![[image of the Head of a GNU]](/graphics/gnu-head-sm.jpg)
Many computer users need to manipulate text files: extract and then operate on data from parts of certain lines while discarding the rest, make changes in various text files wherever certain patterns appear, and so on. To write a program to do these things in a language such as C or Pascal is a time-consuming inconvenience that may take many lines of code. The job is easy with awk, especially the GNU implementation: Gawk.
The awk utility interprets a special-purpose programming language that makes it possible to handle many data-reformatting jobs with just a few lines of code.
Gawk can be found on the main GNU ftp server: http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gawk/ (via HTTP) and ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gawk/ (via FTP). It can also be found on the GNU mirrors; please use a mirror if possible.
Documentation for Gawk is available online (as is documentation for most GNU software). You may also find more information about Gawk by running info gawk or man gawk, or by looking at /usr/doc/gawk/, /usr/local/doc/gawk/, or similar directories on your system.
A separate gawkinet manual for the special TCP/IP networking features of Gawk is also available.
Gawk has one mailing list: <bug-gawk@gnu.org>. It is used to discuss all aspects of Gawk. This is an alias for the bug-gnu-utils list, if you want to subscribe or look at the archive.
Announcements about Gawk and most other GNU software are made on <info-gnu@gnu.org>.
To subscribe to these or any GNU mailing lists, please send an empty mail with a Subject: header of just subscribe to the relevant -request list. For example, to subscribe yourself to the GNU announcement list, you would send mail to <info-gnu-request@gnu.org>. Or you can use the mailing list web interface.
Development of Gawk, and GNU in general, is a volunteer effort, and you can contribute. For information, please read How to help GNU. If you'd like to get involved, it's a good idea to join the discussion mailing list (see above).
For development sources and other information, please see the Gawk project page at savannah.gnu.org.
To translate Gawk's messages into other languages, please see the Translation Project page for Gawk. If you have a new translation of the message strings, or updates to the existing strings, please have the changes made in this repository. Only translations from this site will be incorporated into Gawk. For more information, see the Translation Project.
Gawk is currently being maintained by Arnold Robbins. Please use the mailing list for contact.
Gawk is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to
<gnu@gnu.org>.
There are also other ways to contact
the FSF.
Please send broken links and other corrections or suggestions to
<bug-gawk@gnu.org>.
Please see the Translations README for information on coordinating and submitting translations of this article.
Copyright © 2009 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article are permitted worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided this notice, and the copyright notice, are preserved.
Updated: $Date: 2009/07/24 17:58:41 $