Why? Perl has cryptic syntax, while AWK has syntax that is easily understood by anyone that has experience with common programming languages like C, C++, Java.

Why? Perl has cryptic syntax, while AWK has syntax that is easily understood by anyone that has experience with common programming languages like C, C++, Java. If you find unknown syntax construct in Perl code, it is hard to identify what it is, but if you find unknown function in AWK, you can just google its name. Also, AWK is mandated by POSIX, so one can assume it is installed, while Perl is optional.