a2p

a2p [-D<flags>] [-F<separator>] [-n] [-T] [-v var=value] [prog [inputfile(s)]]

-D<flags>
    Set debugging flags (e.g., -DL for line numbers and linting)

-F<char>
    Use <char> as field separator instead of whitespace

-n
    Disable automatic printing of input lines

-T
    Enable table-driven processing mode

-v var=value
    Predefine awk variables for the Perl script

prog
    Awk program file or inline code

inputfile(s)
    Input files to process; defaults to stdin

The a2p command is a Perl utility designed to translate awk programs into equivalent Perl scripts. Developed as part of the Perl distribution, it automates the migration of simple to moderately complex awk code to Perl, leveraging Perl's superior text processing capabilities.

It parses awk syntax—including patterns, actions, variables, built-in functions like print, length, and control structures—and generates idiomatic Perl code. This includes handling awk's field separators (FS), record separators (RS), and arrays. While effective for straightforward scripts, it may require manual adjustments for advanced awk features like multi-dimensional arrays or gawk extensions.

Usage typically involves piping awk code or specifying a program file: a2p program.awk > program.pl. Output Perl scripts are self-contained and executable via perl. It's invaluable for legacy code conversion in Unix environments, though modern Perl one-liners often supplant awk directly.

a2p shines in batch processing but isn't perfect—awk's implicit looping over records is mirrored in Perl's line-by-line reads, preserving semantics where possible.

Not suitable for complex awk (e.g., gawk extensions, user functions); generated Perl may need tweaks for efficiency. Deprecated in favor of direct Perl rewriting.

a2p script.awk > script.pl
echo '/foo/ {print $1}' | a2p

0 on success; non-zero for syntax errors or translation failures.

Introduced in Perl 1.0 (1987) by Larry Wall as part of core utils; maintained through Perl 5.x but rarely updated due to awk's decline in favor of Perl.

awk(1), gawk(1), perl(1), perlre(1)