45 lines
1.4 KiB
Markdown
45 lines
1.4 KiB
Markdown
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# The `less` command
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The less command is a Linux terminal pager which shows a file's content one screen at a time.
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Useful when dealing with a large text file because it doesn't load the entire file but accesses it page by page, resulting in fast loading speeds.
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## Syntax
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```
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less [options] file_path
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```
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## Options
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Some popular option flags include:
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```
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-E less automatically exits upon reaching the end of file.
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-f Forces less to open non-regular files (a directory or a device-special file).
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-F Exit less if the entire file can be displayed on the first screen.
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-g Highlights the string last found using search. By default, less highlights all strings matching the last search command.
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-G Removes all highlights from strings found using search.
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```
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For a complete list of options, refer to the less help file by running:
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```
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less --help
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```
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## Few Examples:
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1. Open a Text File
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```
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less /etc/updatedb.conf
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```
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2. Show Line Numbers
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```
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less -N /etc/init/mysql.conf
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```
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3. Open File with Pattern Search
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```
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less -pERROR /etc/init/mysql.conf
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```
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4. Remove Multiple Blank Lines
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```
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less welcome.txt
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```
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Here I showed you how to use the less command in Linux. Although there are other terminal pagers, such as most and more, but less could be a better choice as it is a powerful tool present in almost every system.
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For more details: https://phoenixnap.com/kb/less-command-in-linux#:~:text=The%20less%20command%20is%20a,resulting%20in%20fast%20loading%20speeds.
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