When working on the command line, you will most likely encounter plenty of opportunities for viewing log files, configuration files, or another other type of normal file. Table A.4 lists commands used for this purpose.
Table A.4. Commands Used to View Files
COMMAND
GENERAL USAGE
DESCRIPTION
cat
cat FILE
Concatenates files and displays output on standard out (typically the screen).
head
head [OPTIONS] FILE
Displays the first 10 lines of text from the specified file.
Common options include
-[N] Displays the first N number of lines
less
less FILE
Paging utility used to display text files.
more
more FILE
Paging utility used to display text files.
od
od [OPTIONS] FILE
Displays the specified file in octal mode.
Common options include
-h Hexadecimal display
strings
strings FILE
Prints text strings four characters long or longer from binary files.
tail
tail [OPTIONS] FILE
Displays the last 10 lines of text from the specified file.