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Pattern Elements

• Regexp Patterns: Using regexps as patterns.
• Expression Patterns: Any expression can be used as a pattern.
• Ranges: Pairs of patterns specify record ranges.
• BEGIN/END: Specifying initialization and cleanup rules.
• Empty: The empty pattern, which matches every record.

Patterns in 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 awk patterns:

/regular expression/

A regular expression. It matches when the text of the input record fits the regular expression. (See Regular Expressions.)

expression

A single expression. It matches when its value is nonzero (if a number) or non-null (if a string). (See 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 Specifying Record Ranges with Patterns.)

BEGIN

END

Special patterns for you to supply startup or cleanup actions for your awk program. (See The BEGIN and END Special Patterns.)

empty

The empty pattern matches every input record. (See The Empty Pattern.)