A Concise AWK Tutorial

I. Basic Concepts

AWK is a built-in text processing tool in Linux systems, specializing in handling structured text (e.g., logs, CSV files). It reads files line by line, processes data by fields, and supports simple programming logic.

II. Basic Syntax

1. Fundamental Format

awk [options] 'actions' filename

2. Simplest Examples

# Print entire file content
awk '{print $0}' demo.txt

# Process standard input via pipe
echo 'this is a test' | awk '{print $0}'

3. Field Handling

$1: First field
$2: Second field
$0: Entire line
NF: Total number of fields in current line
$NF: Last field

# Extract third field
echo 'this is a test' | awk '{print $3}'  # Output: a

# Extract second-to-last field
echo 'a,b,c,d' | awk -F ',' '{print $(NF-1)}'  # Output: c

III. Core Functions

1. Field Separator

# Specify colon as separator
awk -F ':' '{print $1}' /etc/passwd

2. Built-in Variables

Variable Name	Description	Example
`NR`	Current line number	`awk '{print NR}' file`
`FS`	Input field separator (default space)	`awk -v FS=: '{print $1}'`
`OFS`	Output field separator (default space)	`awk -v OFS=, '{print $1,$2}'`
`FILENAME`	Current file name	`awk '{print FILENAME}' file`

IV. Advanced Operations

1. Conditional Filtering

# Regular expression match: Print lines containing "usr"
awk -F ':' '/usr/ {print $1}' /etc/passwd

# Numeric comparison: Print content after line 3
awk -F ':' 'NR > 3 {print $1}' /etc/passwd

# Combined conditions
awk -F ':' '$1 == "root" || $3 > 1000' /etc/passwd

2. Built-in Functions

Function Name	Function	Example
`toupper()`	Convert to uppercase	`awk '{print toupper($1)}'`
`length()`	String length	`awk '{print length($1)}'`
`substr()`	Substring extraction	`awk '{print substr($1,3,5)}'`
`rand()`	Generate random number	`awk '{print int(rand()*100)}'`

V. Control Statements

1. Single-line Conditions

# Process odd-numbered lines
awk 'NR % 2 == 1 {print "Line", NR}' file

# Field comparison
awk -F ':' '$3 > 1000 {print $1}' /etc/passwd

2. Multi-line Logic

awk -F ':' '{
  if ($1 > "m") {
    print "High:", $1
  } else {
    print "Low:", $1
  }
}' /etc/passwd

VI. Practical Tips

Formatted Output: Use printf instead of print

awk -F ':' '{printf "%-10s %s\n", $1, $3}' /etc/passwd

Large File Handling: Memory-friendly line-by-line processing
Tool Integration: Combine with grep/sed

VII. Quick Reference

# Common command combinations
awk -F ':' '/^root/ {print $1}'  # Lines starting with root
awk -F ':' '!/nologin/ {print $1}'  # Exclude lines containing nologin
awk -F ':' '$3 ~ /[0-9]{4}/'  # Match 4-digit fields

Optimization Notes:

Hierarchical heading structure
Variable/function tables for clarity
Code block/output result contrast
Practical tips and quick reference added
Learning curve enhanced through logical ordering
Improved readability with proper spacing and indentation

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AWK Beginner's Guide