substr syntax

[fluxdemon]

I've been bouncing around several different sites and still can find a working substr statement. $fl=substr($1,1,1) should grab the first letter but I get : syntax error at line 2 : `(' unexpected.

I am logged on a Solaris server.

 

[ecasadella]

Try:

fl=`echo $1 | cut -c1`

EDC

 

[olded]

Hi:

I'm assuming you want the awk substr to work:

f1=`echo "teststring"| nawk ' { f1= substr($0, 1, 1)
print f1 # should print t
} '`

regards,

Ed