From: Robert Nichols <SEE_SIGNATURE@...>
Date: 2011-05-18T12:55:28+09:00
Subject: Re: Linux utility with reverse index facility?

On 05/16/2011 05:38 AM, no.top.post@gmail.com wrote:
> awk&stuff can "give me the the Nth element",
> but, without writing your own search-loop,
> what can "give me the index of the 'element'
> which is<elementValue>" ?
>
> I think it's called 'reverse indexing' ?

In awk, it's just as easy to build an array where your "elementValues"
are the indices and the values stored in the array are ordinal numbers.
I,e., instead of
     myArray[n++] = "cheese"
have
     myArray["cheese"] = n++

Now you can use myArray["something"] in an expression and get back
the number that was stored for that string (or a null string equivalent
to arithmetic 0 if that index was never stored).

-- 
Bob Nichols         AT comcast.net I am "RNichols42"