strings(1)                                                strings(1)


       NAME
             strings - find printable strings in an object file or binary

       SYNOPSIS
             strings [-a] [-o] [-n number |-number] filename . . .

       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 character.

             strings is useful for identifying random object files and many
             other things.

             The following options are available:

             -a          Look everywhere in the file for strings.  If this
                         flag is omitted, strings only looks in the
                         initialized data space of object files.

             -o          Precede each string by its offset in the file.

             -n number   Use number as the minimum string length rather
                         than 4.

       REFERENCES
             od(1)

       NOTICES
             The algorithm for identifying strings is extremely primitive.

             For backwards compatibility, -number can be used in place of
             -n number.  Similarly, the -a and a - option are
             interchangeable.  The - and the -number variations are
             obsolescent.













                           Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc.               Page 1