Quote:
There is no reason why awk can't be used interactively.
You are 100% right about that. So we have no argument.
But I did want to clarify that I never said "awk can't be used interactively". I said it's not intended as an interactive environment. I stand by that, because awk is normally used in a batch mode.
You are a very advanced user. So you are comfortable using awk in an interactive mode. And, as you say, you are normally testing when you run awk interactively. If you read again the original post, I'm sure you will agree the poster obviously has a VERY confused understanding, is at a pretty beginner level, because the poster thinks read and break are related. We all started at a beginner level, at one time or another. When explaining something to a beginner user, I think it's best to stick with the basics. We have to walk before we can run.