Description
The awk processing language has been around for almost 50 years in the Unix space. All major BSDs include awk in the base system. It allows powerful and flexible processing of text inputs. However, users find it difficult to understand and awk-ward to use, even shying away from using it in the first place.
In this beginner-focused tutorial, we'll get to know the features of awk step by step. We'll learn the syntax and apply it on a practical example throughout the tutorial. In particular, the tutorial will cover the following:
- Program structure and call syntax
- Different forms of output (simple and formatted)
- Comparisons
BEGINandENDactions- Variables, types, and expressions
- Passing shell variables to awk
- Control structures
- Functions
- Regular expressions
Knowing how to utilize awk in itself is useful as it provides a lot of functionality in a compact format. It is also a good starting point into DTrace (available on FreeBSD and NetBSD) as it uses awks command syntax. With awk, users get a powerful utility in their Unix toolbox which has been there for a long time waiting to be used.
After the tutorial, participants can understand and use awk syntax to create flexible text processing tools based on the task at hand. Users coming from a C background will find their familiar libraries readily available. Participants will find it easy to dig deeper into individual awk topics on their own using the basics learned in this tutorial.
Participants may bring their own machines and try out the examples as we go through the content. Material is provided during the tutorial.
I've been teaching awk as part of my "Unix for Developers" class since 2012 at the University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt, Germany. The material has evolved over time based on student feedback and exam results.
| One-line summary | awk Beginner Tutorial: from awk-ward to awesome |
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