TAIL(1) TAIL(1)
NAME
tail, readslow, head - print the last part of a file
SYNOPSIS
tail [ otion ... +-number[lbc][rf] ] [ file ]
DESCRIPTION
Tail copies the named file to the standard output beginning
at a designated place, normally 10 lines from the end. If
no file is named, the standard input is used. The options
are
+-number[lbc][rf]
Copying begins at position +number measured from the
beginning, or -number from the end of the input.
Number is counted in lines, 1K blocks or characters,
according to the appended flag `l' (default), `b', or
`c'. Further flags `r' and `f' have the effect of
options -r and -l .
-r Print lines from the end of the file in reverse order.
Default line count is unbounded.
-f Follow. After printing to the end, keep watch and
print further data as it appears.
-c +-number
-n +-number
Number may be signed, with sign - assumed by default.
The effect is the same as +-numberc or +-numberl [sic]
respectively.
EXAMPLES
tail file
Print the last 10 lines of a file.
tail +0f file
Print a file, and continue to watch data accumulate as
it grows. A similar function is sometimes called
readslow.
sed 10q file
Print the first 10 lines of a file. A similar function
is sometimes called head.
SEE ALSO
dd(1)
BUGS
Tails relative to the end of the file are treasured up in a
TAIL(1) TAIL(1)
buffer, and thus are limited in length, even under option
-r.
According to custom, option +number counts lines from 1, and
counts blocks and characters from 0.