Hi klaatu,

Thanks for this heads-up. It *is* a confusing feature of awk, but it's the same for sed (so at least the authors are consistent). I don't think we have emphasised it enough, on reflection.

It was highlighted in show 2 of the Awk series (https://hackerpublicradio.org/eps/hpr2129/full_shownotes.html#more-about-awk-programs) and has been used many times thereafter, but hasn't been emphasised.

So, thanks again for the feedback. It's most appreciated.

Dave