strings(1)       (Directory and File Management Utilities)       strings(1)


   NAME
         strings - find printable strings in an object file or binary

   SYNOPSIS
         strings [ -a ] [ -o ] [ -n number | -number ] filename...

   DESCRIPTION
         The strings command looks for ASCII strings in a binary file.  A
         string is any sequence of 4 or more printing characters ending with a
         newline or a null character.

         strings is useful for identifying random object files and many other
         things.

         The following options are available:

         -a          Look everywhere in the file for strings. If this flag is
                     omitted, strings only looks in the initialized data space
                     of object files.

         -o          Precede each string by its offset in the file.

         -n number   Use number as the minimum string length rather than 4.

   SEE ALSO
         od(1)

   NOTES
         The algorithm for identifying strings is extremely primitive.

         For backwards compatibility, -number can be used in place of -n
         number.  Similarly, the -a and a - option are interchangeable.  The -
         and the -number variations are obsolescent.




















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