Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Fri, 19 Sep 2003 08:41:36 -0600 (MDT)
From:      Warren Block <wblock@wonkity.com>
To:        Karlsson Mikael HKI/SOSV <mikael.karlsson@hel.fi>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re:Re: Cat a directory
Message-ID:  <20030919083627.K99065@wonkity.com>
In-Reply-To: <JA8AAAAAAgH8RAABYQADV7qgzdhU@master.hel.fi>
References:  <JA8AAAAAAgFWOQABYQADV7qgzdhU@master.hel.fi> <JA8AAAAAAgH8RAABYQADV7qgzdhU@master.hel.fi>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
On Thu, 19 Sep 2003, Karlsson Mikael HKI/SOSV wrote:

> I personally think that some of these tests should be added to the
> real distributable version of cat that comes with FreeBSD cause I
> can't be the only one that this bugs. I mean what could a little more
> code hurt to the program since cat isn't supposed to read binary
> files.

Says who?  cat works fine on binary files.  The problem you are having
is that people are using cat to *display* files.  "Fixing" that problem
could break cat for its more standard use: cat binaryfile | filter |
etc.

> Other *NIX systems seem to have done this to their cat program so why
> can't FreeBSD?

See above.

> and why is this already done to less and not cat?

less is made to display files.  It's the correct tool for the job.

-Warren Block * Rapid City, South Dakota USA



Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?20030919083627.K99065>