pkgsrc/lang/awka/DESCR

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Awka is an open-source implementation of the AWK programming language. Awka
is not an interpreter like Gawk, Mawk or Nawk, but instead it converts the
program to ANSI-C, then compiles this using gcc or a native C compiled to
create a binary executable.
As of version 0.7.0, you can write C functions and compile them into a
library, then have these functions available for use in AWK scripts as if they
were builtin. From now on, using Awka you are no longer bound to the limited
AWK universe plus a few extras. You are free to extend functionality in
whatever direction C allows you, and have this available within the concise,
elegant AWK language framework.
You may distribute the executable, without having to provide the source code
for your AWK program. Please note, however, that executables using Awka must
be distributed free of charge. Note that using the optional dfa library that
accompanies awka, or compiling awka under cygwin, will subject translated C
source code to the GPL, but not the AWK source.
Translating AWK programs to C means you can link them with C & C++ code, thus
extending functionality way beyond what is possible in interpretive AWK.
Awka-generated executables perform comparatively with, and in many cases
faster than, the quickest freely-available AWK interpreter.