# Basic syntax:
awk '{ if ( condition ) { count += 1; }} END { print count }' your_file
# Example usage:
# Count all fields in your_file that don't have "*" in field 3
awk '{ if ($3 != "*" ) { count += 1; }} END { print count }' your_file
# Note, explicitly setting your_file's field delimiter with
# "BEGIN { FS="<input_delimiter>" };" might be needed for non-standard
# delimiters