(gawk.info)Invoking Gawk

Running `awk'
*************

   There are two ways to run `awk': with an explicit program, or with
one or more program files.  Here are templates for both of them; items
enclosed in `[...]' in these templates are optional.

   Besides traditional one-letter POSIX-style options, `gawk' also
supports GNU long options.

     awk [OPTIONS] -f progfile [`--'] FILE ...
     awk [OPTIONS] [`--'] 'PROGRAM' FILE ...

   It is possible to invoke `awk' with an empty program:

     $ awk '' datafile1 datafile2

Doing so makes little sense though; `awk' will simply exit silently
when given an empty program (d.c.).  If `--lint' has been specified on
the command line, `gawk' will issue a warning that the program is empty.



* Options
Command line options and their meanings.
* Other Arguments
Input file names and variable assignments.
* AWKPATH Variable
Searching directories for `awk' programs.
* Obsolete
Obsolete Options and/or features.
* Undocumented
Undocumented Options and Features.
* Known Bugs
Known Bugs in `gawk'.