NAME

wc − word count

SYNOPSIS

wc [ −lwcpt ] [ −bbaud ] [ −spagesize ] [ −u ] [ −v ] [ name ... ]

DESCRIPTION

Wc counts lines, words and characters, and optionally pages and the print time, in the named files, or in the standard input if no name appears.  A word is a maximal string of characters delimited by spaces, tabs or newlines. 

If an argument beginning with one of “lwcpt” is present, the specified counts (lines, words, characters, pages, or time) are selected by the letters l, w, c, p, or t.  The default is −lwc unless −v is specified. 

The −b option asks that the time be figured at the specified baud rate instead of the default 300 baud. 

The −s option specifies that pages are pagesize lines long instead of the default 66. 

The −u options asks that the time printed be based on uucp transmission time, about 90% as fast as normal. 

The −v option asks for a verbose output format, with headers and including pages and time by default. 

BUGS

The times given do not take into account variable factors such as system load; delays due to tab expansion or tty driver delays, which can be a factor with cu; or uucp delays such as mail headers, auxillary protocol files, or the time taken to initially connect to another site. 

7th Edition