Sure it can:
pax$ echo 'hello
goodbye' | gawk '{if ($0 == "hello") {print "HELLO"}}'
HELLO
You can also do inequality (ordered) testing as well:
pax> printf 'aaa\naab\naac\naad\n' | gawk '{if ($1 < "aac"){print}}'
aaa
aab
Sure it can:
pax$ echo 'hello
goodbye' | gawk '{if ($0 == "hello") {print "HELLO"}}'
HELLO
You can also do inequality (ordered) testing as well:
pax> printf 'aaa\naab\naac\naad\n' | gawk '{if ($1 < "aac"){print}}'
aaa
aab