.. index:: cat
.. _cat:

Creating a File
----------------

:t:`Linux for Programmers and Users`, Section 3.13.

Files may be created in several ways.  The easiest is perhaps with the 
:command:`cat` command.

::

    $ cat > myfile
    This is an example of how to use the cat command to add 
    plain text to a file.

    <Ctrl-d>

Others ways to create a text file are to use a text editor such as
:command:`vi` or :command:`nano`.  If we are content with an empty file, the
:command:`touch` command also creates a file.

Viewing the Contents of Files
------------------------------

Three programs often used to view the contents of files:
:command:`cat`, :command:`more`, and :command:`less`.  The later two are also
refered to as *pagers* because they display the contents of a long file in a
screen-by-screen manner.  See also :ref:`view`.

.. index:: cat
.. program:: cat 
.. describe:: cat

    Concatenate FILE(s), or standard input, to standard output.

SYNOPSIS
   :command:`cat` [OPTION] [FILE] ...


.. cmdoption:: -n, --number

   number all output lines.
   
.. cmdoption:: -s, --squeece-blank

   never more than one single blank line

.. cmdoption:: -t

   equivalent to `-vT`

.. cmdoption:: -T, --show-tabs

   display TAB characters as ^I

.. cmdoption:: -v, --show-nonprinting

   use ^ and M- notation, except for TAB to display nonprinting characters