.boutell.com/gd/) by -Thomas Boutell. Otherwise you still have the chance to generate some -ASCII-art style images with GNUPlot by using 'set term dumb'. (We tried -it and it worked.) - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: MAZE, Next: MOBAGWHO, Prev: STATIST, Up: Some Applications and Techniques - -3.7 MAZE: Walking Through a Maze In Virtual Reality -=================================================== - - In the long run, every program becomes rococo, and then rubble. - Alan Perlis - - By now, we know how to present arbitrary 'Content-type's to a -browser. In this node, our server will present a 3D world to our -browser. The 3D world is described in a scene description language -(VRML, Virtual Reality Modeling Language) that allows us to travel -through a perspective view of a 2D maze with our browser. Browsers with -a VRML plugin enable exploration of this technology. We could do one of -those boring 'Hello world' examples here, that are usually presented -when introducing novices to VRML. If you have never written any VRML -code, have a look at the VRML FAQ. Presenting a static VRML scene is a -bit trivial; in order to expose 'gawk''s new capabilities, we will -present a dynamically generated VRML scene. The function -'SetUpServer()' is very simple because it only sets the default HTML -page and initializes the random number generator. As usual, the -surrounding server lets you browse the maze. - - function SetUpServer() { - TopHeader = "Walk through a maze" - TopDoc = "\ -

Please choose one of the following actions:

\ - " - TopFooter = "" - srand() - } - - The function 'HandleGET()' is a bit longer because it first computes -the maze and afterwards generates the VRML code that is sent across the -network. As shown in the STATIST example (*note STATIST::), we set the -type of the content to VRML and then store the VRML representation of -the maze as the page content. We assume that the maze is stored in a 2D -array. Initially, the maze consists of walls only. Then, we add an -entry and an exit to the maze and let the rest of the work be done by -the function 'MakeMaze()'. Now, only the wall fields are left in the -maze. By iterating over the these fields, we generate one line of VRML -code for each wall field. - - function HandleGET() { - if (MENU[2] == "AboutServer") { - Document = "If your browser has a VRML 2 plugin,\ - this server shows you a simple VRML scene." - } else if (MENU[2] == "VRMLtest") { - XSIZE = YSIZE = 11 # initially, everything is wall - for (y = 0; y < YSIZE; y++) - for (x = 0; x < XSIZE; x++) - Maze[x, y] = "#" - delete Maze[0, 1] # entry is not wall - delete Maze[XSIZE-1, YSIZE-2] # exit is not wall - MakeMaze(1, 1) - Document = "\ - #VRML V2.0 utf8\n\ - Group {\n\ - children [\n\ - PointLight {\n\ - ambientIntensity 0.2\n\ - color 0.7 0.7 0.7\n\ - location 0.0 8.0 10.0\n\ - }\n\ - DEF B1 Background {\n\ - skyColor [0 0 0, 1.0 1.0 1.0 ]\n\ - skyAngle 1.6\n\ - groundColor [1 1 1, 0.8 0.8 0.8, 0.2 0.2 0.2 ]\n\ - groundAngle [ 1.2 1.57 ]\n\ - }\n\ - DEF Wall Shape {\n\ - geometry Box {size 1 1 1}\n\ - appearance Appearance { material Material { diffuseColor 0 0 1 } }\n\ - }\n\ - DEF Entry Viewpoint {\n\ - position 0.5 1.0 5.0\n\ - orientation 0.0 0.0 -1.0 0.52\n\ - }\n" - for (i in Maze) { - split(i, t, SUBSEP) - Document = Document " Transform { translation " - Document = Document t[1] " 0 -" t[2] " children USE Wall }\n" - } - Document = Document " ] # end of group for world\n}" - Reason = "OK" ORS "Content-type: model/vrml" - Header = Footer = "" - } - } - - Finally, we have a look at 'MakeMaze()', the function that generates -the 'Maze' array. When entered, this function assumes that the array -has been initialized so that each element represents a wall element and -the maze is initially full of wall elements. Only the entrance and the -exit of the maze should have been left free. The parameters of the -function tell us which element must be marked as not being a wall. -After this, we take a look at the four neighboring elements and remember -which we have already treated. Of all the neighboring elements, we take -one at random and walk in that direction. Therefore, the wall element -in that direction has to be removed and then, we call the function -recursively for that element. The maze is only completed if we iterate -the above procedure for _all_ neighboring elements (in random order) and -for our present element by recursively calling the function for the -present element. This last iteration could have been done in a loop, -but it is done much simpler recursively. - - Notice that elements with coordinates that are both odd are assumed -to be on our way through the maze and the generating process cannot -terminate as long as there is such an element not being 'delete'd. All -other elements are potentially part of the wall. - - function MakeMaze(x, y) { - delete Maze[x, y] # here we are, we have no wall here - p = 0 # count unvisited fields in all directions - if (x-2 SUBSEP y in Maze) d[p++] = "-x" - if (x SUBSEP y-2 in Maze) d[p++] = "-y" - if (x+2 SUBSEP y in Maze) d[p++] = "+x" - if (x SUBSEP y+2 in Maze) d[p++] = "+y" - if (p>0) { # if there are unvisited fields, go there - p = int(p*rand()) # choose one unvisited field at random - if (d[p] == "-x") { delete Maze[x - 1, y]; MakeMaze(x - 2, y) - } else if (d[p] == "-y") { delete Maze[x, y - 1]; MakeMaze(x, y - 2) - } else if (d[p] == "+x") { delete Maze[x + 1, y]; MakeMaze(x + 2, y) - } else if (d[p] == "+y") { delete Maze[x, y + 1]; MakeMaze(x, y + 2) - } # we are back from recursion - MakeMaze(x, y); # try again while there are unvisited fields - } - } - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: MOBAGWHO, Next: STOXPRED, Prev: MAZE, Up: Some Applications and Techniques - -3.8 MOBAGWHO: a Simple Mobile Agent -=================================== - - There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to - make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the - other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious - deficiencies. - C. A. R. Hoare - - A "mobile agent" is a program that can be dispatched from a computer -and transported to a remote server for execution. This is called -"migration", which means that a process on another system is started -that is independent from its originator. Ideally, it wanders through a -network while working for its creator or owner. In places like the UMBC -Agent Web, people are quite confident that (mobile) agents are a -software engineering paradigm that enables us to significantly increase -the efficiency of our work. Mobile agents could become the mediators -between users and the networking world. For an unbiased view at this -technology, see the remarkable paper 'Mobile Agents: Are they a good -idea?'.(1) - - When trying to migrate a process from one system to another, a server -process is needed on the receiving side. Depending on the kind of -server process, several ways of implementation come to mind. How the -process is implemented depends upon the kind of server process: - - * HTTP can be used as the protocol for delivery of the migrating - process. In this case, we use a common web server as the receiving - server process. A universal CGI script mediates between migrating - process and web server. Each server willing to accept migrating - agents makes this universal service available. HTTP supplies the - 'POST' method to transfer some data to a file on the web server. - When a CGI script is called remotely with the 'POST' method instead - of the usual 'GET' method, data is transmitted from the client - process to the standard input of the server's CGI script. So, to - implement a mobile agent, we must not only write the agent program - to start on the client side, but also the CGI script to receive the - agent on the server side. - - * The 'PUT' method can also be used for migration. HTTP does not - require a CGI script for migration via 'PUT'. However, with common - web servers there is no advantage to this solution, because web - servers such as Apache require explicit activation of a special - 'PUT' script. - - * 'Agent Tcl' pursues a different course; it relies on a dedicated - server process with a dedicated protocol specialized for receiving - mobile agents. - - Our agent example abuses a common web server as a migration tool. -So, it needs a universal CGI script on the receiving side (the web -server). The receiving script is activated with a 'POST' request when -placed into a location like '/httpd/cgi-bin/PostAgent.sh'. Make sure -that the server system uses a version of 'gawk' that supports network -access (Version 3.1 or later; verify with 'gawk --version'). - - #!/bin/sh - MobAg=/tmp/MobileAgent.$$ - # direct script to mobile agent file - cat > $MobAg - # execute agent concurrently - gawk -f $MobAg $MobAg > /dev/null & - # HTTP header, terminator and body - gawk 'BEGIN { print "\r\nAgent started" }' - rm $MobAg # delete script file of agent - - By making its process id ('$$') part of the unique file name, the -script avoids conflicts between concurrent instances of the script. -First, all lines from standard input (the mobile agent's source code) -are copied into this unique file. Then, the agent is started as a -concurrent process and a short message reporting this fact is sent to -the submitting client. Finally, the script file of the mobile agent is -removed because it is no longer needed. Although it is a short script, -there are several noteworthy points: - -Security - _There is none_. In fact, the CGI script should never be made - available on a server that is part of the Internet because everyone - would be allowed to execute arbitrary commands with it. This - behavior is acceptable only when performing rapid prototyping. - -Self-Reference - Each migrating instance of an agent is started in a way that - enables it to read its own source code from standard input and use - the code for subsequent migrations. This is necessary because it - needs to treat the agent's code as data to transmit. 'gawk' is not - the ideal language for such a job. Lisp and Tcl are more suitable - because they do not make a distinction between program code and - data. - -Independence - After migration, the agent is not linked to its former home in any - way. By reporting 'Agent started', it waves "Goodbye" to its - origin. The originator may choose to terminate or not. - - The originating agent itself is started just like any other -command-line script, and reports the results on standard output. By -letting the name of the original host migrate with the agent, the agent -that migrates to a host far away from its origin can report the result -back home. Having arrived at the end of the journey, the agent -establishes a connection and reports the results. This is the reason -for determining the name of the host with 'uname -n' and storing it in -'MyOrigin' for later use. We may also set variables with the '-v' -option from the command line. This interactivity is only of importance -in the context of starting a mobile agent; therefore this 'BEGIN' -pattern and its action do not take part in migration: - - BEGIN { - if (ARGC != 2) { - print "MOBAG - a simple mobile agent" - print "CALL:\n gawk -f mobag.awk mobag.awk" - print "IN:\n the name of this script as a command-line parameter" - print "PARAM:\n -v MyOrigin=myhost.com" - print "OUT:\n the result on stdout" - print "JK 29.03.1998 01.04.1998" - exit - } - if (MyOrigin == "") { - "uname -n" | getline MyOrigin - close("uname -n") - } - } - - Since 'gawk' cannot manipulate and transmit parts of the program -directly, the source code is read and stored in strings. Therefore, the -program scans itself for the beginning and the ending of functions. -Each line in between is appended to the code string until the end of the -function has been reached. A special case is this part of the program -itself. It is not a function. Placing a similar framework around it -causes it to be treated like a function. Notice that this mechanism -works for all the functions of the source code, but it cannot guarantee -that the order of the functions is preserved during migration: - - #ReadMySelf - /^function / { FUNC = $2 } - /^END/ || /^#ReadMySelf/ { FUNC = $1 } - FUNC != "" { MOBFUN[FUNC] = MOBFUN[FUNC] RS $0 } - (FUNC != "") && (/^}/ || /^#EndOfMySelf/) \ - { FUNC = "" } - #EndOfMySelf - - The web server code in *note A Web Service with Interaction: -Interacting Service, was first developed as a site-independent core. -Likewise, the 'gawk'-based mobile agent starts with an agent-independent -core, to which can be appended application-dependent functions. What -follows is the only application-independent function needed for the -mobile agent: - - function migrate(Destination, MobCode, Label) { - MOBVAR["Label"] = Label - MOBVAR["Destination"] = Destination - RS = ORS = "\r\n" - HttpService = "/inet/tcp/0/" Destination - for (i in MOBFUN) - MobCode = (MobCode "\n" MOBFUN[i]) - MobCode = MobCode "\n\nBEGIN {" - for (i in MOBVAR) - MobCode = (MobCode "\n MOBVAR[\"" i "\"] = \"" MOBVAR[i] "\"") - MobCode = MobCode "\n}\n" - print "POST /cgi-bin/PostAgent.sh HTTP/1.0" |& HttpService - print "Content-length:", length(MobCode) ORS |& HttpService - printf "%s", MobCode |& HttpService - while ((HttpService |& getline) > 0) - print $0 - close(HttpService) - } - - The 'migrate()' function prepares the aforementioned strings -containing the program code and transmits them to a server. A -consequence of this modular approach is that the 'migrate()' function -takes some parameters that aren't needed in this application, but that -will be in future ones. Its mandatory parameter 'Destination' holds the -name (or IP address) of the server that the agent wants as a host for -its code. The optional parameter 'MobCode' may contain some 'gawk' code -that is inserted during migration in front of all other code. The -optional parameter 'Label' may contain a string that tells the agent -what to do in program execution after arrival at its new home site. One -of the serious obstacles in implementing a framework for mobile agents -is that it does not suffice to migrate the code. It is also necessary -to migrate the state of execution of the agent. In contrast to 'Agent -Tcl', this program does not try to migrate the complete set of -variables. The following conventions are used: - - * Each variable in an agent program is local to the current host and - does _not_ migrate. - - * The array 'MOBFUN' shown above is an exception. It is handled by - the function 'migrate()' and does migrate with the application. - - * The other exception is the array 'MOBVAR'. Each variable that - takes part in migration has to be an element of this array. - 'migrate()' also takes care of this. - - Now it's clear what happens to the 'Label' parameter of the function -'migrate()'. It is copied into 'MOBVAR["Label"]' and travels alongside -the other data. Since travelling takes place via HTTP, records must be -separated with '"\r\n"' in 'RS' and 'ORS' as usual. The code assembly -for migration takes place in three steps: - - * Iterate over 'MOBFUN' to collect all functions verbatim. - - * Prepare a 'BEGIN' pattern and put assignments to mobile variables - into the action part. - - * Transmission itself resembles GETURL: the header with the request - and the 'Content-length' is followed by the body. In case there is - any reply over the network, it is read completely and echoed to - standard output to avoid irritating the server. - - The application-independent framework is now almost complete. What -follows is the 'END' pattern that is executed when the mobile agent has -finished reading its own code. First, it checks whether it is already -running on a remote host or not. In case initialization has not yet -taken place, it starts 'MyInit()'. Otherwise (later, on a remote host), -it starts 'MyJob()': - - END { - if (ARGC != 2) exit # stop when called with wrong parameters - if (MyOrigin != "") # is this the originating host? - MyInit() # if so, initialize the application - else # we are on a host with migrated data - MyJob() # so we do our job - } - - All that's left to extend the framework into a complete application -is to write two application-specific functions: 'MyInit()' and -'MyJob()'. Keep in mind that the former is executed once on the -originating host, while the latter is executed after each migration: - - function MyInit() { - MOBVAR["MyOrigin"] = MyOrigin - MOBVAR["Machines"] = "localhost/80 max/80 moritz/80 castor/80" - split(MOBVAR["Machines"], Machines) # which host is the first? - migrate(Machines[1], "", "") # go to the first host - while (("/inet/tcp/8080/0/0" |& getline) > 0) # wait for result - print $0 # print result - close("/inet/tcp/8080/0/0") - } - - As mentioned earlier, this agent takes the name of its origin -('MyOrigin') with it. Then, it takes the name of its first destination -and goes there for further work. Notice that this name has the port -number of the web server appended to the name of the server, because the -function 'migrate()' needs it this way to create the 'HttpService' -variable. Finally, it waits for the result to arrive. The 'MyJob()' -function runs on the remote host: - - function MyJob() { - # forget this host - sub(MOBVAR["Destination"], "", MOBVAR["Machines"]) - MOBVAR["Result"]=MOBVAR["Result"] SUBSEP SUBSEP MOBVAR["Destination"] ":" - while (("who" | getline) > 0) # who is logged in? - MOBVAR["Result"] = MOBVAR["Result"] SUBSEP $0 - close("who") - if (index(MOBVAR["Machines"], "/") > 0) { # any more machines to visit? - split(MOBVAR["Machines"], Machines) # which host is next? - migrate(Machines[1], "", "") # go there - } else { # no more machines - gsub(SUBSEP, "\n", MOBVAR["Result"]) # send result to origin - print MOBVAR["Result"] |& "/inet/tcp/0/" MOBVAR["MyOrigin"] "/8080" - close("/inet/tcp/0/" MOBVAR["MyOrigin"] "/8080") - } - } - - After migrating, the first thing to do in 'MyJob()' is to delete the -name of the current host from the list of hosts to visit. Now, it is -time to start the real work by appending the host's name to the result -string, and reading line by line who is logged in on this host. A very -annoying circumstance is the fact that the elements of 'MOBVAR' cannot -hold the newline character ('"\n"'). If they did, migration of this -string did not work because the string didn't obey the syntax rule for a -string in 'gawk'. 'SUBSEP' is used as a temporary replacement. If the -list of hosts to visit holds at least one more entry, the agent migrates -to that place to go on working there. Otherwise, we replace the -'SUBSEP's with a newline character in the resulting string, and report -it to the originating host, whose name is stored in -'MOBVAR["MyOrigin"]'. - - ---------- Footnotes ---------- - - (1) - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: STOXPRED, Next: PROTBASE, Prev: MOBAGWHO, Up: Some Applications and Techniques - -3.9 STOXPRED: Stock Market Prediction As A Service -================================================== - - Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the - Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow - sun. - - Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is - an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose - ape-descendent life forms are so amazingly primitive that they - still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea. - - This planet has -- or rather had -- a problem, which was this: most - of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the - time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of - these were largely concerned with the movements of small green - pieces of paper, which is odd because it wasn't the small green - pieces of paper that were unhappy. - Douglas Adams, 'The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' - - Valuable services on the Internet are usually _not_ implemented as -mobile agents. There are much simpler ways of implementing services. -All Unix systems provide, for example, the 'cron' service. Unix system -users can write a list of tasks to be done each day, each week, twice a -day, or just once. The list is entered into a file named 'crontab'. -For example, to distribute a newsletter on a daily basis this way, use -'cron' for calling a script each day early in the morning. - - # run at 8 am on weekdays, distribute the newsletter - 0 8 * * 1-5 $HOME/bin/daily.job >> $HOME/log/newsletter 2>&1 - - The script first looks for interesting information on the Internet, -assembles it in a nice form and sends the results via email to the -customers. - - The following is an example of a primitive newsletter on stock market -prediction. It is a report which first tries to predict the change of -each share in the Dow Jones Industrial Index for the particular day. -Then it mentions some especially promising shares as well as some shares -which look remarkably bad on that day. The report ends with the usual -disclaimer which tells every child _not_ to try this at home and hurt -anybody. - - Good morning Uncle Scrooge, - - This is your daily stock market report for Monday, October 16, 2000. - Here are the predictions for today: - - AA neutral - GE up - JNJ down - MSFT neutral - ... - UTX up - DD down - IBM up - MO down - WMT up - DIS up - INTC up - MRK down - XOM down - EK down - IP down - - The most promising shares for today are these: - - INTC http://biz.yahoo.com/n/i/intc.html - - The stock shares to avoid today are these: - - EK http://biz.yahoo.com/n/e/ek.html - IP http://biz.yahoo.com/n/i/ip.html - DD http://biz.yahoo.com/n/d/dd.html - ... - - The script as a whole is rather long. In order to ease the pain of -studying other people's source code, we have broken the script up into -meaningful parts which are invoked one after the other. The basic -structure of the script is as follows: - - BEGIN { - Init() - ReadQuotes() - CleanUp() - Prediction() - Report() - SendMail() - } - - The earlier parts store data into variables and arrays which are -subsequently used by later parts of the script. The 'Init()' function -first checks if the script is invoked correctly (without any -parameters). If not, it informs the user of the correct usage. What -follows are preparations for the retrieval of the historical quote data. -The names of the 30 stock shares are stored in an array 'name' along -with the current date in 'day', 'month', and 'year'. - - All users who are separated from the Internet by a firewall and have -to direct their Internet accesses to a proxy must supply the name of the -proxy to this script with the '-v Proxy=NAME' option. For most users, -the default proxy and port number should suffice. - - function Init() { - if (ARGC != 1) { - print "STOXPRED - daily stock share prediction" - print "IN:\n no parameters, nothing on stdin" - print "PARAM:\n -v Proxy=MyProxy -v ProxyPort=80" - print "OUT:\n commented predictions as email" - print "JK 09.10.2000" - exit - } - # Remember ticker symbols from Dow Jones Industrial Index - StockCount = split("AA GE JNJ MSFT AXP GM JPM PG BA HD KO \ - SBC C HON MCD T CAT HWP MMM UTX DD IBM MO WMT DIS INTC \ - MRK XOM EK IP", name); - # Remember the current date as the end of the time series - day = strftime("%d") - month = strftime("%m") - year = strftime("%Y") - if (Proxy == "") Proxy = "chart.yahoo.com" - if (ProxyPort == 0) ProxyPort = 80 - YahooData = "/inet/tcp/0/" Proxy "/" ProxyPort - } - - There are two really interesting parts in the script. One is the -function which reads the historical stock quotes from an Internet -server. The other is the one that does the actual prediction. In the -following function we see how the quotes are read from the Yahoo server. -The data which comes from the server is in CSV format (comma-separated -values): - - Date,Open,High,Low,Close,Volume - 9-Oct-00,22.75,22.75,21.375,22.375,7888500 - 6-Oct-00,23.8125,24.9375,21.5625,22,10701100 - 5-Oct-00,24.4375,24.625,23.125,23.50,5810300 - - Lines contain values of the same time instant, whereas columns are -separated by commas and contain the kind of data that is described in -the header (first) line. At first, 'gawk' is instructed to separate -columns by commas ('FS = ","'). In the loop that follows, a connection -to the Yahoo server is first opened, then a download takes place, and -finally the connection is closed. All this happens once for each ticker -symbol. In the body of this loop, an Internet address is built up as a -string according to the rules of the Yahoo server. The starting and -ending date are chosen to be exactly the same, but one year apart in the -past. All the action is initiated within the 'printf' command which -transmits the request for data to the Yahoo server. - - In the inner loop, the server's data is first read and then scanned -line by line. Only lines which have six columns and the name of a month -in the first column contain relevant data. This data is stored in the -two-dimensional array 'quote'; one dimension being time, the other being -the ticker symbol. During retrieval of the first stock's data, the -calendar names of the time instances are stored in the array 'day' -because we need them later. - - function ReadQuotes() { - # Retrieve historical data for each ticker symbol - FS = "," - for (stock = 1; stock <= StockCount; stock++) { - URL = "http://chart.yahoo.com/table.csv?s=" name[stock] \ - "&a=" month "&b=" day "&c=" year-1 \ - "&d=" month "&e=" day "&f=" year \ - "g=d&q=q&y=0&z=" name[stock] "&x=.csv" - printf("GET " URL " HTTP/1.0\r\n\r\n") |& YahooData - while ((YahooData |& getline) > 0) { - if (NF == 6 && $1 ~ /Jan|Feb|Mar|Apr|May|Jun|Jul|Aug|Sep|Oct|Nov|Dec/) { - if (stock == 1) - days[++daycount] = $1; - quote[$1, stock] = $5 - } - } - close(YahooData) - } - FS = " " - } - - Now that we _have_ the data, it can be checked once again to make -sure that no individual stock is missing or invalid, and that all the -stock quotes are aligned correctly. Furthermore, we renumber the time -instances. The most recent day gets day number 1 and all other days get -consecutive numbers. All quotes are rounded toward the nearest whole -number in US Dollars. - - function CleanUp() { - # clean up time series; eliminate incomplete data sets - for (d = 1; d <= daycount; d++) { - for (stock = 1; stock <= StockCount; stock++) - if (! ((days[d], stock) in quote)) - stock = StockCount + 10 - if (stock > StockCount + 1) - continue - datacount++ - for (stock = 1; stock <= StockCount; stock++) - data[datacount, stock] = int(0.5 + quote[days[d], stock]) - } - delete quote - delete days - } - - Now we have arrived at the second really interesting part of the -whole affair. What we present here is a very primitive prediction -algorithm: _If a stock fell yesterday, assume it will also fall today; -if it rose yesterday, assume it will rise today_. (Feel free to replace -this algorithm with a smarter one.) If a stock changed in the same -direction on two consecutive days, this is an indication which should be -highlighted. Two-day advances are stored in 'hot' and two-day declines -in 'avoid'. - - The rest of the function is a sanity check. It counts the number of -correct predictions in relation to the total number of predictions one -could have made in the year before. - - function Prediction() { - # Predict each ticker symbol by prolonging yesterday's trend - for (stock = 1; stock <= StockCount; stock++) { - if (data[1, stock] > data[2, stock]) { - predict[stock] = "up" - } else if (data[1, stock] < data[2, stock]) { - predict[stock] = "down" - } else { - predict[stock] = "neutral" - } - if ((data[1, stock] > data[2, stock]) && (data[2, stock] > data[3, stock])) - hot[stock] = 1 - if ((data[1, stock] < data[2, stock]) && (data[2, stock] < data[3, stock])) - avoid[stock] = 1 - } - # Do a plausibility check: how many predictions proved correct? - for (s = 1; s <= StockCount; s++) { - for (d = 1; d <= datacount-2; d++) { - if (data[d+1, s] > data[d+2, s]) { - UpCount++ - } else if (data[d+1, s] < data[d+2, s]) { - DownCount++ - } else { - NeutralCount++ - } - if (((data[d, s] > data[d+1, s]) && (data[d+1, s] > data[d+2, s])) || - ((data[d, s] < data[d+1, s]) && (data[d+1, s] < data[d+2, s])) || - ((data[d, s] == data[d+1, s]) && (data[d+1, s] == data[d+2, s]))) - CorrectCount++ - } - } - } - - At this point the hard work has been done: the array 'predict' -contains the predictions for all the ticker symbols. It is up to the -function 'Report()' to find some nice words to introduce the desired -information. - - function Report() { - # Generate report - report = "\nThis is your daily " - report = report "stock market report for "strftime("%A, %B %d, %Y")".\n" - report = report "Here are the predictions for today:\n\n" - for (stock = 1; stock <= StockCount; stock++) - report = report "\t" name[stock] "\t" predict[stock] "\n" - for (stock in hot) { - if (HotCount++ == 0) - report = report "\nThe most promising shares for today are these:\n\n" - report = report "\t" name[stock] "\t\thttp://biz.yahoo.com/n/" \ - tolower(substr(name[stock], 1, 1)) "/" tolower(name[stock]) ".html\n" - } - for (stock in avoid) { - if (AvoidCount++ == 0) - report = report "\nThe stock shares to avoid today are these:\n\n" - report = report "\t" name[stock] "\t\thttp://biz.yahoo.com/n/" \ - tolower(substr(name[stock], 1, 1)) "/" tolower(name[stock]) ".html\n" - } - report = report "\nThis sums up to " HotCount+0 " winners and " AvoidCount+0 - report = report " losers. When using this kind\nof prediction scheme for" - report = report " the 12 months which lie behind us,\nwe get " UpCount - report = report " 'ups' and " DownCount " 'downs' and " NeutralCount - report = report " 'neutrals'. Of all\nthese " UpCount+DownCount+NeutralCount - report = report " predictions " CorrectCount " proved correct next day.\n" - report = report "A success rate of "\ - int(100*CorrectCount/(UpCount+DownCount+NeutralCount)) "%.\n" - report = report "Random choice would have produced a 33% success rate.\n" - report = report "Disclaimer: Like every other prediction of the stock\n" - report = report "market, this report is, of course, complete nonsense.\n" - report = report "If you are stupid enough to believe these predictions\n" - report = report "you should visit a doctor who can treat your ailment." - } - - The function 'SendMail()' goes through the list of customers and -opens a pipe to the 'mail' command for each of them. Each one receives -an email message with a proper subject heading and is addressed with his -full name. - - function SendMail() { - # send report to customers - customer["uncle.scrooge@ducktown.gov"] = "Uncle Scrooge" - customer["more@utopia.org" ] = "Sir Thomas More" - customer["spinoza@denhaag.nl" ] = "Baruch de Spinoza" - customer["marx@highgate.uk" ] = "Karl Marx" - customer["keynes@the.long.run" ] = "John Maynard Keynes" - customer["bierce@devil.hell.org" ] = "Ambrose Bierce" - customer["laplace@paris.fr" ] = "Pierre Simon de Laplace" - for (c in customer) { - MailPipe = "mail -s 'Daily Stock Prediction Newsletter'" c - print "Good morning " customer[c] "," | MailPipe - print report "\n.\n" | MailPipe - close(MailPipe) - } - } - - Be patient when running the script by hand. Retrieving the data for -all the ticker symbols and sending the emails may take several minutes -to complete, depending upon network traffic and the speed of the -available Internet link. The quality of the prediction algorithm is -likely to be disappointing. Try to find a better one. Should you find -one with a success rate of more than 50%, please tell us about it! It -is only for the sake of curiosity, of course. ':-)' - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: PROTBASE, Prev: STOXPRED, Up: Some Applications and Techniques - -3.10 PROTBASE: Searching Through A Protein Database -=================================================== - - Hoare's Law of Large Problems: Inside every large problem is a - small problem struggling to get out. - - Yahoo's database of stock market data is just one among the many -large databases on the Internet. Another one is located at NCBI -(National Center for Biotechnology Information). Established in 1988 as -a national resource for molecular biology information, NCBI creates -public databases, conducts research in computational biology, develops -software tools for analyzing genome data, and disseminates biomedical -information. In this section, we look at one of NCBI's public services, -which is called BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool). - - You probably know that the information necessary for reproducing -living cells is encoded in the genetic material of the cells. The -genetic material is a very long chain of four base nucleotides. It is -the order of appearance (the sequence) of nucleotides which contains the -information about the substance to be produced. Scientists in -biotechnology often find a specific fragment, determine the nucleotide -sequence, and need to know where the sequence at hand comes from. This -is where the large databases enter the game. At NCBI, databases store -the knowledge about which sequences have ever been found and where they -have been found. When the scientist sends his sequence to the BLAST -service, the server looks for regions of genetic material in its -database which look the most similar to the delivered nucleotide -sequence. After a search time of some seconds or minutes the server -sends an answer to the scientist. In order to make access simple, NCBI -chose to offer their database service through popular Internet -protocols. There are four basic ways to use the so-called BLAST -services: - - * The easiest way to use BLAST is through the web. Users may simply - point their browsers at the NCBI home page and link to the BLAST - pages. NCBI provides a stable URL that may be used to perform - BLAST searches without interactive use of a web browser. This is - what we will do later in this section. A demonstration client and - a 'README' file demonstrate how to access this URL. - - * Currently, 'blastcl3' is the standard network BLAST client. You - can download 'blastcl3' from the anonymous FTP location. - - * BLAST 2.0 can be run locally as a full executable and can be used - to run BLAST searches against private local databases, or - downloaded copies of the NCBI databases. BLAST 2.0 executables may - be found on the NCBI anonymous FTP server. - - * The NCBI BLAST Email server is the best option for people without - convenient access to the web. A similarity search can be performed - by sending a properly formatted mail message containing the - nucleotide or protein query sequence to . - The query sequence is compared against the specified database using - the BLAST algorithm and the results are returned in an email - message. For more information on formulating email BLAST searches, - you can send a message consisting of the word "HELP" to the same - address, . - - Our starting point is the demonstration client mentioned in the first -option. The 'README' file that comes along with the client explains the -whole process in a nutshell. In the rest of this section, we first show -what such requests look like. Then we show how to use 'gawk' to -implement a client in about 10 lines of code. Finally, we show how to -interpret the result returned from the service. - - Sequences are expected to be represented in the standard IUB/IUPAC -amino acid and nucleic acid codes, with these exceptions: lower-case -letters are accepted and are mapped into upper-case; a single hyphen or -dash can be used to represent a gap of indeterminate length; and in -amino acid sequences, 'U' and '*' are acceptable letters (see below). -Before submitting a request, any numerical digits in the query sequence -should either be removed or replaced by appropriate letter codes (e.g., -'N' for unknown nucleic acid residue or 'X' for unknown amino acid -residue). The nucleic acid codes supported are: - - A --> adenosine M --> A C (amino) - C --> cytidine S --> G C (strong) - G --> guanine W --> A T (weak) - T --> thymidine B --> G T C - U --> uridine D --> G A T - R --> G A (purine) H --> A C T - Y --> T C (pyrimidine) V --> G C A - K --> G T (keto) N --> A G C T (any) - - gap of indeterminate length - - Now you know the alphabet of nucleotide sequences. The last two -lines of the following example query show you such a sequence, which is -obviously made up only of elements of the alphabet just described. -Store this example query into a file named 'protbase.request'. You are -now ready to send it to the server with the demonstration client. - - PROGRAM blastn - DATALIB month - EXPECT 0.75 - BEGIN - >GAWK310 the gawking gene GNU AWK - tgcttggctgaggagccataggacgagagcttcctggtgaagtgtgtttcttgaaatcat - caccaccatggacagcaaa - - The actual search request begins with the mandatory parameter -'PROGRAM' in the first column followed by the value 'blastn' (the name -of the program) for searching nucleic acids. The next line contains the -mandatory search parameter 'DATALIB' with the value 'month' for the -newest nucleic acid sequences. The third line contains an optional -'EXPECT' parameter and the value desired for it. The fourth line -contains the mandatory 'BEGIN' directive, followed by the query sequence -in FASTA/Pearson format. Each line of information must be less than 80 -characters in length. - - The "month" database contains all new or revised sequences released -in the last 30 days and is useful for searching against new sequences. -There are five different blast programs, 'blastn' being the one that -compares a nucleotide query sequence against a nucleotide sequence -database. - - The last server directive that must appear in every request is the -'BEGIN' directive. The query sequence should immediately follow the -'BEGIN' directive and must appear in FASTA/Pearson format. A sequence -in FASTA/Pearson format begins with a single-line description. The -description line, which is required, is distinguished from the lines of -sequence data that follow it by having a greater-than ('>') symbol in -the first column. For the purposes of the BLAST server, the text of the -description is arbitrary. - - If you prefer to use a client written in 'gawk', just store the -following 10 lines of code into a file named 'protbase.awk' and use this -client instead. Invoke it with 'gawk -f protbase.awk protbase.request'. -Then wait a minute and watch the result coming in. In order to -replicate the demonstration client's behavior as closely as possible, -this client does not use a proxy server. We could also have extended -the client program in *note Retrieving Web Pages: GETURL, to implement -the client request from 'protbase.awk' as a special case. - - { request = request "\n" $0 } - - END { - BLASTService = "/inet/tcp/0/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/80" - printf "POST /cgi-bin/BLAST/nph-blast_report HTTP/1.0\n" |& BLASTService - printf "Content-Length: " length(request) "\n\n" |& BLASTService - printf request |& BLASTService - while ((BLASTService |& getline) > 0) - print $0 - close(BLASTService) - } - - The demonstration client from NCBI is 214 lines long (written in C) -and it is not immediately obvious what it does. Our client is so short -that it _is_ obvious what it does. First it loops over all lines of the -query and stores the whole query into a variable. Then the script -establishes an Internet connection to the NCBI server and transmits the -query by framing it with a proper HTTP request. Finally it receives and -prints the complete result coming from the server. - - Now, let us look at the result. It begins with an HTTP header, which -you can ignore. Then there are some comments about the query having -been filtered to avoid spuriously high scores. After this, there is a -reference to the paper that describes the software being used for -searching the data base. After a repetition of the original query's -description we find the list of significant alignments: - - Sequences producing significant alignments: (bits) Value - - gb|AC021182.14|AC021182 Homo sapiens chromosome 7 clone RP11-733... 38 0.20 - gb|AC021056.12|AC021056 Homo sapiens chromosome 3 clone RP11-115... 38 0.20 - emb|AL160278.10|AL160278 Homo sapiens chromosome 9 clone RP11-57... 38 0.20 - emb|AL391139.11|AL391139 Homo sapiens chromosome X clone RP11-35... 38 0.20 - emb|AL365192.6|AL365192 Homo sapiens chromosome 6 clone RP3-421H... 38 0.20 - emb|AL138812.9|AL138812 Homo sapiens chromosome 11 clone RP1-276... 38 0.20 - gb|AC073881.3|AC073881 Homo sapiens chromosome 15 clone CTD-2169... 38 0.20 - - This means that the query sequence was found in seven human -chromosomes. But the value 0.20 (20%) means that the probability of an -accidental match is rather high (20%) in all cases and should be taken -into account. You may wonder what the first column means. It is a key -to the specific database in which this occurrence was found. The unique -sequence identifiers reported in the search results can be used as -sequence retrieval keys via the NCBI server. The syntax of sequence -header lines used by the NCBI BLAST server depends on the database from -which each sequence was obtained. The table below lists the identifiers -for the databases from which the sequences were derived. - - Database Name Identifier Syntax - ============================ ======================== - GenBank gb|accession|locus - EMBL Data Library emb|accession|locus - DDBJ, DNA Database of Japan dbj|accession|locus - NBRF PIR pir||entry - Protein Research Foundation prf||name - SWISS-PROT sp|accession|entry name - Brookhaven Protein Data Bank pdb|entry|chain - Kabat's Sequences of Immuno... gnl|kabat|identifier - Patents pat|country|number - GenInfo Backbone Id bbs|number - - For example, an identifier might be 'gb|AC021182.14|AC021182', where -the 'gb' tag indicates that the identifier refers to a GenBank sequence, -'AC021182.14' is its GenBank ACCESSION, and 'AC021182' is the GenBank -LOCUS. The identifier contains no spaces, so that a space indicates the -end of the identifier. - - Let us continue in the result listing. Each of the seven alignments -mentioned above is subsequently described in detail. We will have a -closer look at the first of them. - - >gb|AC021182.14|AC021182 Homo sapiens chromosome 7 clone RP11-733N23, WORKING DRAFT SEQUENCE, 4 - unordered pieces - Length = 176383 - - Score = 38.2 bits (19), Expect = 0.20 - Identities = 19/19 (100%) - Strand = Plus / Plus - - Query: 35 tggtgaagtgtgtttcttg 53 - ||||||||||||||||||| - Sbjct: 69786 tggtgaagtgtgtttcttg 69804 - - This alignment was located on the human chromosome 7. The fragment -on which part of the query was found had a total length of 176383. Only -19 of the nucleotides matched and the matching sequence ran from -character 35 to 53 in the query sequence and from 69786 to 69804 in the -fragment on chromosome 7. If you are still reading at this point, you -are probably interested in finding out more about Computational Biology -and you might appreciate the following hints. - - 1. There is a book called 'Introduction to Computational Biology' by - Michael S. Waterman, which is worth reading if you are seriously - interested. You can find a good book review on the Internet. - - 2. While Waterman's book can explain to you the algorithms employed - internally in the database search engines, most practitioners - prefer to approach the subject differently. The applied side of - Computational Biology is called Bioinformatics, and emphasizes the - tools available for day-to-day work as well as how to actually - _use_ them. One of the very few affordable books on Bioinformatics - is 'Developing Bioinformatics Computer Skills'. - - 3. The sequences _gawk_ and _gnuawk_ are in widespread use in the - genetic material of virtually every earthly living being. Let us - take this as a clear indication that the divine creator has - intended 'gawk' to prevail over other scripting languages such as - 'perl', 'tcl', or 'python' which are not even proper sequences. - (:-) - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Links, Next: GNU Free Documentation License, Prev: Some Applications and Techniques, Up: Top - -4 Related Links -*************** - -This section lists the URLs for various items discussed in this major -node. They are presented in the order in which they appear. - -'Internet Programming with Python' - - -'Advanced Perl Programming' - - -'Web Client Programming with Perl' - - -Richard Stevens's home page and book - - -The SPAK home page - - -Volume III of 'Internetworking with TCP/IP', by Comer and Stevens - - -XBM Graphics File Format - - -GNUPlot - - -Mark Humphrys' Eliza page - - -Yahoo! Eliza Information - - -Java versions of Eliza - - -Java versions of Eliza with source code - - -Eliza Programs with Explanations - - -Loebner Contest - - -Tck/Tk Information - - -Intel 80x86 Processors - - -AMD Elan Processors - - -XINU - - -GNU/Linux - - -Embedded PCs - - -MiniSQL - - -Market Share Surveys - - -'Numerical Recipes in C: The Art of Scientific Computing' - - -VRML - - -The VRML FAQ - - -The UMBC Agent Web - - -Apache Web Server - - -National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) - - -Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) - - -NCBI Home Page - - -BLAST Pages - - -BLAST Demonstration Client - - -BLAST anonymous FTP location - - -BLAST 2.0 Executables - - -IUB/IUPAC Amino Acid and Nucleic Acid Codes - - -FASTA/Pearson Format - - -Fasta/Pearson Sequence in Java - - -Book Review of 'Introduction to Computational Biology' - - -'Developing Bioinformatics Computer Skills' - - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: GNU Free Documentation License, Next: Index, Prev: Links, Up: Top - -GNU Free Documentation License -****************************** - - Version 1.3, 3 November 2008 - - Copyright (C) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc. - - - Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies - of this license document, but changing it is not allowed. - - 0. 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For - works in formats which do not have any title page as such, "Title - Page" means the text near the most prominent appearance of the - work's title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text. - - The "publisher" means any person or entity that distributes copies - of the Document to the public. - - A section "Entitled XYZ" means a named subunit of the Document - whose title either is precisely XYZ or contains XYZ in parentheses - following text that translates XYZ in another language. (Here XYZ - stands for a specific section name mentioned below, such as - "Acknowledgements", "Dedications", "Endorsements", or "History".) - To "Preserve the Title" of such a section when you modify the - Document means that it remains a section "Entitled XYZ" according - to this definition. - - The Document may include Warranty Disclaimers next to the notice - which states that this License applies to the Document. These - Warranty Disclaimers are considered to be included by reference in - this License, but only as regards disclaiming warranties: any other - implication that these Warranty Disclaimers may have is void and - has no effect on the meaning of this License. - - 2. VERBATIM COPYING - - You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either - commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the - copyright notices, and the license notice saying this License - applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you - add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License. You - may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading - or further copying of the copies you make or distribute. However, - you may accept compensation in exchange for copies. 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In addition, you must do these things in - the Modified Version: - - A. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title - distinct from that of the Document, and from those of previous - versions (which should, if there were any, be listed in the - History section of the Document). You may use the same title - as a previous version if the original publisher of that - version gives permission. - - B. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or - entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in - the Modified Version, together with at least five of the - principal authors of the Document (all of its principal - authors, if it has fewer than five), unless they release you - from this requirement. - - C. State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the - Modified Version, as the publisher. - - D. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document. - - E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications - adjacent to the other copyright notices. - - F. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license - notice giving the public permission to use the Modified - Version under the terms of this License, in the form shown in - the Addendum below. - - G. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant - Sections and required Cover Texts given in the Document's - license notice. - - H. Include an unaltered copy of this License. - - I. Preserve the section Entitled "History", Preserve its Title, - and add to it an item stating at least the title, year, new - authors, and publisher of the Modified Version as given on the - Title Page. If there is no section Entitled "History" in the - Document, create one stating the title, year, authors, and - publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page, then add - an item describing the Modified Version as stated in the - previous sentence. - - J. Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document - for public access to a Transparent copy of the Document, and - likewise the network locations given in the Document for - previous versions it was based on. These may be placed in the - "History" section. You may omit a network location for a work - that was published at least four years before the Document - itself, or if the original publisher of the version it refers - to gives permission. - - K. For any section Entitled "Acknowledgements" or "Dedications", - Preserve the Title of the section, and preserve in the section - all the substance and tone of each of the contributor - acknowledgements and/or dedications given therein. - - L. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document, unaltered - in their text and in their titles. Section numbers or the - equivalent are not considered part of the section titles. - - M. Delete any section Entitled "Endorsements". Such a section - may not be included in the Modified Version. - - N. Do not retitle any existing section to be Entitled - "Endorsements" or to conflict in title with any Invariant - Section. - - O. Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers. - - If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or - appendices that qualify as Secondary Sections and contain no - material copied from the Document, you may at your option designate - some or all of these sections as invariant. To do this, add their - titles to the list of Invariant Sections in the Modified Version's - license notice. These titles must be distinct from any other - section titles. - - You may add a section Entitled "Endorsements", provided it contains - nothing but endorsements of your Modified Version by various - parties--for example, statements of peer review or that the text - has been approved by an organization as the authoritative - definition of a standard. - - You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text, - and a passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end of - the list of Cover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one passage - of Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be added by (or - through arrangements made by) any one entity. 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COMBINING DOCUMENTS - - You may combine the Document with other documents released under - this License, under the terms defined in section 4 above for - modified versions, provided that you include in the combination all - of the Invariant Sections of all of the original documents, - unmodified, and list them all as Invariant Sections of your - combined work in its license notice, and that you preserve all - their Warranty Disclaimers. - - The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and - multiple identical Invariant Sections may be replaced with a single - copy. If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same name - but different contents, make the title of each such section unique - by adding at the end of it, in parentheses, the name of the - original author or publisher of that section if known, or else a - unique number. Make the same adjustment to the section titles in - the list of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the - combined work. - - In the combination, you must combine any sections Entitled - "History" in the various original documents, forming one section - Entitled "History"; likewise combine any sections Entitled - "Acknowledgements", and any sections Entitled "Dedications". You - must delete all sections Entitled "Endorsements." - - 6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS - - You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other - documents released under this License, and replace the individual - copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy - that is included in the collection, provided that you follow the - rules of this License for verbatim copying of each of the documents - in all other respects. - - You may extract a single document from such a collection, and - distribute it individually under this License, provided you insert - a copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow this - License in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of that - document. - - 7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS - - A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other - separate and independent documents or works, in or on a volume of a - storage or distribution medium, is called an "aggregate" if the - copyright resulting from the compilation is not used to limit the - legal rights of the compilation's users beyond what the individual - works permit. When the Document is included in an aggregate, this - License does not apply to the other works in the aggregate which - are not themselves derivative works of the Document. - - If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these - copies of the Document, then if the Document is less than one half - of the entire aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts may be placed - on covers that bracket the Document within the aggregate, or the - electronic equivalent of covers if the Document is in electronic - form. Otherwise they must appear on printed covers that bracket - the whole aggregate. - - 8. TRANSLATION - - Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may - distribute translations of the Document under the terms of section - 4. Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires special - permission from their copyright holders, but you may include - translations of some or all Invariant Sections in addition to the - original versions of these Invariant Sections. You may include a - translation of this License, and all the license notices in the - Document, and any Warranty Disclaimers, provided that you also - include the original English version of this License and the - original versions of those notices and disclaimers. In case of a - disagreement between the translation and the original version of - this License or a notice or disclaimer, the original version will - prevail. - - If a section in the Document is Entitled "Acknowledgements", - "Dedications", or "History", the requirement (section 4) to - Preserve its Title (section 1) will typically require changing the - actual title. - - 9. TERMINATION - - You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document - except as expressly provided under this License. Any attempt - otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute it is void, - and will automatically terminate your rights under this License. - - However, if you cease all violation of this License, then your - license from a particular copyright holder is reinstated (a) - provisionally, unless and until the copyright holder explicitly and - finally terminates your license, and (b) permanently, if the - copyright holder fails to notify you of the violation by some - reasonable means prior to 60 days after the cessation. - - Moreover, your license from a particular copyright holder is - reinstated permanently if the copyright holder notifies you of the - violation by some reasonable means, this is the first time you have - received notice of violation of this License (for any work) from - that copyright holder, and you cure the violation prior to 30 days - after your receipt of the notice. - - Termination of your rights under this section does not terminate - the licenses of parties who have received copies or rights from you - under this License. If your rights have been terminated and not - permanently reinstated, receipt of a copy of some or all of the - same material does not give you any rights to use it. - - 10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE - - The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of - the GNU Free Documentation License from time to time. Such new - versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may - differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. See - . - - Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version - number. If the Document specifies that a particular numbered - version of this License "or any later version" applies to it, you - have the option of following the terms and conditions either of - that specified version or of any later version that has been - published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. 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A - public wiki that anybody can edit is an example of such a server. - A "Massive Multiauthor Collaboration" (or "MMC") contained in the - site means any set of copyrightable works thus published on the MMC - site. - - "CC-BY-SA" means the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 - license published by Creative Commons Corporation, a not-for-profit - corporation with a principal place of business in San Francisco, - California, as well as future copyleft versions of that license - published by that same organization. - - "Incorporate" means to publish or republish a Document, in whole or - in part, as part of another Document. - - An MMC is "eligible for relicensing" if it is licensed under this - License, and if all works that were first published under this - License somewhere other than this MMC, and subsequently - incorporated in whole or in part into the MMC, (1) had no cover - texts or invariant sections, and (2) were thus incorporated prior - to November 1, 2008. - - The operator of an MMC Site may republish an MMC contained in the - site under CC-BY-SA on the same site at any time before August 1, - 2009, provided the MMC is eligible for relicensing. - -ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents -==================================================== - -To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of -the License in the document and put the following copyright and license -notices just after the title page: - - Copyright (C) YEAR YOUR NAME. - Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document - under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 - or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; - with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover - Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU - Free Documentation License''. - - If you have Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts and Back-Cover -Texts, replace the "with...Texts." line with this: - - with the Invariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with - the Front-Cover Texts being LIST, and with the Back-Cover Texts - being LIST. - - If you have Invariant Sections without Cover Texts, or some other -combination of the three, merge those two alternatives to suit the -situation. - - If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we -recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of free -software license, such as the GNU General Public License, to permit -their use in free software. - - -File: gawkinet.info, Node: Index, Prev: GNU Free Documentation License, Up: Top - -Index -***** - -[index] -* Menu: - -* /inet/ files (gawk): Gawk Special Files. (line 34) -* /inet/tcp special files (gawk): File /inet/tcp. (line 6) -* /inet/udp special files (gawk): File /inet/udp. (line 6) -* | (vertical bar), |& operator (I/O): TCP Connecting. (line 25) -* advanced features, network connections: Troubleshooting. (line 6) -* agent: Challenges. (line 75) -* agent <1>: MOBAGWHO. (line 6) -* AI: Challenges. (line 75) -* apache: WEBGRAB. (line 72) -* apache <1>: MOBAGWHO. (line 42) -* Bioinformatics: PROTBASE. (line 227) -* BLAST, Basic Local Alignment Search Tool: PROTBASE. (line 6) -* blocking: Making Connections. (line 35) -* Boutell, Thomas: STATIST. (line 6) -* CGI (Common Gateway Interface): MOBAGWHO. (line 42) -* CGI (Common Gateway Interface), dynamic web pages and: Web page. - (line 45) -* CGI (Common Gateway Interface), library: CGI Lib. (line 11) -* clients: Making Connections. (line 21) -* Clinton, Bill: Challenges. (line 58) -* Common Gateway Interface, See CGI: Web page. (line 45) -* Computational Biology: PROTBASE. (line 227) -* contest: Challenges. (line 6) -* cron utility: STOXPRED. (line 23) -* CSV format: STOXPRED. (line 128) -* Dow Jones Industrial Index: STOXPRED. (line 44) -* ELIZA program: Simple Server. (line 11) -* ELIZA program <1>: Simple Server. (line 178) -* email: Email. (line 11) -* FASTA/Pearson format: PROTBASE. (line 102) -* FDL (Free Documentation License): GNU Free Documentation License. - (line 6) -* filenames, for network access: Gawk Special Files. (line 29) -* files, /inet/ (gawk): Gawk Special Files. (line 34) -* files, /inet/tcp (gawk): File /inet/tcp. (line 6) -* files, /inet/udp (gawk): File /inet/udp. (line 6) -* finger utility: Setting Up. (line 22) -* Free Documentation License (FDL): GNU Free Documentation License. - (line 6) -* FTP (File Transfer Protocol): Basic Protocols. (line 45) -* gawk, networking: Using Networking. (line 6) -* gawk, networking, connections: Special File Fields. (line 53) -* gawk, networking, connections <1>: TCP Connecting. (line 6) -* gawk, networking, filenames: Gawk Special Files. (line 29) -* gawk, networking, See Also email: Email. (line 6) -* gawk, networking, service, establishing: Setting Up. (line 6) -* gawk, networking, troubleshooting: Caveats. (line 6) -* gawk, web and, See web service: Interacting Service. (line 6) -* getline command: TCP Connecting. (line 11) -* GETURL program: GETURL. (line 6) -* GIF image format: Web page. (line 45) -* GIF image format <1>: STATIST. (line 6) -* GNU Free Documentation License: GNU Free Documentation License. - (line 6) -* GNU/Linux: Troubleshooting. (line 54) -* GNU/Linux <1>: Interacting. (line 27) -* GNU/Linux <2>: REMCONF. (line 6) -* GNUPlot utility: Interacting Service. (line 189) -* GNUPlot utility <1>: STATIST. (line 6) -* Hoare, C.A.R.: MOBAGWHO. (line 6) -* Hoare, C.A.R. <1>: PROTBASE. (line 6) -* hostname field: Special File Fields. (line 34) -* HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): Web page. (line 29) -* HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol): Basic Protocols. (line 45) -* HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) <1>: Web page. (line 6) -* HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), record separators and: Web page. - (line 29) -* HTTP server, core logic: Interacting Service. (line 6) -* HTTP server, core logic <1>: Interacting Service. (line 24) -* Humphrys, Mark: Simple Server. (line 178) -* Hypertext Markup Language (HTML): Web page. (line 29) -* Hypertext Transfer Protocol, See HTTP: Web page. (line 6) -* image format: STATIST. (line 6) -* images, in web pages: Interacting Service. (line 189) -* images, retrieving over networks: Web page. (line 45) -* input/output, two-way, See Also gawk, networking: Gawk Special Files. - (line 19) -* Internet, See networks: Interacting. (line 48) -* JavaScript: STATIST. (line 56) -* Linux: Troubleshooting. (line 54) -* Linux <1>: Interacting. (line 27) -* Linux <2>: REMCONF. (line 6) -* Lisp: MOBAGWHO. (line 98) -* localport field: Gawk Special Files. (line 34) -* Loebner, Hugh: Challenges. (line 6) -* Loui, Ronald: Challenges. (line 75) -* MAZE: MAZE. (line 6) -* Microsoft Windows: WEBGRAB. (line 43) -* Microsoft Windows, networking: Troubleshooting. (line 54) -* Microsoft Windows, networking, ports: Setting Up. (line 37) -* MiniSQL: REMCONF. (line 109) -* MOBAGWHO program: MOBAGWHO. (line 6) -* NCBI, National Center for Biotechnology Information: PROTBASE. - (line 6) -* network type field: Special File Fields. (line 11) -* networks, gawk and: Using Networking. (line 6) -* networks, gawk and, connections: Special File Fields. (line 53) -* networks, gawk and, connections <1>: TCP Connecting. (line 6) -* networks, gawk and, filenames: Gawk Special Files. (line 29) -* networks, gawk and, See Also email: Email. (line 6) -* networks, gawk and, service, establishing: Setting Up. (line 6) -* networks, gawk and, troubleshooting: Caveats. (line 6) -* networks, ports, reserved: Setting Up. (line 37) -* networks, ports, specifying: Special File Fields. (line 24) -* networks, See Also web pages: PANIC. (line 6) -* Numerical Recipes: STATIST. (line 24) -* ORS variable, HTTP and: Web page. (line 29) -* ORS variable, POP and: Email. (line 36) -* PANIC program: PANIC. (line 6) -* Perl: Using Networking. (line 14) -* Perl, gawk networking and: Using Networking. (line 24) -* Perlis, Alan: MAZE. (line 6) -* pipes, networking and: TCP Connecting. (line 30) -* PNG image format: Web page. (line 45) -* PNG image format <1>: STATIST. (line 6) -* POP (Post Office Protocol): Email. (line 6) -* POP (Post Office Protocol) <1>: Email. (line 36) -* Post Office Protocol (POP): Email. (line 6) -* PostScript: STATIST. (line 138) -* PROLOG: Challenges. (line 75) -* PROTBASE: PROTBASE. (line 6) -* protocol field: Special File Fields. (line 17) -* PS image format: STATIST. (line 6) -* Python: Using Networking. (line 14) -* Python, gawk networking and: Using Networking. (line 24) -* record separators, HTTP and: Web page. (line 29) -* record separators, POP and: Email. (line 36) -* REMCONF program: REMCONF. (line 6) -* remoteport field: Gawk Special Files. (line 34) -* RFC 1939: Email. (line 6) -* RFC 1939 <1>: Email. (line 36) -* RFC 1945: Web page. (line 29) -* RFC 2068: Web page. (line 6) -* RFC 2068 <1>: Interacting Service. (line 104) -* RFC 2616: Web page. (line 6) -* RFC 821: Email. (line 6) -* robot: Challenges. (line 84) -* robot <1>: WEBGRAB. (line 6) -* RS variable, HTTP and: Web page. (line 29) -* RS variable, POP and: Email. (line 36) -* servers: Making Connections. (line 14) -* servers <1>: Setting Up. (line 22) -* servers, as hosts: Special File Fields. (line 34) -* servers, HTTP: Interacting Service. (line 6) -* servers, web: Simple Server. (line 6) -* Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP): Email. (line 6) -* SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol): Basic Protocols. (line 45) -* SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) <1>: Email. (line 6) -* STATIST program: STATIST. (line 6) -* STOXPRED program: STOXPRED. (line 6) -* synchronous communications: Making Connections. (line 35) -* Tcl/Tk: Using Networking. (line 14) -* Tcl/Tk, gawk and: Using Networking. (line 24) -* Tcl/Tk, gawk and <1>: Some Applications and Techniques. - (line 22) -* TCP (Transmission Control Protocol): Using Networking. (line 29) -* TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) <1>: File /inet/tcp. (line 6) -* TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), connection, establishing: TCP Connecting. - (line 6) -* TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), UDP and: Interacting. (line 48) -* TCP/IP, network type, selecting: Special File Fields. (line 11) -* TCP/IP, protocols, selecting: Special File Fields. (line 17) -* TCP/IP, sockets and: Gawk Special Files. (line 19) -* Transmission Control Protocol, See TCP: Using Networking. (line 29) -* troubleshooting, gawk, networks: Caveats. (line 6) -* troubleshooting, networks, connections: Troubleshooting. (line 6) -* troubleshooting, networks, timeouts: Caveats. (line 18) -* UDP (User Datagram Protocol): File /inet/udp. (line 6) -* UDP (User Datagram Protocol), TCP and: Interacting. (line 48) -* Unix, network ports and: Setting Up. (line 37) -* URLCHK program: URLCHK. (line 6) -* User Datagram Protocol, See UDP: File /inet/udp. (line 6) -* vertical bar (|), |& operator (I/O): TCP Connecting. (line 25) -* VRML: MAZE. (line 6) -* web browsers, See web service: Interacting Service. (line 6) -* web pages: Web page. (line 6) -* web pages, images in: Interacting Service. (line 189) -* web pages, retrieving: GETURL. (line 6) -* web servers: Simple Server. (line 6) -* web service: Primitive Service. (line 6) -* web service <1>: PANIC. (line 6) -* WEBGRAB program: WEBGRAB. (line 6) -* Weizenbaum, Joseph: Simple Server. (line 11) -* XBM image format: Interacting Service. (line 189) -* Yahoo!: REMCONF. (line 6) -* Yahoo! <1>: STOXPRED. (line 6) - - - -Tag Table: -Node: Top2022 -Node: Preface5665 -Node: Introduction7040 -Node: Stream Communications8066 -Node: Datagram Communications9240 -Node: The TCP/IP Protocols10870 -Ref: The TCP/IP Protocols-Footnote-111554 -Node: Basic Protocols11711 -Ref: Basic Protocols-Footnote-113756 -Node: Ports13785 -Node: Making Connections15192 -Ref: Making Connections-Footnote-117750 -Ref: Making Connections-Footnote-217797 -Node: Using Networking17978 -Node: Gawk Special Files20301 -Node: Special File Fields22110 -Ref: table-inet-components26003 -Node: Comparing Protocols27312 -Node: File /inet/tcp27846 -Node: File /inet/udp28874 -Ref: File /inet/udp-Footnote-130573 -Node: TCP Connecting30827 -Node: Troubleshooting33173 -Ref: Troubleshooting-Footnote-136232 -Node: Interacting36805 -Node: Setting Up39545 -Node: Email43048 -Node: Web page45380 -Ref: Web page-Footnote-148197 -Node: Primitive Service48395 -Node: Interacting Service51136 -Ref: Interacting Service-Footnote-160303 -Node: CGI Lib60335 -Node: Simple Server67310 -Ref: Simple Server-Footnote-175053 -Node: Caveats75154 -Node: Challenges76299 -Node: Some Applications and Techniques84997 -Node: PANIC87462 -Node: GETURL89186 -Node: REMCONF91819 -Node: URLCHK97314 -Node: WEBGRAB101166 -Node: STATIST105628 -Ref: STATIST-Footnote-1117377 -Node: MAZE117822 -Node: MOBAGWHO124029 -Ref: MOBAGWHO-Footnote-1138047 -Node: STOXPRED138102 -Node: PROTBASE152390 -Node: Links165506 -Node: GNU Free Documentation License168939 -Node: Index194059 - -End Tag Table -- cgit v1.2.3