PERL or AWK

[pmcmicha]

I have a very large access log to go through everyday and I am currently parsing this with ksh, but the cut statements are taking forever to complete. I know that PERL or AWK are better for this kind of text processing, but I was curious if one was any better than the other for this kind of processing. Thanks.

 

[olded]

Hi:

It depends on the scope of your problem. Both awk and Perl are designed for text processing, but there's a lot more you can do with Perl. For example, Perl's file I-O and Regular Expresssions are superior to awks.

Without knowing your problem, I can say that cut has a smaller foot print than either awk or Perl. Of course, if you have a lot of cut commands, an awk or Perl might replace all the cuts thus speeding up the process.

Unless you're willing to do some experimenting, the best tool is still the one you know the best.

Regards,


Ed

 

[mrn]

Why not both, perl will run quicker, but awk is easier to write, a lot of systems now come with a2p (awk-to-perl & sed-to-perl) convertors. If yours hasn't you can get more info from

http://www.perl.com/doc/manual/html/x2p/a2p.html

http://www.perl.com/doc/manual/html/x2p/s2p.html

Regards

--
| Mike Nixon
| Unix Admin
|

http://www.instantflashshop.com

----------------------------