topic Re: Awk and assigning values to multiple variables in Operating System - HP-UX

Awk and assigning values to multiple variables

Scott Frye_1 — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 08:37:23 GMT

I have a simple need that I know I can resolve with a loop but I want to know if there is a way to do it without looping.

My file has one line from TOP
0 ? 37 root 152 20 0K 1888K run 247:32 0.58 0.58 vxfsd

All I want to do is assign each piece of this line to a seperate variable. I could do
awk'{print $1" "$2 " "$3}' toptest.txt | while read var1 var2 var3; do
do whatever
done

but I would like to stay away from the loop since there is (and will only be) one line of data

Re: Awk and assigning values to multiple variables

Steven E. Protter — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 08:45:42 GMT

var1=$(awk'{print $1}' toptest.txt)
var2=$(awk'{print $2}' toptest.txt)
var3=$(awk'{print $3}' toptest.txt)

This should populate the variables without using a loop.

SEP

Re: Awk and assigning values to multiple variables

Scott Frye_1 — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 08:47:07 GMT

That is another way, but I have 13 to do. I'm looking for the most efficient way. What do you think about doing 13 variables that way?

Re: Awk and assigning values to multiple variables

c_51 — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 09:30:36 GMT

being your file has just one line,
the simplest way with just using the shell, would be:
cat file | read var1 var2 var3 rest
print "$var1 $var2 $var3" #just to test

and if you don't mind reading from right to left:

read var1 var2 var3 rest < yourfile

Re: Awk and assigning values to multiple variables

Stuart Abramson — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 09:32:30 GMT

I think that you can do:

cat file | while read v1 v2 v3 ... v13
do
commands
end

Re: Awk and assigning values to multiple variables

Michael Schulte zur Sur — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 09:35:11 GMT

Hi,
what about
read var1 var2 var3 < toptest.txt
?

greetings,

Michael

Re: Awk and assigning values to multiple variables

c_51 — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 09:40:14 GMT

and you could put them all into an array:
set -A array $(print ${array[0]}

Re: Awk and assigning values to multiple variables

c_51 — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 09:49:49 GMT

and if you don't need your positional variables anymore:

set -- $(yourfile)

print $1 $2

Re: Awk and assigning values to multiple variables

c_51 — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 09:52:23 GMT

oops

should have been

set -- $(
print $1 $2

forgot the < in $(

Re: Awk and assigning values to multiple variables

Scott Frye_1 — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 10:01:59 GMT

I'm going for the
read var1 var2 var3 < toptest.txt
method.

Thanks for all the input!!

Scott