wc(1) General Commands Manual wc(1)
Name
wc - count words, lines, and characters
Syntax
wc [-lwc] [name...]
Description
The command counts lines, words and characters 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 new lines.
If an argument beginning with one of ``lwc'' is present, the specified counts (lines, words, or characters) are selected by the letters l,
w, or c. The default is -lwc.
Options
-c Displays number of characters only.
-l Displays number of lines only.
-w Displays number of words only.
wc(1)