Numeric values

A numeric value consists of digits with an optional sign and decimal point. A numeric value is not enclosed in quotes. For example:

10    0.34    –78    +2.56    –.92

are all valid in awk. awk does not let you put commas inside numbers. For example, you must write 1000 instead of 1,000.

Note: awk lets you use exponential or scientific notation. Exponents are given as e or E, followed by an optionally signed exponent. Thus:

1E3    1.0e3    10E2    1000

are all equivalent.

When awk compares numbers (with such operators as > or <), it makes comparisons in accordance with the usual rules of arithmetic.