Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!udel!burdvax!wrp
From: wrp@PRC.Unisys.COM (William R. Pringle)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.misc
Subject: Re: passing arguments to awk scripts
Message-ID: <16788@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM>
Date: 11 Mar 91 03:25:26 GMT
References: <1991Mar9.212943.1961@casbah.acns.nwu.edu> <10094@uwm.edu>
Distribution: na
Organization: Unisys Corporation, Paoli Research Center; Paoli, PA
Lines: 24

In article <10094@uwm.edu> datta@vacs.uwp.wisc.edu (David Datta) writes:
>Can it be done? Is there a way I can address a 
>command line argument within the script?

Awk (nawk, gawk, etc.) accept arguments as keyword-value pairs when
entered from the command line.  For example, to pass the current directory
to awk, type something like: PWD=`pwd`, for your home directory,
HOME=${HOME}, etc.

For example, the following file (asdf):

#!/bin/sh

awk '{printf "Line %d of %s/%s: >>%s<<\n", NR, Pwd, FILENAME, $0}' \
	Pwd=`pwd` asdf

produces the following output:
Line 1 of /guests/wrp/asdf: >>#!/bin/sh<<
Line 2 of /guests/wrp/asdf: >><<
Line 3 of /guests/wrp/asdf: >>awk '{printf "Line %d of %s/%s: >>%s<<\n", NR, Pwd, FILENAME, $0}' \<<
Line 4 of /guests/wrp/asdf: >>	Pwd=`pwd` asdf<<

Bill Pringle
wrp@prc.unisys.com