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====== AWK - AWK Field Separator Delimiters ======

Assuming a file exists, **test.txt**, with the following contents:

<file>
10   Peter     Terence   Roux        45
11   Virginia  Genevieve  Roux        45
12   Felix     Devon     Roux         5
13   David     Bruce     Stevenson   48
14   Bob       James     Smith       16
48   Adam      Winter    Ridley      23
</file>

----

===== Specifying Input Field Separator Delimiter =====

To set an alternative field delimiter:

<code awk>
awk '{FS=":"}{print $2,$4}' test.txt
</code>

or

<code awk>
awk -F: '{print $2,$4}' test.txt
</code>

<WRAP info>
**NOTE:**  This is useful when a space is not being used as the delimiter in the input file.

  * AWK **FS** is any single character or regular expression which you want to use as a input field separator.
  * AWK **FS** can be changed any number of times, it retains its values until it is explicitly changed.
    * If you want to change the field separator, its better to change before you read the line; so the change affects the line that is read.

</WRAP>

----

===== Specifying Output Field Separator Delimiter =====

To set an alternative field delimiter for the output:

<code awk>
awk '{OFS="-"}{print $2,$4}' test.txt
</code>

returns:

<code>
Peter-Roux
Virginia-Roux
Felix-Roux
David-Stevenson
Bob-Smith
Adam-Ridley
</code>

<WRAP info>
**NOTE:**  The **OFS** variable is used to specify the output delimiter.
</WRAP>