awk is very useful tool for linux user.
For example, you have output from ps aux like this :
#ps aux
root 2213 0.0 0.4 6596 2428 pts/2 S 12:08 0:00 bash
root 2235 0.0 0.1 4848 952 pts/2 S+ 12:08 0:00 /bin/bash xxx
root 2236 0.0 0.6 7132 3236 pts/2 S+ 12:08 0:04 ssh xxx
The second column is PID, and 8th is process state.
To find the zombie process you just execute the following command :
# ps aux | awk '{ print $8 " " $2 }' | grep -w Z
See just use $th of the column, you will get the value of that column. Also, you can apply even you have comma separated field with -F option.
For more usage of this command please consult
#man awk
:)
