4.3BSD - /usr/man/cat1/cat.0

CAT(1)                                                                  CAT(1)


NAME
       cat - catenate and print

SYNOPSIS
       cat [ -u ] [ -n ] [ -s ] [ -v ] file ...

DESCRIPTION
       Cat reads each file in sequence and displays it on the standard output.
       Thus

       cat file

       displays the file on the standard output, and

       cat file1 file2 >file3

       concatenates the first two files and places the result on the third.

       If no input file is given, or if the argument ‘-’ is  encountered,  cat
       reads  from  the  standard input file.  Output is buffered in the block
       size recommended by stat(2) unless the standard output is  a  terminal,
       when  it  is  line buffered.  The -u option makes the output completely
       unbuffered.

       The -n option displays the output lines preceded by lines numbers, num‐
       bered sequentially from 1.  Specifying the -b option with the -n option
       omits the line numbers from blank lines.

       The -s option crushes out multiple adjacent empty  lines  so  that  the
       output is displayed single spaced.

       The  -v  option displays non-printing characters so that they are visi‐
       ble.  Control characters print like ^X for control-x; the delete  char‐
       acter  (octal  0177) prints as ^?.  Non-ascii characters (with the high
       bit set) are printed as M- (for meta) followed by the character of  the
       low  7  bits.   A -e option may be given with the -v option, which dis‐
       plays a ‘$’ character at the end  of  each  line.   Specifying  the  -t
       option with the -v option displays tab characters as ^I.


SEE ALSO
       cp(1), ex(1), more(1), pr(1), tail(1)

BUGS
       Beware  of ‘cat a b >a’ and ‘cat a b >b’, which destroy the input files
       before reading them.


4th Berkeley Distribution         May 5, 1986                           CAT(1)