FILE(1)              INTERACTIVE UNIX System              FILE(1)



          NAME
               file - determine file type

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

          DESCRIPTION
               The file command 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.

               -c   The -c option 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.

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

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

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

          FILES
               /etc/magic

          SEE ALSO
               filehdr(4) in the INTERACTIVE SDS Guide and Programmer's
               Reference Manual.


















          Rev. Base System                                           Page 1