TAIL(C)                              UNIX System V



     Name
          tail - displays the last part of a file


     Syntax
          tail [ +[number][lbc] [ -f ] ] [ 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 (if number is null, the
          value 10 is assumed).  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.

          With the -f (``follow'') option, if the input file is not  a
          pipe,  the  program will not terminate after the line of the
          input file has been copied, but will enter an endless  loop,
          wherein it sleeps for a second and then attempts to read and
          copy further records from the input file.  Thus  it  may  be
          used  to  monitor the growth of a file that is being written
          by some other process.  For example, the command:

               tail -f file

          will print the last ten lines of file, followed by any lines
          that are appended to file between the time tail is initiated
          and killed.


     See Also
          dd(C)


     Notes
          Tails relative to the end of the file are kept in a  buffer,
          and   thus   are   limited   to   approximately  300  lines.
          Unpredictable results can occur if character  special  files
          are ``tailed''.


     Standards Conformance
          tail is conformant with:
          AT&T SVID Issue 2, Select Code 307-127;
          and The X/Open Portability Guide II of January 1987.


     (printed 2/15/90)                                    TAIL(C)