head(1) - osol9

1head(1)                          User Commands                         head(1)
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NAME

6       head - display first few lines of files
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SYNOPSIS

9   /usr/bin/head
10       /usr/bin/head [-number | -n number] [filename]...
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13   ksh93
14       head [-qv] [-n lines] [-c chars] [-s skip][filename]...
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DESCRIPTION

18   /usr/bin/head
19       The  head  utility copies the first number of lines of each filename to
20       the standard output. If no filename is given, head  copies  lines  from
21       the standard input. The default value of number is 10 lines.
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24       When  more  than  one  file  is specified, the start of each file looks
25       like:
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27         ==> filename <==
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31       Thus, a common way to display a set of short  files,  identifying  each
32       one, is:
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34         example% head -9999 filename1 filename2 ...
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38   ksh93
39       The  head  built-in  in  ksh93 is associated with the /bin and /usr/bin
40       paths. It is invoked when head is executed without  a  pathname  prefix
41       and the pathname search finds a /bin/head or /usr/bin/head executable.
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44       head  copies  one or more input files to standard output, stopping at a
45       designated point for each file or to the  end  of  the  file  whichever
46       comes  first.  Copying  ends  at the point indicated by the options. By
47       default, a header of the form ==> filename <== is output before all but
48       the  first  file but this can be changed with the -q and -v options. If
49       no file is given, or if the file is -, head copies from standard  input
50       starting at the current location.
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53       The  option argument for -c and -s can optionally be followed by one of
54       the following characters to specify a different unit other than a  sin‐
55       gle byte:
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57       b    512 bytes
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60       k    1-kilobyte
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63       m    1-megabyte
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67       For backwards compatibility, -number is equivalent to -n number.
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OPTIONS

70   /usr/bin/head
71       The following options are supported by /usr/bin/head:
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73       -n number    The  first  number  lines  of each input file is copied to
74                    standard output. The number option-argument must be a pos‐
75                    itive decimal integer.
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78       -number      The number argument is a positive decimal integer with the
79                    same effect as the -n number option.
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83       If no options are specified, head acts as if -n 10 had been specified.
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85   ksh93
86       The following options are supported by the  head  built-in  command  in
87       ksh93:
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89       -n                Copy lines from each file. The default value is 10.
90       --lines=lines
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92       -c                Copy chars bytes from each file.
93       --bytes=chars
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95       -q                Never output filename headers.
96       --quiet|silent
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98       -s                Skip  skip  characters or lines from each file before
99       --skip=skip       copying.
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102       -v                Always output filename headers.
103       --verbose
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OPERANDS

106       The following operand is supported:
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108       filename    A path name of an input file. If no file operands are spec‐
109                   ified, the standard input is used.
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USAGE

113       See  largefile(5)  for  the  description  of  the behavior of head when
114       encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte ( 2^31 bytes).
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EXAMPLES

117       Example 1 Writing the First Ten Lines of All Files
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120       The following example writes the first ten lines of all  files,  except
121       those with a leading period, in the directory:
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124         example% head *
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ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

129       See  environ(5) for descriptions of the following environment variables
130       that affect the execution of head: LANG, LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE, LC_MESSAGES,
131       and NLSPATH.
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EXIT STATUS

134       The following exit values are returned:
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136       0     Successful completion.
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139       >0    An error occurred.
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ATTRIBUTES

143       See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
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145   /usr/bin/head
146       ┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
147       │      ATTRIBUTE TYPE         │      ATTRIBUTE VALUE        │
148       ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
149       │Availability                 │SUNWcsu                      │
150       ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
151       │CSI                          │Enabled                      │
152       ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
153       │Interface Stability          │Committed                    │
154       ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
155       │Standard                     │See standards(5).            │
156       └─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
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158   ksh93
159       ┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
160       │      ATTRIBUTE TYPE         │      ATTRIBUTE VALUE        │
161       ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
162       │Availability                 │SUNWcsu                      │
163       ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
164       │Interface Stability          │See below.                   │
165       └─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
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168       The ksh93 built-in binding to /bin and /usr/bin is Volatile. The built-
169       in interfaces are Uncommitted.
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