Go to the first, previous, next, last section, table of contents.


Pattern Elements

Patterns in @command{awk} control the execution of rules--a rule is executed when its pattern matches the current input record. The following is a summary of the types of patterns in @command{awk}:

/regular expression/
A regular expression. It matches when the text of the input record fits the regular expression. (See section Regular Expressions.)
expression
A single expression. It matches when its value is nonzero (if a number) or non-null (if a string). (See section Expressions as Patterns.)
pat1, pat2
A pair of patterns separated by a comma, specifying a range of records. The range includes both the initial record that matches pat1 and the final record that matches pat2. (See section Specifying Record Ranges with Patterns.)
BEGIN
END
Special patterns for you to supply startup or cleanup actions for your @command{awk} program. (See section The BEGIN and END Special Patterns.)
empty
The empty pattern matches every input record. (See section The Empty Pattern.)


Go to the first, previous, next, last section, table of contents.