How to store output of a awk script command into a variable? [duplicate]

Question

I have an awk script, testscript.script, with command:

$5 > 0 {print $1}

which outputs

 Lebron
 Kobe
 James
 Tony

How can I store this command into a variable var such that when I say print var at any point in the code, the above output will print?

heemayl · Accepted Answer · 2016-11-02 05:25:05Z

1

You need command substitution, $():

var=$(awk ...)

The STDOUT of the awk command will be saved in variable var.

Now, you can do:

echo "$var"

to get the output.

answered Nov 2, 2016 at 5:25

heemayl

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5 Comments

Anonymous Over a year ago

extending this command substitution method to the command var = $($3 + $4 + $5 > 500 {print $1 $2 | "sort"}) produces syntax errors. What went wrong here? Normally, stdout for this command will display.

heemayl Over a year ago

@KevinMoy There must be no spaces around =, you need: var=$(your_command_here)

Anonymous Over a year ago

very strange... I seem to get syntax errors no matter how simple the command (I even tried var=$(print "hello world") and still a failure), and where it was placed in the awk script. Could this be due to having an awk script itself? I invoke the script with awk -f testscript.script inputfile

heemayl Over a year ago

@KevinMoy Not print, use echo: var=$(echo "hello world")

Anonymous Over a year ago

What if a print statement is combined with an if statement? How would the command substitution change? i.e. storing if(x > 5) {print "Hello World"} into the var variable?

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