The Unix File Command

Another favorite Unix command
that I frequently use is the
file command.

The file command is great
because it allows you to easily
determine what kind of file you
have in front of you.

Here's how you use the file
command:

file mystery-file

The file command tells you
what kind of file mystery-file
is.

Often, you can tell a file by extension.

For example, .jpg is a file extension.
The file, photo.jpg, is one such file.

To those in-the-know, any file with a
.jpg extension is an image or
photograph.

But what if you don't know? It's hard to keep
up with all possible file types out there.

If you don't know, the Unix file command
can be very very handy.

Ed Abbott