[bug-gawk] Does substr make a hard copy of the input string?

[Peng Yu]

Hi,

I don't find it in the document. Does anybody know whether substr()
makes a hard copy of returned substr from the input string? Or the
returned result still has a reference of the input string (but just
with start and end adjusted)?

Depending on which alternative it is, I think that it may have
different implications for the runtime when the input string and the
substring are long.

-- 
Regards,
Peng