Awk is a data extraction and reporting tool developed in the 1970s at Bell Labs to perform basic text formatting on input streams and files, using a scripting language to take actions on textual data and produce formatted reports. It parses input into fields separated by whitespace that can then be accessed and manipulated through variables like $1, $2, NF, and NR to extract and report on specific fields. Advanced uses include conditioning printing on field values, manipulating field values through pipes and sed, and accumulating calculations with variables over the entire file.