(gawk) Fields Summary

 
 Fields
 ------
 
    As each input line is read, `gawk' splits the line into FIELDS,
 using the value of the `FS' variable as the field separator.  If `FS'
 is a single character, fields are separated by that character.
 Otherwise, `FS' is expected to be a full regular expression.  In the
 special case that `FS' is a single space, fields are separated by runs
 of spaces, tabs and/or newlines.(1) If `FS' is the null string (`""'),
 then each individual character in the record becomes a separate field.
 Note that the value of `IGNORECASE' ( Case-sensitivity in
 Matching Case-sensitivity.)  also affects how fields are split when
 `FS' is a regular expression.
 
    Each field in the input line may be referenced by its position, `$1',
 `$2', and so on.  `$0' is the whole line.  The value of a field may be
 assigned to as well.  Field numbers need not be constants:
 
      n = 5
      print $n
 
 prints the fifth field in the input line.  The variable `NF' is set to
 the total number of fields in the input line.
 
    References to non-existent fields (i.e. fields after `$NF') return
 the null string.  However, assigning to a non-existent field (e.g.,
 `$(NF+2) = 5') increases the value of `NF', creates any intervening
 fields with the null string as their value, and causes the value of
 `$0' to be recomputed, with the fields being separated by the value of
 `OFS'.  Decrementing `NF' causes the values of fields past the new
 value to be lost, and the value of `$0' to be recomputed, with the
 fields being separated by the value of `OFS'.   Reading Input
 Files Reading Files.
 
    ---------- Footnotes ----------
 
    (1) In POSIX `awk', newline does not separate fields.
Info Catalog
(gawk) Variables/Fields
(gawk) Built-in Summary
automatically generated byinfo2html