


      FILE(1)                     (bsd 4.2)                     FILE(1)



      NAME
           file - determine file type

      SYNTAX
           file [ -c ] [ -f ffile ] [ -m mfile ] arg ...

      DESCRIPTION
           File performs a series of tests on each argument in an
           attempt to classify it.  If an argument appears to be ASCII,
           file examines the first 512 bytes and tries to guess its
           language.  If an argument is an executable a.out, file will
           print the version stamp, provided it is greater than 0 (see
           ld(1)).

           If the -f option is given, the next argument is taken to be
           a file containing the names of the files to be examined.

           File uses the file /etc/magic to identify files that have
           some sort of magic number, that is, any file containing a
           numeric or string constant that indicates its type.
           Commentary at the beginning of /etc/magic explains its
           format.

           The -m option instructs file to use an alternate magic file.

           The -c flag causes file to check the magic file for format
           errors.  This validation is not normally carried out for
           reasons of efficiency.  No file typing is done under -c.

      SEE ALSO
           ld(1)
























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