awk:tldr:56083

awk: Sum the values in the first column of a file and print the total.

$ awk '{s+=$1} END {print s}' ${filename}

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This command uses the awk utility to calculate the sum of the values in the first column of a file and then prints the sum.

Let's break down the command:

awk is a versatile command-line tool for processing text files.
{s+=$1} is an AWK script that accumulates the sum of the values in the first column of the input file. $1 represents the first column in a line and s is a variable that is updated by adding each value in the first column.
END is an AWK pattern that is triggered when all input lines are processed.
{print s} is the action that executes when the END pattern is encountered. It prints the accumulated sum s.
${filename} is a placeholder for the input file name.

When you run this command, awk reads each line of the specified file, adds the value in the first column to the running sum s, and continues to the next line. After processing all lines, it executes the END pattern and prints the final value of s, which is the sum of all the values in the first column.

This explanation was created by an AI. In most cases those are correct. But please always be careful and never run a command you are not sure if it is safe.

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