TAIL(1) — UNIX Programmer’s Manual
NAME
tail − deliver the last part of a file
SYNOPSIS
tail [ ±number[lbc] ] [ file ]
DESCRIPTION
Tail copies the named file to the standard output beginning at a designated place. If no file is named, the standard input is used.
Copying begins at distance +number from the beginning, or −number from the end of the input. Number is counted in units of lines, blocks or characters, according to the appended option l, b or c. When no units are specified, counting is by lines.
SEE ALSO
BUGS
Tails relative to the end of the file are treasured up in a buffer, and thus are limited in length. Various kinds of anomalous behavior may happen with character special files.
7th Edition