The tutor continues coverage of the Linux terminal, this time discussing the cat command.

Terminal commands are old news to many, but I find them very useful.  Possibly because this laptop is ten or more years old, it can take 15 to 30 seconds to load a desktop application.  The terminal, once it’s up, is flexible and quick.

Let’s imagine I want a quick look at a file, maybe to check how an operation is coded.  Without opening another tab of the word processor, I can quickly key in, at the terminal,

cat filename

I immediately receive the file on the black screen.

I can add the option -n as follows:

cat -n filename

Then, the file is shown with line numbers – very convenient for a programmer.

For me, the quickness of viewing a file from the cat command makes it a very appealing command to use.

HTH:)

Source:

McGrath, Mike. Linux in easy steps. Southam: Computer Step, 2008.

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.