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Help using Awk and cut with a text file

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# 1  
Old 01-02-2012
Help using Awk and cut with a text file
Looking for some help on using awk and cut

I have a text file that has fixed information and want to write a script that will prompt the user for an account to search for and pint the output

The sample line that has the key information looks like this:
Code:
Statement to:                          Account Number:   100

The account number can be 5 digits and is in positions 56 to 60

I am trying to use cut with awk to search the file and print those lines with the variable the user would input, such as:
Code:
echo "    Enter the account you are searching for:"
read a
awk '$3 ~ /Account Number:   $a/ { print $0 }' filename
x="Account Number:  $a"
echo $x

The example above does not work, I need to combine awk with cut to search for "Account Number: $a".

Thanks

Dan
Last edited by Scott; 01-02-2012 at 05:51 PM.. Reason: Added code tags
# 2  
Old 01-02-2012
Try:
Code:
awk "\$5==$a" filename

This User Gave Thanks to bartus11 For This Post:
ziggy6
# 3  
Old 01-02-2012
Quote:
Originally Posted by bartus11
Try:
Code:
awk "\$5==$a" filename

bartus11, thanks for the help. That didn't give the results I was expecting. I know that it is the 5th field but it did not yeild the results I guess you thought it would. That is why I tried to use cut with awk so that I could key off of the Account Number: and then search and cut 56-60. Thanks
# 4  
Old 01-02-2012
Something like this ?
Code:
awk -vA="$a" '$5~A{print "Account Number:  "$5}' filename

---------- Post updated at 12:04 AM ---------- Previous update was at 12:02 AM ----------

Code:
$ X="Statement to:                          Account Number:   100"
$ a=100
$ echo "$X" | awk -vA="$a" '$5~A{print "Account Number:  "$5}'
100

Last edited by ctsgnb; 01-03-2012 at 05:08 AM..
This User Gave Thanks to ctsgnb For This Post:
ziggy6
# 5  
Old 01-02-2012
You do a read a in your shell. Then you use $a in awk, but that won't work because awk knows nothing about shell variables.

When you invoke awk you can however pass variables to it:

awk -v a=$a ...

Now in awk you have a variable a which has the same value as your $a in the shell.

Tip 1: You want to do something with a last word on a line. In awk that is the variable $NF. (NF=number of fields, so if there are 5 columns $NF is the same thing as $5)

Tip 2: When you omit the argument to print, $0 is implied.

Your code could look something like:

Code:
#!/bin/bash
echo "    Enter the account you are searching for:"
read a
awk -v a=$a '/Account Number:/ && $NF==a { print }' filename
x="Account Number:  $a"
echo $x

But I wonder why you want the x and the echo $x.

Greetings,
Eric
This User Gave Thanks to edehont For This Post:
ziggy6
# 6  
Old 01-02-2012
Quote:
Originally Posted by bartus11
Try:
Code:
awk "\$5==$a" filename

Quote:
Originally Posted by edehont
You do a read a in your shell. Then you use $a in awk, but that won't work because awk knows nothing about shell variables.

When you invoke awk you can however pass variables to it:

awk -v a=$a ...

Now in awk you have a variable a which has the same value as your $a in the shell.

Tip 1: You want to do something with a last word on a line. In awk that is the variable $NF. (NF=number of fields, so if there are 5 columns $NF is the same thing as $5)

Tip 2: When you omit the argument to print, $0 is implied.

Your code could look something like:

Code:
#!/bin/bash
echo "    Enter the account you are searching for:"
read a
awk -v a=$a '/Account Number:/ && $NF==a { print }' filename
x="Account Number:  $a"
echo $x

But I wonder why you want the x and the echo $x.

Greetings,
Eric
Eric,

Sorry I guess I should have said I was only echo'ing X so that I could see the string that I was searching for for validation purposes...
Thanks for the help, I will give your script a shot...Thanks again!
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