Merge branch 'master' into feature/fix-comments

11 files changed, 418 insertions, 431 deletions

diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 9489e05c..25a5a6a4 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -18,7 +18,10 @@ Changes from 4.2.x to 5.0.0
 4. PROCINFO["platform"] yields a string indicating the platform for
    which gawk was compiled.
 
-5. Comment handling in the pretty-printer has been reworked almost completely
+5. Writing to elements of SYMTAB that are not variable names now
+   causes a fatal error.
+
+6. Comment handling in the pretty-printer has been reworked almost completely
    from scratch. As a result, comments in many corner cases that were
    previously lost are now included in the formatted output.
 
diff --git a/doc/ChangeLog b/doc/ChangeLog
index e0f06af1..f4fb7b69 100644
--- a/doc/ChangeLog
+++ b/doc/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+2018-11-29         Arnold D. Robbins     <arnold@skeeve.com>
+
+	* gawktexi.in (Auto-set): Document that you can no longer use
+	arbitrary indices in SYMTAB.
+	* gawk.1: Ditto.
+
 2018-11-27         Arnold D. Robbins     <arnold@skeeve.com>
 
 	* gawktexi.in (Other Versions): Document GoAWK, an awk interpreter
diff --git a/doc/gawk.1 b/doc/gawk.1
index 5caff79b..4964cb3d 100644
--- a/doc/gawk.1
+++ b/doc/gawk.1
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 .		if \w'\(rq' .ds rq "\(rq
 .	\}
 .\}
-.TH GAWK 1 "Nov 26 2018" "Free Software Foundation" "Utility Commands"
+.TH GAWK 1 "Nov 29 2018" "Free Software Foundation" "Utility Commands"
 .SH NAME
 gawk \- pattern scanning and processing language
 .SH SYNOPSIS
@@ -1425,7 +1425,8 @@ You may not use the
 .B delete
 statement with the
 .B SYMTAB
-array.
+array, nor assign to elements with an index that is
+not a variable name.
 .TP
 .B TEXTDOMAIN
 The text domain of the \*(AK program; used to find the localized
diff --git a/doc/gawk.info b/doc/gawk.info
index be729ca2..e0738357 100644
--- a/doc/gawk.info
+++ b/doc/gawk.info
@@ -11190,15 +11190,14 @@ they are not special:
      test if an element in 'SYMTAB' is an array.  Also, you may not use
      the 'delete' statement with the 'SYMTAB' array.
 
-     You may use an index for 'SYMTAB' that is not a predefined
-     identifier:
+     Prior to version 5.0 of 'gawk', you could use an index for 'SYMTAB'
+     that was not a predefined identifier:
 
           SYMTAB["xxx"] = 5
           print SYMTAB["xxx"]
 
-     This works as expected: in this case 'SYMTAB' acts just like a
-     regular array.  The only difference is that you can't then delete
-     'SYMTAB["xxx"]'.
+     This no longer works, instead producing a fatal error, as it led to
+     rampant confusion.
 
      The 'SYMTAB' array is more interesting than it looks.  Andrew
      Schorr points out that it effectively gives 'awk' data pointers.
@@ -33913,7 +33912,7 @@ Index
 * dark corner, field separators:         Full Line Fields.    (line  22)
 * dark corner, FILENAME variable:        Getline Notes.       (line  19)
 * dark corner, FILENAME variable <1>:    Auto-set.            (line 108)
-* dark corner, FNR/NR variables:         Auto-set.            (line 410)
+* dark corner, FNR/NR variables:         Auto-set.            (line 409)
 * dark corner, format-control characters: Control Letters.    (line  33)
 * dark corner, format-control characters <1>: Control Letters.
                                                               (line 108)
@@ -34481,7 +34480,7 @@ Index
                                                               (line  12)
 * FNR variable:                          Records.             (line   6)
 * FNR variable <1>:                      Auto-set.            (line 118)
-* FNR variable, changing:                Auto-set.            (line 410)
+* FNR variable, changing:                Auto-set.            (line 409)
 * for statement:                         For Statement.       (line   6)
 * for statement, looping over arrays:    Scanning an Array.   (line  20)
 * fork() extension function:             Extension Sample Fork.
@@ -35139,7 +35138,7 @@ Index
 * not Boolean-logic operator:            Boolean Ops.         (line   6)
 * NR variable:                           Records.             (line   6)
 * NR variable <1>:                       Auto-set.            (line 143)
-* NR variable, changing:                 Auto-set.            (line 410)
+* NR variable, changing:                 Auto-set.            (line 409)
 * null strings:                          awk split records.   (line 121)
 * null strings <1>:                      Regexp Field Splitting.
                                                               (line  43)
@@ -35657,7 +35656,7 @@ Index
 * scanning arrays:                       Scanning an Array.   (line   6)
 * scanning multidimensional arrays:      Multiscanning.       (line  11)
 * Schorr, Andrew:                        Acknowledgments.     (line  60)
-* Schorr, Andrew <1>:                    Auto-set.            (line 380)
+* Schorr, Andrew <1>:                    Auto-set.            (line 379)
 * Schorr, Andrew <2>:                    Contributors.        (line 136)
 * Schreiber, Bert:                       Acknowledgments.     (line  38)
 * Schreiber, Rita:                       Acknowledgments.     (line  38)
@@ -35743,7 +35742,7 @@ Index
 * sidebar, Beware The Smoke and Mirrors!: Bitwise Functions.  (line 127)
 * sidebar, Changing FS Does Not Affect the Fields: Full Line Fields.
                                                               (line  14)
-* sidebar, Changing NR and FNR:          Auto-set.            (line 408)
+* sidebar, Changing NR and FNR:          Auto-set.            (line 407)
 * sidebar, Controlling Output Buffering with system(): I/O Functions.
                                                               (line 166)
 * sidebar, Escape Sequences for Metacharacters: Escape Sequences.
@@ -36377,368 +36376,368 @@ Node: Exit Statement454653
 Node: Built-in Variables457056
 Node: User-modified458189
 Node: Auto-set465956
-Ref: Auto-set-Footnote-1482792
-Ref: Auto-set-Footnote-2482998
-Node: ARGC and ARGV483054
-Node: Pattern Action Summary487267
-Node: Arrays489697
-Node: Array Basics491026
-Node: Array Intro491870
-Ref: figure-array-elements493845
-Ref: Array Intro-Footnote-1496549
-Node: Reference to Elements496677
-Node: Assigning Elements499141
-Node: Array Example499632
-Node: Scanning an Array501391
-Node: Controlling Scanning504413
-Ref: Controlling Scanning-Footnote-1509812
-Node: Numeric Array Subscripts510128
-Node: Uninitialized Subscripts512312
-Node: Delete513931
-Ref: Delete-Footnote-1516683
-Node: Multidimensional516740
-Node: Multiscanning519835
-Node: Arrays of Arrays521426
-Node: Arrays Summary526194
-Node: Functions528287
-Node: Built-in529325
-Node: Calling Built-in530406
-Node: Numeric Functions532402
-Ref: Numeric Functions-Footnote-1536430
-Ref: Numeric Functions-Footnote-2536787
-Ref: Numeric Functions-Footnote-3536835
-Node: String Functions537107
-Ref: String Functions-Footnote-1560965
-Ref: String Functions-Footnote-2561093
-Ref: String Functions-Footnote-3561341
-Node: Gory Details561428
-Ref: table-sub-escapes563219
-Ref: table-sub-proposed564738
-Ref: table-posix-sub566101
-Ref: table-gensub-escapes567642
-Ref: Gory Details-Footnote-1568465
-Node: I/O Functions568619
-Ref: table-system-return-values575087
-Ref: I/O Functions-Footnote-1577167
-Ref: I/O Functions-Footnote-2577315
-Node: Time Functions577435
-Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-1588106
-Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-2588174
-Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-3588332
-Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-4588443
-Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-5588555
-Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-6588782
-Node: Bitwise Functions589048
-Ref: table-bitwise-ops589642
-Ref: Bitwise Functions-Footnote-1595705
-Ref: Bitwise Functions-Footnote-2595878
-Node: Type Functions596069
-Node: I18N Functions598820
-Node: User-defined600471
-Node: Definition Syntax601276
-Ref: Definition Syntax-Footnote-1606963
-Node: Function Example607034
-Ref: Function Example-Footnote-1609956
-Node: Function Caveats609978
-Node: Calling A Function610496
-Node: Variable Scope611454
-Node: Pass By Value/Reference614448
-Node: Return Statement617947
-Node: Dynamic Typing620926
-Node: Indirect Calls621856
-Ref: Indirect Calls-Footnote-1632108
-Node: Functions Summary632236
-Node: Library Functions634941
-Ref: Library Functions-Footnote-1638548
-Ref: Library Functions-Footnote-2638691
-Node: Library Names638862
-Ref: Library Names-Footnote-1642322
-Ref: Library Names-Footnote-2642545
-Node: General Functions642631
-Node: Strtonum Function643734
-Node: Assert Function646756
-Node: Round Function650082
-Node: Cliff Random Function651622
-Node: Ordinal Functions652638
-Ref: Ordinal Functions-Footnote-1655701
-Ref: Ordinal Functions-Footnote-2655953
-Node: Join Function656163
-Ref: Join Function-Footnote-1657933
-Node: Getlocaltime Function658133
-Node: Readfile Function661875
-Node: Shell Quoting663852
-Node: Data File Management665253
-Node: Filetrans Function665885
-Node: Rewind Function669981
-Node: File Checking671891
-Ref: File Checking-Footnote-1673225
-Node: Empty Files673426
-Node: Ignoring Assigns675405
-Node: Getopt Function676955
-Ref: Getopt Function-Footnote-1688424
-Node: Passwd Functions688624
-Ref: Passwd Functions-Footnote-1697463
-Node: Group Functions697551
-Ref: Group Functions-Footnote-1705449
-Node: Walking Arrays705656
-Node: Library Functions Summary708664
-Node: Library Exercises710070
-Node: Sample Programs710535
-Node: Running Examples711305
-Node: Clones712033
-Node: Cut Program713257
-Node: Egrep Program723186
-Ref: Egrep Program-Footnote-1730698
-Node: Id Program730808
-Node: Split Program734488
-Ref: Split Program-Footnote-1737946
-Node: Tee Program738075
-Node: Uniq Program740865
-Node: Wc Program748291
-Ref: Wc Program-Footnote-1752546
-Node: Miscellaneous Programs752640
-Node: Dupword Program753853
-Node: Alarm Program755883
-Node: Translate Program760738
-Ref: Translate Program-Footnote-1765303
-Node: Labels Program765573
-Ref: Labels Program-Footnote-1768924
-Node: Word Sorting769008
-Node: History Sorting773080
-Node: Extract Program774915
-Node: Simple Sed782969
-Node: Igawk Program786043
-Ref: Igawk Program-Footnote-1800374
-Ref: Igawk Program-Footnote-2800576
-Ref: Igawk Program-Footnote-3800698
-Node: Anagram Program800813
-Node: Signature Program803875
-Node: Programs Summary805122
-Node: Programs Exercises806336
-Ref: Programs Exercises-Footnote-1810465
-Node: Advanced Features810556
-Node: Nondecimal Data812546
-Node: Array Sorting814137
-Node: Controlling Array Traversal814837
-Ref: Controlling Array Traversal-Footnote-1823205
-Node: Array Sorting Functions823323
-Ref: Array Sorting Functions-Footnote-1828414
-Node: Two-way I/O828610
-Ref: Two-way I/O-Footnote-1836330
-Ref: Two-way I/O-Footnote-2836517
-Node: TCP/IP Networking836599
-Node: Profiling839717
-Node: Advanced Features Summary848722
-Node: Internationalization850566
-Node: I18N and L10N852046
-Node: Explaining gettext852733
-Ref: Explaining gettext-Footnote-1858625
-Ref: Explaining gettext-Footnote-2858810
-Node: Programmer i18n858975
-Ref: Programmer i18n-Footnote-1863924
-Node: Translator i18n863973
-Node: String Extraction864767
-Ref: String Extraction-Footnote-1865899
-Node: Printf Ordering865985
-Ref: Printf Ordering-Footnote-1868771
-Node: I18N Portability868835
-Ref: I18N Portability-Footnote-1871291
-Node: I18N Example871354
-Ref: I18N Example-Footnote-1874160
-Node: Gawk I18N874233
-Node: I18N Summary874878
-Node: Debugger876219
-Node: Debugging877242
-Node: Debugging Concepts877683
-Node: Debugging Terms879492
-Node: Awk Debugging882067
-Node: Sample Debugging Session882973
-Node: Debugger Invocation883507
-Node: Finding The Bug884893
-Node: List of Debugger Commands891371
-Node: Breakpoint Control892704
-Node: Debugger Execution Control896398
-Node: Viewing And Changing Data899760
-Node: Execution Stack903134
-Node: Debugger Info904771
-Node: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands908842
-Node: Readline Support913904
-Node: Limitations914800
-Node: Debugging Summary916909
-Node: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic918188
-Node: Computer Arithmetic919673
-Ref: table-numeric-ranges923439
-Ref: table-floating-point-ranges923932
-Ref: Computer Arithmetic-Footnote-1924590
-Node: Math Definitions924647
-Ref: table-ieee-formats927963
-Ref: Math Definitions-Footnote-1928566
-Node: MPFR features928671
-Node: FP Math Caution930389
-Ref: FP Math Caution-Footnote-1931461
-Node: Inexactness of computations931830
-Node: Inexact representation932790
-Node: Comparing FP Values934150
-Node: Errors accumulate935391
-Node: Getting Accuracy936824
-Node: Try To Round939534
-Node: Setting precision940433
-Ref: table-predefined-precision-strings941130
-Node: Setting the rounding mode942960
-Ref: table-gawk-rounding-modes943334
-Ref: Setting the rounding mode-Footnote-1947265
-Node: Arbitrary Precision Integers947444
-Ref: Arbitrary Precision Integers-Footnote-1950619
-Node: Checking for MPFR950768
-Node: POSIX Floating Point Problems952242
-Ref: POSIX Floating Point Problems-Footnote-1956527
-Node: Floating point summary956565
-Node: Dynamic Extensions958755
-Node: Extension Intro960308
-Node: Plugin License961574
-Node: Extension Mechanism Outline962371
-Ref: figure-load-extension962810
-Ref: figure-register-new-function964375
-Ref: figure-call-new-function965467
-Node: Extension API Description967529
-Node: Extension API Functions Introduction969171
-Node: General Data Types974711
-Ref: General Data Types-Footnote-1983072
-Node: Memory Allocation Functions983371
-Ref: Memory Allocation Functions-Footnote-1987581
-Node: Constructor Functions987680
-Node: Registration Functions991266
-Node: Extension Functions991951
-Node: Exit Callback Functions997166
-Node: Extension Version String998416
-Node: Input Parsers999079
-Node: Output Wrappers1011800
-Node: Two-way processors1016312
-Node: Printing Messages1018577
-Ref: Printing Messages-Footnote-11019748
-Node: Updating ERRNO1019901
-Node: Requesting Values1020640
-Ref: table-value-types-returned1021377
-Node: Accessing Parameters1022313
-Node: Symbol Table Access1023548
-Node: Symbol table by name1024060
-Node: Symbol table by cookie1025849
-Ref: Symbol table by cookie-Footnote-11030034
-Node: Cached values1030098
-Ref: Cached values-Footnote-11033634
-Node: Array Manipulation1033787
-Ref: Array Manipulation-Footnote-11034878
-Node: Array Data Types1034915
-Ref: Array Data Types-Footnote-11037573
-Node: Array Functions1037665
-Node: Flattening Arrays1042163
-Node: Creating Arrays1049139
-Node: Redirection API1053906
-Node: Extension API Variables1056739
-Node: Extension Versioning1057450
-Ref: gawk-api-version1057879
-Node: Extension GMP/MPFR Versioning1059610
-Node: Extension API Informational Variables1061238
-Node: Extension API Boilerplate1062311
-Node: Changes from API V11066285
-Node: Finding Extensions1067857
-Node: Extension Example1068416
-Node: Internal File Description1069214
-Node: Internal File Ops1073294
-Ref: Internal File Ops-Footnote-11084644
-Node: Using Internal File Ops1084784
-Ref: Using Internal File Ops-Footnote-11087167
-Node: Extension Samples1087441
-Node: Extension Sample File Functions1088970
-Node: Extension Sample Fnmatch1096619
-Node: Extension Sample Fork1098106
-Node: Extension Sample Inplace1099324
-Node: Extension Sample Ord1102541
-Node: Extension Sample Readdir1103377
-Ref: table-readdir-file-types1104266
-Node: Extension Sample Revout1105071
-Node: Extension Sample Rev2way1105660
-Node: Extension Sample Read write array1106400
-Node: Extension Sample Readfile1108342
-Node: Extension Sample Time1109437
-Node: Extension Sample API Tests1110785
-Node: gawkextlib1111277
-Node: Extension summary1114195
-Node: Extension Exercises1117897
-Node: Language History1119395
-Node: V7/SVR3.11121051
-Node: SVR41123203
-Node: POSIX1124637
-Node: BTL1126017
-Node: POSIX/GNU1126746
-Node: Feature History1132524
-Node: Common Extensions1148570
-Node: Ranges and Locales1149853
-Ref: Ranges and Locales-Footnote-11154469
-Ref: Ranges and Locales-Footnote-21154496
-Ref: Ranges and Locales-Footnote-31154731
-Node: Contributors1154952
-Node: History summary1160897
-Node: Installation1162277
-Node: Gawk Distribution1163221
-Node: Getting1163705
-Node: Extracting1164668
-Node: Distribution contents1166306
-Node: Unix Installation1172786
-Node: Quick Installation1173468
-Node: Shell Startup Files1175882
-Node: Additional Configuration Options1176971
-Node: Configuration Philosophy1179136
-Node: Non-Unix Installation1181505
-Node: PC Installation1181965
-Node: PC Binary Installation1182803
-Node: PC Compiling1183238
-Node: PC Using1184355
-Node: Cygwin1187908
-Node: MSYS1189007
-Node: VMS Installation1189508
-Node: VMS Compilation1190299
-Ref: VMS Compilation-Footnote-11191528
-Node: VMS Dynamic Extensions1191586
-Node: VMS Installation Details1193271
-Node: VMS Running1195524
-Node: VMS GNV1199803
-Node: VMS Old Gawk1200538
-Node: Bugs1201009
-Node: Bug address1201672
-Node: Usenet1204654
-Node: Maintainers1205658
-Node: Other Versions1206919
-Node: Installation summary1213833
-Node: Notes1215035
-Node: Compatibility Mode1215829
-Node: Additions1216611
-Node: Accessing The Source1217536
-Node: Adding Code1218973
-Node: New Ports1225192
-Node: Derived Files1229680
-Ref: Derived Files-Footnote-11235326
-Ref: Derived Files-Footnote-21235361
-Ref: Derived Files-Footnote-31235959
-Node: Future Extensions1236073
-Node: Implementation Limitations1236731
-Node: Extension Design1237914
-Node: Old Extension Problems1239058
-Ref: Old Extension Problems-Footnote-11240576
-Node: Extension New Mechanism Goals1240633
-Ref: Extension New Mechanism Goals-Footnote-11243997
-Node: Extension Other Design Decisions1244186
-Node: Extension Future Growth1246299
-Node: Notes summary1247135
-Node: Basic Concepts1248310
-Node: Basic High Level1248991
-Ref: figure-general-flow1249273
-Ref: figure-process-flow1249958
-Ref: Basic High Level-Footnote-11253259
-Node: Basic Data Typing1253444
-Node: Glossary1256772
-Node: Copying1288610
-Node: GNU Free Documentation License1326153
-Node: Index1351273
+Ref: Auto-set-Footnote-1482763
+Ref: Auto-set-Footnote-2482969
+Node: ARGC and ARGV483025
+Node: Pattern Action Summary487238
+Node: Arrays489668
+Node: Array Basics490997
+Node: Array Intro491841
+Ref: figure-array-elements493816
+Ref: Array Intro-Footnote-1496520
+Node: Reference to Elements496648
+Node: Assigning Elements499112
+Node: Array Example499603
+Node: Scanning an Array501362
+Node: Controlling Scanning504384
+Ref: Controlling Scanning-Footnote-1509783
+Node: Numeric Array Subscripts510099
+Node: Uninitialized Subscripts512283
+Node: Delete513902
+Ref: Delete-Footnote-1516654
+Node: Multidimensional516711
+Node: Multiscanning519806
+Node: Arrays of Arrays521397
+Node: Arrays Summary526165
+Node: Functions528258
+Node: Built-in529296
+Node: Calling Built-in530377
+Node: Numeric Functions532373
+Ref: Numeric Functions-Footnote-1536401
+Ref: Numeric Functions-Footnote-2536758
+Ref: Numeric Functions-Footnote-3536806
+Node: String Functions537078
+Ref: String Functions-Footnote-1560936
+Ref: String Functions-Footnote-2561064
+Ref: String Functions-Footnote-3561312
+Node: Gory Details561399
+Ref: table-sub-escapes563190
+Ref: table-sub-proposed564709
+Ref: table-posix-sub566072
+Ref: table-gensub-escapes567613
+Ref: Gory Details-Footnote-1568436
+Node: I/O Functions568590
+Ref: table-system-return-values575058
+Ref: I/O Functions-Footnote-1577138
+Ref: I/O Functions-Footnote-2577286
+Node: Time Functions577406
+Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-1588077
+Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-2588145
+Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-3588303
+Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-4588414
+Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-5588526
+Ref: Time Functions-Footnote-6588753
+Node: Bitwise Functions589019
+Ref: table-bitwise-ops589613
+Ref: Bitwise Functions-Footnote-1595676
+Ref: Bitwise Functions-Footnote-2595849
+Node: Type Functions596040
+Node: I18N Functions598791
+Node: User-defined600442
+Node: Definition Syntax601247
+Ref: Definition Syntax-Footnote-1606934
+Node: Function Example607005
+Ref: Function Example-Footnote-1609927
+Node: Function Caveats609949
+Node: Calling A Function610467
+Node: Variable Scope611425
+Node: Pass By Value/Reference614419
+Node: Return Statement617918
+Node: Dynamic Typing620897
+Node: Indirect Calls621827
+Ref: Indirect Calls-Footnote-1632079
+Node: Functions Summary632207
+Node: Library Functions634912
+Ref: Library Functions-Footnote-1638519
+Ref: Library Functions-Footnote-2638662
+Node: Library Names638833
+Ref: Library Names-Footnote-1642293
+Ref: Library Names-Footnote-2642516
+Node: General Functions642602
+Node: Strtonum Function643705
+Node: Assert Function646727
+Node: Round Function650053
+Node: Cliff Random Function651593
+Node: Ordinal Functions652609
+Ref: Ordinal Functions-Footnote-1655672
+Ref: Ordinal Functions-Footnote-2655924
+Node: Join Function656134
+Ref: Join Function-Footnote-1657904
+Node: Getlocaltime Function658104
+Node: Readfile Function661846
+Node: Shell Quoting663823
+Node: Data File Management665224
+Node: Filetrans Function665856
+Node: Rewind Function669952
+Node: File Checking671862
+Ref: File Checking-Footnote-1673196
+Node: Empty Files673397
+Node: Ignoring Assigns675376
+Node: Getopt Function676926
+Ref: Getopt Function-Footnote-1688395
+Node: Passwd Functions688595
+Ref: Passwd Functions-Footnote-1697434
+Node: Group Functions697522
+Ref: Group Functions-Footnote-1705420
+Node: Walking Arrays705627
+Node: Library Functions Summary708635
+Node: Library Exercises710041
+Node: Sample Programs710506
+Node: Running Examples711276
+Node: Clones712004
+Node: Cut Program713228
+Node: Egrep Program723157
+Ref: Egrep Program-Footnote-1730669
+Node: Id Program730779
+Node: Split Program734459
+Ref: Split Program-Footnote-1737917
+Node: Tee Program738046
+Node: Uniq Program740836
+Node: Wc Program748262
+Ref: Wc Program-Footnote-1752517
+Node: Miscellaneous Programs752611
+Node: Dupword Program753824
+Node: Alarm Program755854
+Node: Translate Program760709
+Ref: Translate Program-Footnote-1765274
+Node: Labels Program765544
+Ref: Labels Program-Footnote-1768895
+Node: Word Sorting768979
+Node: History Sorting773051
+Node: Extract Program774886
+Node: Simple Sed782940
+Node: Igawk Program786014
+Ref: Igawk Program-Footnote-1800345
+Ref: Igawk Program-Footnote-2800547
+Ref: Igawk Program-Footnote-3800669
+Node: Anagram Program800784
+Node: Signature Program803846
+Node: Programs Summary805093
+Node: Programs Exercises806307
+Ref: Programs Exercises-Footnote-1810436
+Node: Advanced Features810527
+Node: Nondecimal Data812517
+Node: Array Sorting814108
+Node: Controlling Array Traversal814808
+Ref: Controlling Array Traversal-Footnote-1823176
+Node: Array Sorting Functions823294
+Ref: Array Sorting Functions-Footnote-1828385
+Node: Two-way I/O828581
+Ref: Two-way I/O-Footnote-1836301
+Ref: Two-way I/O-Footnote-2836488
+Node: TCP/IP Networking836570
+Node: Profiling839688
+Node: Advanced Features Summary848693
+Node: Internationalization850537
+Node: I18N and L10N852017
+Node: Explaining gettext852704
+Ref: Explaining gettext-Footnote-1858596
+Ref: Explaining gettext-Footnote-2858781
+Node: Programmer i18n858946
+Ref: Programmer i18n-Footnote-1863895
+Node: Translator i18n863944
+Node: String Extraction864738
+Ref: String Extraction-Footnote-1865870
+Node: Printf Ordering865956
+Ref: Printf Ordering-Footnote-1868742
+Node: I18N Portability868806
+Ref: I18N Portability-Footnote-1871262
+Node: I18N Example871325
+Ref: I18N Example-Footnote-1874131
+Node: Gawk I18N874204
+Node: I18N Summary874849
+Node: Debugger876190
+Node: Debugging877213
+Node: Debugging Concepts877654
+Node: Debugging Terms879463
+Node: Awk Debugging882038
+Node: Sample Debugging Session882944
+Node: Debugger Invocation883478
+Node: Finding The Bug884864
+Node: List of Debugger Commands891342
+Node: Breakpoint Control892675
+Node: Debugger Execution Control896369
+Node: Viewing And Changing Data899731
+Node: Execution Stack903105
+Node: Debugger Info904742
+Node: Miscellaneous Debugger Commands908813
+Node: Readline Support913875
+Node: Limitations914771
+Node: Debugging Summary916880
+Node: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic918159
+Node: Computer Arithmetic919644
+Ref: table-numeric-ranges923410
+Ref: table-floating-point-ranges923903
+Ref: Computer Arithmetic-Footnote-1924561
+Node: Math Definitions924618
+Ref: table-ieee-formats927934
+Ref: Math Definitions-Footnote-1928537
+Node: MPFR features928642
+Node: FP Math Caution930360
+Ref: FP Math Caution-Footnote-1931432
+Node: Inexactness of computations931801
+Node: Inexact representation932761
+Node: Comparing FP Values934121
+Node: Errors accumulate935362
+Node: Getting Accuracy936795
+Node: Try To Round939505
+Node: Setting precision940404
+Ref: table-predefined-precision-strings941101
+Node: Setting the rounding mode942931
+Ref: table-gawk-rounding-modes943305
+Ref: Setting the rounding mode-Footnote-1947236
+Node: Arbitrary Precision Integers947415
+Ref: Arbitrary Precision Integers-Footnote-1950590
+Node: Checking for MPFR950739
+Node: POSIX Floating Point Problems952213
+Ref: POSIX Floating Point Problems-Footnote-1956498
+Node: Floating point summary956536
+Node: Dynamic Extensions958726
+Node: Extension Intro960279
+Node: Plugin License961545
+Node: Extension Mechanism Outline962342
+Ref: figure-load-extension962781
+Ref: figure-register-new-function964346
+Ref: figure-call-new-function965438
+Node: Extension API Description967500
+Node: Extension API Functions Introduction969142
+Node: General Data Types974682
+Ref: General Data Types-Footnote-1983043
+Node: Memory Allocation Functions983342
+Ref: Memory Allocation Functions-Footnote-1987552
+Node: Constructor Functions987651
+Node: Registration Functions991237
+Node: Extension Functions991922
+Node: Exit Callback Functions997137
+Node: Extension Version String998387
+Node: Input Parsers999050
+Node: Output Wrappers1011771
+Node: Two-way processors1016283
+Node: Printing Messages1018548
+Ref: Printing Messages-Footnote-11019719
+Node: Updating ERRNO1019872
+Node: Requesting Values1020611
+Ref: table-value-types-returned1021348
+Node: Accessing Parameters1022284
+Node: Symbol Table Access1023519
+Node: Symbol table by name1024031
+Node: Symbol table by cookie1025820
+Ref: Symbol table by cookie-Footnote-11030005
+Node: Cached values1030069
+Ref: Cached values-Footnote-11033605
+Node: Array Manipulation1033758
+Ref: Array Manipulation-Footnote-11034849
+Node: Array Data Types1034886
+Ref: Array Data Types-Footnote-11037544
+Node: Array Functions1037636
+Node: Flattening Arrays1042134
+Node: Creating Arrays1049110
+Node: Redirection API1053877
+Node: Extension API Variables1056710
+Node: Extension Versioning1057421
+Ref: gawk-api-version1057850
+Node: Extension GMP/MPFR Versioning1059581
+Node: Extension API Informational Variables1061209
+Node: Extension API Boilerplate1062282
+Node: Changes from API V11066256
+Node: Finding Extensions1067828
+Node: Extension Example1068387
+Node: Internal File Description1069185
+Node: Internal File Ops1073265
+Ref: Internal File Ops-Footnote-11084615
+Node: Using Internal File Ops1084755
+Ref: Using Internal File Ops-Footnote-11087138
+Node: Extension Samples1087412
+Node: Extension Sample File Functions1088941
+Node: Extension Sample Fnmatch1096590
+Node: Extension Sample Fork1098077
+Node: Extension Sample Inplace1099295
+Node: Extension Sample Ord1102512
+Node: Extension Sample Readdir1103348
+Ref: table-readdir-file-types1104237
+Node: Extension Sample Revout1105042
+Node: Extension Sample Rev2way1105631
+Node: Extension Sample Read write array1106371
+Node: Extension Sample Readfile1108313
+Node: Extension Sample Time1109408
+Node: Extension Sample API Tests1110756
+Node: gawkextlib1111248
+Node: Extension summary1114166
+Node: Extension Exercises1117868
+Node: Language History1119366
+Node: V7/SVR3.11121022
+Node: SVR41123174
+Node: POSIX1124608
+Node: BTL1125988
+Node: POSIX/GNU1126717
+Node: Feature History1132495
+Node: Common Extensions1148541
+Node: Ranges and Locales1149824
+Ref: Ranges and Locales-Footnote-11154440
+Ref: Ranges and Locales-Footnote-21154467
+Ref: Ranges and Locales-Footnote-31154702
+Node: Contributors1154923
+Node: History summary1160868
+Node: Installation1162248
+Node: Gawk Distribution1163192
+Node: Getting1163676
+Node: Extracting1164639
+Node: Distribution contents1166277
+Node: Unix Installation1172757
+Node: Quick Installation1173439
+Node: Shell Startup Files1175853
+Node: Additional Configuration Options1176942
+Node: Configuration Philosophy1179107
+Node: Non-Unix Installation1181476
+Node: PC Installation1181936
+Node: PC Binary Installation1182774
+Node: PC Compiling1183209
+Node: PC Using1184326
+Node: Cygwin1187879
+Node: MSYS1188978
+Node: VMS Installation1189479
+Node: VMS Compilation1190270
+Ref: VMS Compilation-Footnote-11191499
+Node: VMS Dynamic Extensions1191557
+Node: VMS Installation Details1193242
+Node: VMS Running1195495
+Node: VMS GNV1199774
+Node: VMS Old Gawk1200509
+Node: Bugs1200980
+Node: Bug address1201643
+Node: Usenet1204625
+Node: Maintainers1205629
+Node: Other Versions1206890
+Node: Installation summary1213804
+Node: Notes1215006
+Node: Compatibility Mode1215800
+Node: Additions1216582
+Node: Accessing The Source1217507
+Node: Adding Code1218944
+Node: New Ports1225163
+Node: Derived Files1229651
+Ref: Derived Files-Footnote-11235297
+Ref: Derived Files-Footnote-21235332
+Ref: Derived Files-Footnote-31235930
+Node: Future Extensions1236044
+Node: Implementation Limitations1236702
+Node: Extension Design1237885
+Node: Old Extension Problems1239029
+Ref: Old Extension Problems-Footnote-11240547
+Node: Extension New Mechanism Goals1240604
+Ref: Extension New Mechanism Goals-Footnote-11243968
+Node: Extension Other Design Decisions1244157
+Node: Extension Future Growth1246270
+Node: Notes summary1247106
+Node: Basic Concepts1248281
+Node: Basic High Level1248962
+Ref: figure-general-flow1249244
+Ref: figure-process-flow1249929
+Ref: Basic High Level-Footnote-11253230
+Node: Basic Data Typing1253415
+Node: Glossary1256743
+Node: Copying1288581
+Node: GNU Free Documentation License1326124
+Node: Index1351244
 
 End Tag Table
diff --git a/doc/gawk.texi b/doc/gawk.texi
index 6c3c28af..70ab0de3 100644
--- a/doc/gawk.texi
+++ b/doc/gawk.texi
@@ -15935,7 +15935,8 @@ if an element in @code{SYMTAB} is an array.
 Also, you may not use the @code{delete} statement with the
 @code{SYMTAB} array.
 
-You may use an index for @code{SYMTAB} that is not a predefined identifier:
+Prior to @value{PVERSION} 5.0 of @command{gawk}, you could
+use an index for @code{SYMTAB} that was not a predefined identifier:
 
 @example
 SYMTAB["xxx"] = 5
@@ -15943,9 +15944,8 @@ print SYMTAB["xxx"]
 @end example
 
 @noindent
-This works as expected: in this case @code{SYMTAB} acts just like
-a regular array.  The only difference is that you can't then delete
-@code{SYMTAB["xxx"]}.
+This no longer works, instead producing a fatal error, as it led
+to rampant confusion.
 
 @cindex Schorr, Andrew
 The @code{SYMTAB} array is more interesting than it looks. Andrew Schorr
diff --git a/doc/gawktexi.in b/doc/gawktexi.in
index 1e3d0bea..091b786d 100644
--- a/doc/gawktexi.in
+++ b/doc/gawktexi.in
@@ -15253,7 +15253,8 @@ if an element in @code{SYMTAB} is an array.
 Also, you may not use the @code{delete} statement with the
 @code{SYMTAB} array.
 
-You may use an index for @code{SYMTAB} that is not a predefined identifier:
+Prior to @value{PVERSION} 5.0 of @command{gawk}, you could
+use an index for @code{SYMTAB} that was not a predefined identifier:
 
 @example
 SYMTAB["xxx"] = 5
@@ -15261,9 +15262,8 @@ print SYMTAB["xxx"]
 @end example
 
 @noindent
-This works as expected: in this case @code{SYMTAB} acts just like
-a regular array.  The only difference is that you can't then delete
-@code{SYMTAB["xxx"]}.
+This no longer works, instead producing a fatal error, as it led
+to rampant confusion.
 
 @cindex Schorr, Andrew
 The @code{SYMTAB} array is more interesting than it looks. Andrew Schorr
diff --git a/interpret.h b/interpret.h
index 4381a929..6a1a08b4 100644
--- a/interpret.h
+++ b/interpret.h
@@ -348,16 +348,19 @@ uninitialized_scalar:
 			 * 	3. Values that awk code stuck into SYMTAB not related to variables (Node_value)
 			 * For 1, since we are giving it a value, we have to change the type to Node_var.
 			 * For 1 and 2, we have to step through the Node_var to get to the value.
-			 * For 3, we just us the value we got from assoc_lookup(), above.
+			 * For 3, we fatal out. This avoids confusion on things like
+			 * SYMTAB["a foo"] = 42	# variable with a space in its name?
 			 */
 			if (t1 == func_table)
 				fatal(_("cannot assign to elements of FUNCTAB"));
-			else if (   t1 == symbol_table
-				 && (   (*lhs)->type == Node_var
+			else if (t1 == symbol_table) {
+				if ((   (*lhs)->type == Node_var
 				     || (*lhs)->type == Node_var_new)) {
-				update_global_values();		/* make sure stuff like NF, NR, are up to date */
-				(*lhs)->type = Node_var;	/* in case was Node_var_new */
-				lhs = & ((*lhs)->var_value);	/* extra level of indirection */
+					update_global_values();		/* make sure stuff like NF, NR, are up to date */
+					(*lhs)->type = Node_var;	/* in case was Node_var_new */
+					lhs = & ((*lhs)->var_value);	/* extra level of indirection */
+				} else
+					fatal(_("cannot assign to arbitrary elements of SYMTAB"));
 			}
 
 			assert(set_idx == NULL);
@@ -658,22 +661,25 @@ mod:
 			/*
 			 * Changing something in FUNCTAB is not allowed.
 			 *
-			 * SYMTAB is a little more messy.  Three kinds of values may
-			 * be stored in SYMTAB:
+			 * SYMTAB is a little more messy.  Three possibilities for SYMTAB:
 			 * 	1. Variables that don"t yet have a value (Node_var_new)
 			 * 	2. Variables that have a value (Node_var)
 			 * 	3. Values that awk code stuck into SYMTAB not related to variables (Node_value)
 			 * For 1, since we are giving it a value, we have to change the type to Node_var.
 			 * For 1 and 2, we have to step through the Node_var to get to the value.
-			 * For 3, we just us the value we got from assoc_lookup(), above.
+			 * For 3, we fatal out. This avoids confusion on things like
+			 * SYMTAB["a foo"] = 42	# variable with a space in its name?
 			 */
 			if (t1 == func_table)
 				fatal(_("cannot assign to elements of FUNCTAB"));
-			else if (   t1 == symbol_table
-				 && (   (*lhs)->type == Node_var
+			else if (t1 == symbol_table) {
+				if ((   (*lhs)->type == Node_var
 				     || (*lhs)->type == Node_var_new)) {
-				(*lhs)->type = Node_var;	/* in case was Node_var_new */
-				lhs = & ((*lhs)->var_value);	/* extra level of indirection */
+					update_global_values();		/* make sure stuff like NF, NR, are up to date */
+					(*lhs)->type = Node_var;	/* in case was Node_var_new */
+					lhs = & ((*lhs)->var_value);	/* extra level of indirection */
+				} else
+					fatal(_("cannot assign to arbitrary elements of SYMTAB"));
 			}
 
 			unref(*lhs);
diff --git a/test/Makefile.am b/test/Makefile.am
index 3e7394f9..98406a59 100644
--- a/test/Makefile.am
+++ b/test/Makefile.am
@@ -2103,8 +2103,7 @@ charasbytes:
 
 symtab6:
 	@echo $@
-	@$(AWK) -d__$@ -f "$(srcdir)"/$@.awk
-	@grep -v '^ENVIRON' __$@ | grep -v '^PROCINFO' > _$@ ; rm __$@
+	@$(AWK) -f "$(srcdir)"/$@.awk > _$@ 2>&1 || echo EXIT CODE: $$? >>_$@
 	@-$(CMP) "$(srcdir)"/$@.ok _$@ && rm -f _$@
 
 symtab8:
diff --git a/test/Makefile.in b/test/Makefile.in
index 3daf6980..54c6b986 100644
--- a/test/Makefile.in
+++ b/test/Makefile.in
@@ -2551,8 +2551,7 @@ charasbytes:
 
 symtab6:
 	@echo $@
-	@$(AWK) -d__$@ -f "$(srcdir)"/$@.awk
-	@grep -v '^ENVIRON' __$@ | grep -v '^PROCINFO' > _$@ ; rm __$@
+	@$(AWK) -f "$(srcdir)"/$@.awk > _$@ 2>&1 || echo EXIT CODE: $$? >>_$@
 	@-$(CMP) "$(srcdir)"/$@.ok _$@ && rm -f _$@
 
 symtab8:
diff --git a/test/symtab6.ok b/test/symtab6.ok
index 7de717a0..23a1633d 100644
--- a/test/symtab6.ok
+++ b/test/symtab6.ok
@@ -1,28 +1,2 @@
-ARGC: 1
-ARGIND: 0
-ARGV: array, 1 elements
-BINMODE: 0
-CONVFMT: "%.6g"
-ERRNO: ""
-FIELDWIDTHS: ""
-FILENAME: ""
-FNR: 0
-FPAT: "[^[:space:]]+"
-FS: " "
-FUNCTAB: array, 41 elements
-IGNORECASE: 0
-LINT: 0
-NF: 0
-NR: 0
-OFMT: "%.6g"
-OFS: " "
-ORS: "\n"
-PREC: 53
-RLENGTH: 0
-ROUNDMODE: "N"
-RS: "\n"
-RSTART: 0
-RT: ""
-SUBSEP: "\034"
-SYMTAB: array, 29 elements
-TEXTDOMAIN: "messages"
+gawk: ./symtab6.awk:1: fatal: cannot assign to arbitrary elements of SYMTAB
+EXIT CODE: 2
diff --git a/test/symtab7.ok b/test/symtab7.ok
index 28328831..37de1a49 100644
--- a/test/symtab7.ok
+++ b/test/symtab7.ok
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-30
-40
+gawk: symtab7.awk:4: (FILENAME=- FNR=1) fatal: cannot assign to arbitrary elements of SYMTAB
+EXIT CODE: 2