How do I use the split function to split by \.? For example, first

Question

Editorial Team

Asked: May 31, 20262026-05-31T23:51:43+00:00 2026-05-31T23:51:43+00:00

How do I use the split function to split by “\.”?

For example, first consider splitting by ::

echo "03:26:12" | awk '{split($0,a,":"); print a[3] a[2] a[1]}'

Which produces this output:

But if the incoming string is instead:

echo "03\.26\.12" | awk '{split($0,a,???); print a[3] a[2] a[1]}'

With desired output:

What should the ??? be?

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Editorial Team · Answer 1 · 2026-05-31T23:51:44+00:00

Editorial Team

You must escape both characters:

echo "03\.26\.12" | awk '{split($0,a,/\\\./); print a[3] a[2] a[1]}'

Result:

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