10.9 Commands Related to Data Manipulation
10.9.1 “awk” Command
The “awk” command reads the specified file, finds the line that has a value matching the specified pattern, and performs the specified operation if the pattern matches. Here, the operation means a field manipulation in a line or an arithmetic operation using a field value. The name “awk” comes from the names of three people who developed it, Aho, Weinberger, and Kernighan.
Awk is a programming language with features such as Shell programming, BC, and the C programming language. It works perfectly with BC, and field variables with names like Shell arguments $1, $2, and $3 can be used on each input line. It also has a printing and control operator similar to the C language.