How to read long files on the shell?
 

There is a file named 'grub-install'

As a superuser I wrote the following:

[cat 'grub-install']

I can't read the whole file. It is too long. I can't read the first part of the file. My screen is not long enough to read the first part of the file. How do I read the whole file?

[root@ /]# find / -name 'grub-install'
/sbin/grub-install
[root@ /]#

As a matter of fact the file in question is a script.
I am pasting a part of it here.

----------------------------------------------------------
exit 1
fi

if test "x$tmp_part" != x; then
# If a partition is specified, we need to translate it into the
# GRUB's syntax.
case "$host_os" in
linux*)
echo "$tmp_drive" | sed "s%)$%,`expr $tmp_part - 1`)%" ;;
gnu*)
if echo $tmp_part | grep "^s" >/dev/null; then
tmp_pc_slice=`echo $tmp_part \
| sed "s%s\([0-9]*\)[a-g]*$%\1%"`
tmp_drive=`echo "$tmp_drive" \
| sed "s%)%,\`expr "$tmp_pc_slice" - 1\`)%"`
fi
if echo $tmp_part | grep "[a-g]$" >/dev/null; then
tmp_bsd_partition=`echo "$tmp_part" \
| sed "s%[^a-g]*\([a-g]\)$%\1%"`
tmp_drive=`echo "$tmp_drive" \
| sed "s%)%,$tmp_bsd_partition)%"`
fi

you've not discovered the "less" command yet? or more? or vi? or emacs? or pico? or nano? 1,000+ posts? :confused:

less grub-install

you've probably no reason to want to read it though, i doubt you'd understand it. i doubt i'd find it exactly easy...

Thanks acid kewpie
I like your humour. Though I have posted thousands of questions I don't know 'less' !

You are correct. There are many things in UNIX which I don't know. The reason is my idiocy!

I more or less know more or less nothing about more or less too.
:scratch: :D

type [cat 'grub install'] | less

Yep, there are more and less. More is actually less than less, meaning less is more than more. But there also is most, has anybody tried it?

Which is more? Most or less? No, which is a different thing altogether.

this is just confusing now :S

From http://www.slackbook.org/html/file-commands-pagers.html
It made me giggle the first time I read it. (The page also give a little description of the pagers less, more, and most. So this post isn't completely random.)

FWIW, you don't need to use "cat filename | less", you can just do "less filename".

truthfatal, that quote is hilarious!

Does that quote from Joost Kremers make it:
A: Less confusing? :scratch:
B: More confusing? :scratch: :scratch:
C: Most confusing? :scratch: :scratch: :scratch:

Yeah I use 'most' - it has colours :0)

D: all of the above :p