FILE(1)                                                   FILE(1)



     NAME
          file - determine file type

     SYNOPSIS
          file [ -c ] [ -f ffile ] [ -m mfile ] arg ...

     DESCRIPTION
          file performs a series of tests on each argument in an
          attempt to classify it.  If an argument appears to be ASCII,
          file examines the first 512 bytes and tries to guess its
          language.  If an argument is an executable a.out, file will
          print the version stamp, provided it is greater than 0.

          -c   The -c option causes file to check the magic file for
               format errors.  This validation is not normally carried
               out for reasons of efficiency.  No file typing is done
               under -c.

          -f   If the -f option is given, the next argument is taken
               to be a file containing the names of the files to be
               examined.

          -m   The -m option instructs file to use an alternate magic
               file.

          file uses the file /etc/magic to identify files that have
          some sort of magic number, that is, any file containing a
          numeric or string constant that indicates its type.
          Commentary at the beginning of /etc/magic explains its
          format.

     FILES
          /etc/magic

     SEE ALSO
          filehdr(4) in the Programmer's Reference Manual.

     ORIGIN
          AT&T V.3
















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