Summarizing data with awk

In AWK, you can summarize data using a combination of built-in variables, functions, and control structures. Here are some commonly used techniques for summarizing data in AWK:

– **Built-in Variables:** AWK provides several built-in variables that you can use to summarize data. Here are some commonly used built-in variables:

– `NR`: The number of records (lines) processed so far.
– `NF`: The number of fields (columns) in the current record.
– `$1`, `$2`, etc.: The value of the first, second, etc. field in the current record.

Here is an example of using built-in variables in AWK to summarize data:

``
  # Print the total number of records and fields in a file
  END {
    print "Number of records: " NR
    print "Number of fields: " NF
  }
  

`

In this example, we use the `END` block to print the total number of records and fields in the input file.

– **Built-in Functions:** AWK provides several built-in functions that you can use to summarize data. Here are some commonly used built-in functions:

– `sum`: Computes the sum of a series of values.
– `min`: Computes the minimum value in a series of values.
– `max`: Computes the maximum value in a series of values.

Here is an example of using built-in functions in AWK to summarize data:

``
  # Compute the total, minimum, and maximum values in a file of numbers
  {
    sum += $1
    if (NR == 1 || $1 < min) min = $1
    if (NR == 1 || $1 > max) max = $1
  }
  END {
    print "Total: " sum
    print "Minimum: " min
    print "Maximum: " max
  }
  

`

In this example, we use the `sum`, `min`, and `max` functions to compute the total, minimum, and maximum values in a file of numbers. We use the `+=` operator to add each value to the `sum` variable, and conditional statements (`if`) to update the `min` and `max` variables as necessary.

– **Control Structures:** You can use control structures (`for`, `while`, `if`, etc.) to implement more complex data summarization tasks. Here is an example of using a `for` loop in AWK to summarize data:

``
  # Compute the average value of each field in a file of numbers
  {
    for (i = 1; i <= NF; i++) {
      sum[i] += $i
      count[i]++
    }
  }
  END {
    for (i = 1; i <= NF; i++) {
      avg = sum[i]/count[i]
      print "Average of field " i ": " avg
    }
  }
  

`

In this example, we use a `for` loop to compute the average value of each field in a file of numbers. We use two arrays (`sum` and `count`) to accumulate the sum and count of each field, and then compute the average by dividing the sum by the count.

These are just a few examples of the techniques that you can use in AWK to summarize data. You can combine these techniques with other AWK features to implement complex data processing and analysis tasks.