strings(1)
NAME
strings − find the printable strings in an object, or other binary, file
SYNTAX
strings [ − ] [ −o ] [ −number ] file...
DESCRIPTION
The strings command looks for ascii strings in a binary file. A string is any sequence of 4 or more printing characters ending with a newline or a null. Unless the − option is given, strings only looks in the initialized data space of object files. If the −o option is given, then each string is preceded by its offset in the file (in octal). If the −number option is given then number is used as the minimum string length rather than 4.
This command is useful for identifying random object files and many other things.
RESTRICTIONS
The algorithm for identifying strings is extremely primitive.