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Programming Language

AWK

Scripting Language

AWK is a domain-specific language designed for text processing, typically used as a data extraction and reporting tool, taking its name from the surname initials of its authors, Alfred Aho, Peter Weinberger and Brian Kernighan. AWK was created at Bell Laboratories in the 1970s, and programs describe patterns and actions performed when a line of input matches a pattern, making it well suited for processing structured, line-oriented text such as log files and tabular data.

Facts
First Released
1977 1
Paradigm
Data-driven, procedural, scripting 2
Significance
Introduced a compact, data-driven approach to text processing that shaped later Unix tools and directly influenced Perl. 2
AWK
Filter Results1 entry
Connections

In Field

Source Wikipedia: AWK

Influenced

JavaScript's own infobox lists AWK among its influences (alongside Java, Scheme, Self, HyperTalk). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript

Source Wikidata: JavaScript

"Perl takes hashes ('associative arrays') from AWK and regular expressions from sed." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perl

Source Wikidata: Perl

Influenced By

Source Wikidata: AWK

Invented By

Alfred Aho, Pioneers
Source Wikidata: AWK
Source Wikidata: AWK
Source Wikidata: AWK
Sources
1. Wikidata: AWK
  • Wikidata Q213970, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
  • Wikidata Q213970 P571 (inception)
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: AWK
Wikimedia Foundation
  • History section
    AWK was originally written in 1977 and distributed with Version 7 Unix.
  • In Field: Programming Language Theory, Lead paragraph
View the Source
Programming Language Database (PLDB): AWK - PLDB
Programming Language Database (PLDB)In Group: System and Application Automation Languages, Page text
Quote, In Group: System and Application Automation Languages, Page text
AWK is a programming language designed for text processing
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