(gawk) Names

 
 A Rose By Any Other Name
 ========================
 
    The `awk' language has evolved over the years. Full details are
 provided in  The Evolution of the `awk' Language Language History.
 The language described in this Info file is often referred to as "new
 `awk'."
 
    Because of this, many systems have multiple versions of `awk'.  Some
 systems have an `awk' utility that implements the original version of
 the `awk' language, and a `nawk' utility for the new version.  Others
 have an `oawk' for the "old `awk'" language, and plain `awk' for the
 new one.  Still others only have one version, usually the new one.(1)
 
    All in all, this makes it difficult for you to know which version of
 `awk' you should run when writing your programs.  The best advice we
 can give here is to check your local documentation. Look for `awk',
 `oawk', and `nawk', as well as for `gawk'. Chances are, you will have
 some version of new `awk' on your system, and that is what you should
 use when running your programs.  (Of course, if you're reading this
 Info file, chances are good that you have `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) Often, these systems use `gawk' for their `awk' implementation!
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