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(gawk.info)Multiple Line

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Multiple-Line Records
=====================

   In some databases, a single line cannot conveniently hold all the
information in one entry.  In such cases, you can use multiline
records.  The first step in doing this is to choose your data format.

   One technique is to use an unusual character or string to separate
records.  For example, you could use the formfeed character (written
`\f' in `awk', as in C) to separate them, making each record a page of
the file.  To do this, just set the variable `RS' to `"\f"' (a string
containing the formfeed character).  Any other character could equally
well be used, as long as it won't be part of the data in a record.

   Another technique is to have blank lines separate records.  By a
special dispensation, an empty string as the value of `RS' indicates
that records are separated by one or more blank lines.  When `RS' is set
to the empty string, each record always ends at the first blank line
encountered.  The next record doesn't start until the first non-blank
line that follows.  No matter how many blank lines appear in a row, they
all act as one record separator.  (Blank lines must be completely
empty; lines that contain only whitespace do not count.)

   You can achieve the same effect as `RS = ""' by assigning the string
`"\n\n+"' to `RS'. This regexp matches the newline at the end of the
record and one or more blank lines after the record.  In addition, a
regular expression always matches the longest possible sequence when
there is a choice (Note: How Much Text Matches?.).
So the next record doesn't start until the first non-blank line that
follows--no matter how many blank lines appear in a row, they are
considered one record separator.

   There is an important difference between `RS = ""' and `RS =
"\n\n+"'. In the first case, leading newlines in the input data file
are ignored, and if a file ends without extra blank lines after the
last record, the final newline is removed from the record.  In the
second case, this special processing is not done.  (d.c.)

   Now that the input is separated into records, the second step is to
separate the fields in the record.  One way to do this is to divide each
of the lines into fields in the normal manner.  This happens by default
as the result of a special feature.  When `RS' is set to the empty
string, the newline character _always_ acts as a field separator.  This
is in addition to whatever field separations result from `FS'.

   The original motivation for this special exception was probably to
provide useful behavior in the default case (i.e., `FS' is equal to
`" "').  This feature can be a problem if you really don't want the
newline character to separate fields, because there is no way to
prevent it.  However, you can work around this by using the `split'
function to break up the record manually (Note: String Manipulation
Functions.).

   Another way to separate fields is to put each field on a separate
line: to do this, just set the variable `FS' to the string `"\n"'.
(This simple regular expression matches a single newline.)  A practical
example of a data file organized this way might be a mailing list,
where each entry is separated by blank lines.  Consider a mailing list
in a file named `addresses', that looks like this:

     Jane Doe
     123 Main Street
     Anywhere, SE 12345-6789
     
     John Smith
     456 Tree-lined Avenue
     Smallville, MW 98765-4321
     ...

A simple program to process this file is as follows:

     # addrs.awk --- simple mailing list program
     
     # Records are separated by blank lines.
     # Each line is one field.
     BEGIN { RS = "" ; FS = "\n" }
     
     {
           print "Name is:", $1
           print "Address is:", $2
           print "City and State are:", $3
           print ""
     }

   Running the program produces the following output:

     $ awk -f addrs.awk addresses
     -| Name is: Jane Doe
     -| Address is: 123 Main Street
     -| City and State are: Anywhere, SE 12345-6789
     -|
     -| Name is: John Smith
     -| Address is: 456 Tree-lined Avenue
     -| City and State are: Smallville, MW 98765-4321
     -|
     ...

   Note: Printing Mailing Labels, for a more realistic
program that deals with address lists.  The following table summarizes
how records are split, based on the value of `RS'.  (`==' means "is
equal to.")

`RS == "\n"'
     Records are separated by the newline character (`\n').  In effect,
     every line in the data file is a separate record, including blank
     lines.  This is the default.

`RS == ANY SINGLE CHARACTER'
     Records are separated by each occurrence of the character.
     Multiple successive occurrences delimit empty records.

`RS == ""'
     Records are separated by runs of blank lines.  The newline
     character always serves as a field separator, in addition to
     whatever value `FS' may have. Leading and trailing newlines in a
     file are ignored.

`RS == REGEXP'
     Records are separated by occurrences of characters that match
     REGEXP.  Leading and trailing matches of REGEXP delimit empty
     records.  (This is a `gawk' extension, it is not specified by the
     POSIX standard.)

   In all cases, `gawk' sets `RT' to the input text that matched the
value specified by `RS'.