Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site opus.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!houxm!houxz!vax135!floyd!cmcl2!seismo!hao!cires!nbires!opus!rcd From: rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) Newsgroups: net.bugs.4bsd Subject: Re: 4.2 awk difference Message-ID: <540@opus.UUCP> Date: Mon, 11-Jun-84 20:29:32 EDT Article-I.D.: opus.540 Posted: Mon Jun 11 20:29:32 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 13-Jun-84 02:27:39 EDT References: <502@rocksvax.UUCP> Organization: NBI, Boulder Lines: 20 >DESCRIPTION: > 4.2 awk fails to modify $0 when one of $1, $2, ... is modified. The awk >distributed with 4.1 handles the case below as documented. >... >POSSIBLE SOLUTION: > The action of 'print $0' can be performed by 'for (i=1;i<=NF;i++) >printf "%s " $i;'. Thus one still has the full capability of the old awk. >Since the documentation is slightly unclear about $0 when changed as a >side-effect it might be better to just delete this feature from awk. In other >words simply change the documentation. The documentation isn't at all unclear. See the cover page of the awk document in Vol 2A - it illustrates with: {$1 = log($1); print} which, it states, "replaces the first field of each line by its algorithm". The 4.2 behavior is definitely a bug which needs fixing. -- Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303)444-5710 x3086 ...Cerebus for dictator!