cat(1)                                                               cat(1)

NAME
     cat - concatenate and print files

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

DESCRIPTION
     The cat command reads files in sequence and writes them to standard
     output. cat has no effect on the sequence and format of the characters
     in the files.

     If you name more than one file when calling cat, these files are out-
     put sequentially in the specified order.

     If you do not name a file, cat reads from standard input.

OPTIONS
     No option specified:
          Output is buffered in BUFSIZ-byte blocks. The value of BUFSIZ is
          governed by the machine you are working on. It is defined in the
          file /usr/include/stdio.h and may be 512, 1024, 4096 or 8192
          bytes. If the files named on the command line do not exist, cat
          tells you that it cannot open them.

     -s   Messages reporting that files do not exist are suppressed.

     -u   Output without buffering, one byte at a time.

     -v   Non-printing characters (with the exception of tabs, newlines and
          form feeds) are written to standard output in the following form:

          -  Control characters: ^x (CTRL-x)

             The possible values for x in the ISO 646 character set are
             shown in the table in ascii(5).

          -  DEL (octal 177): ^?

          -  Non-ASCII characters (with the high bit set): M-x, where x is
             the character defined by the 7 remaining bits.

     -e   Only works together with the -v option.

          A dollar character $ appears at the end of each line (prior to
          the newline character).

     -t   Only works together with the -v option.

          Tabs appear as: ^I, form feeds appear as: ^L

     --   If file begins with a dash (-), the end of the command-line
          options must be marked with --.



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cat(1)                                                               cat(1)

     file Name of the file that is to be printed. You may specify more than
          one file. If you use a dash as the name for file, cat reads from
          standard input.

          file not specified:

          cat reads from standard input.

          Caution:

          Redirecting the output of cat to one of the files being read will
          result in the loss of that file's original contents. In the fol-
          lowing command, for example, the contents of file1 are lost:

          cat file1 file2 file3 > file1

ERROR MESSAGES
     cat >outfile
     outfile: cannot create

          You do not have write permission for the output file outfile or
          for the directory containing outfile.

     cat infile
     cat: cannot open infile

          You do not have read permission for the input file infile.

LOCALE
     The LCMESSAGES environment variable governs the language in which
     message texts are displayed.

     LCCTYPE governs character classes, character conversion (shifting)
     and the behavior of character classes in regular expressions.

     If LCMESSAGES or LCCTYPE is undefined or is defined as the null
     string, it defaults to the value of LANG. If LANG is likewise unde-
     fined or null, the system acts as if it were not internationalized.

     If any of the locale variables has an invalid value, the system acts
     as if none of the variables were set.













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cat(1)                                                               cat(1)

EXAMPLES
     Example 1

     Concatenate and redirect the output of two files:

     $ echo Monday Tuesday Wednesday >file1
     $ echo Thursday Friday Saturday >file2
     $ cat file1 file2 > file3
     $ cat file3
     Monday Tuesday Wednesday
     Thursday Friday Saturday

     Example 2

     Display the contents of file1

     $ cat file1
     In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
     A stately pleasure dome decree:
     Where Alph, the sacred river, ran

     Now write two lines of text into file2

     $ cat > file2
     Through caverns measureless to man
     Down to a sunless sea.
     <CTRL-D>

     Now move the contents of file1 and file2 to file3, add two lines from
     standard input, and then print the contents of file3.

     $ cat file1 file2 - > file3
     For he on honey dew hath fed
     And drunk the milk of paradise.
     <CTRL-D>
     $ cat file3
     In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
     A stately pleasure dome decree:
     Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
     Through caverns measureless to man
     Down to a sunless sea.
     For he on honey dew hath fed
     And drunk the milk of paradise.

SEE ALSO
     cp(1), pg(1), pr(1), ascii(5).








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