title: Search pattern containing forward slash using AWK
body: <p>In AWK, is there a way to match pattern containing forward slash <code>/</code> without actually escaping it? </p>
  
  <pre><code>awk '$1~/pattern/' file
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>The above command works fine as long as there isn't any <code>/</code> in the pattern.</p>
  
  <p>I am looking for something similar to what's available in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sed" rel="noreferrer">sed</a> for using different separators in search and replace syntax.</p>