tail(1) 						      General Commands Manual							   tail(1)

NAME

       tail - Writes a file to standard output, beginning at a specified point

SYNOPSIS

       tail [-f  | -r] [-c number | -n number] [file]

       tail [+number | -number] [unit] [-f  | -r] [file]

       The tail command writes the named file (standard input by default) to standard output, beginning at a point you specify.

       The second synopsis form of this command is obsolete, and support may be withdrawn at any time.

STANDARDS

       Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry standards as follows:

       tail:  XCU5.0

       Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information about industry standards and associated tags.

OPTIONS

       Displays  the  remainder of the file from the starting point number where number is measured in bytes. The sign of number affects the loca-
       tion in the file at which to begin the copying: Copying begins relative to the beginning of the file.  Copying begins relative to  the  end
       of the file.  Copying begins relative to the end of the file.

	      The  origin  for	counting is 1, that is, -c +1 represents the first byte of the file, -c -1 the last.  Does not end after it copies
	      the last line of the input file if the input file is not read from a pipe, but enters an endless loop in which it sleeps for a  sec-
	      ond  and	then  attempts to read and copy further records from the input file.  Thus, it can be used to monitor the growth of a file
	      being written by another process.  Has no effect if specified with -r.  Displays remainder of file from the  starting  point  number
	      where  number  is  measured in lines.  The sign of number affects the location in the file, measured in lines, to begin the copying:
	      Copying begins relative to the beginning of the file.  Copying begins relative to the end of the file.  Copying begins  relative	to
	      the end of the file.

	      The  origin  for	counting is 1, that is, -n +1 represents the first line of the file, -n -1 the last.  [Tru64 UNIX]  Causes tail to
	      print lines from the end of the file in reverse order.  The default for -r is to print the entire  file  this  way.   Overrides  -f.
	      Begins  reading  number  lines (l), 512-byte blocks (b), kilobyte blocks (k), characters (c and m) from the end of the input.  The m
	      argument counts mulktibyte characters as single-byte characters, while c counts characters byte-by-byte but  does  not  break  mulk-
	      tibyte characters.

	      The  default  unit  is  l  for lines. The default number is 10 for all units.  Begins reading number lines (l), 512-byte blocks (b),
	      1-kilobyte blocks (k), or characters (c and m) from the beginning of the input.  The m argument counts mulktibyte characters as sin-
	      gle-byte characters, while c counts characters byte-by-byte but does not break mulktibyte characters.

	      The default unit is l for lines. The default number is 10 for all units.

       In the non-obsolescent form, if you do not specify either -c or n, -n 10 is the default.

DESCRIPTION

       If you do not specify -f, -r, -number, or +number, tail begins reading 10 lines before the end of the file. The default starting point is -
       (end of input), l (lines) is the default unit, and 10 is the default number.

       By specifying +, you can direct tail to read from the beginning of the file.  By specifying a number or a unit, or both, you can change the
       point at which tail begins reading.

       [Tru64  UNIX]  The unit argument can specify lines, blocks, or characters.  The tail command can begin reading number (10 by default) units
       from either the end or the beginning of the file.

       [Tru64 UNIX]  The block size is either 512 bytes or 1 kilobyte.

NOTES

       When the input is a text file containing mulktibyte characters, use the -c option cautiously since the output produced may not start  on  a
       character boundary.

EXIT STATUS

       The following exit values are returned: Successful completion.  An error occurred.

EXAMPLES

       To display the last 10 lines of a file named notes, enter: tail notes To specify how far from the end to start, enter: tail -20 notes

	      This displays the last 20 lines of notes.  To specify how far from the beginning to start, enter: tail +200c notes | more

	      This  displays  notes  a page at a time, starting with the 200th character from the beginning.  To follow the growth of a file named
	      accounts, enter: tail -1 -f accounts

	      This displays the last line of accounts.	Once every second, tail displays any lines that have been added to the file. This  contin-
	      ues until stopped by pressing the Interrupt key sequence.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

       The  following environment variables affect the execution of tail: Provides a default value for the internationalization variables that are
       unset or null. If LANG is unset or null, the corresponding value from the default locale is used.  If any of the internationalization vari-
       ables  contain  an  invalid setting, the utility behaves as if none of the variables had been defined.  If set to a non-empty string value,
       overrides the values of all the other internationalization variables.  Determines the locale for the interpretation of sequences  of  bytes
       of  text  data  as  characters (for example, single-byte as opposed to mulktibyte characters in arguments and input files).  Determines the
       locale for the format and contents of diagnostic messages written to standard error.  Determines the location of message catalogues for the
       processing of LC_MESSAGES.

SEE ALSO

       Commands:  cat(1), head(1), more(1), page(1), pg(1)

       Standards:  standards(5)

																	   tail(1)