[SOLVED] 'tail -1 *' doesn't work

I just discovered that

tail -1 *

doesn't work. It returns

tail: option used in invalid context -- 1

I have to use

tail -n 1 *

.

head -1 *

works. Is there a reason

tail -1 *

doesn't?

tail -1 ASpecificFile

works.

When using this form

tail -1

you're using an obsolete option and you can only give one file as an argument. If you want to pass multiple files you would have to use

tail -n 1

https://serverfault.com/questions/13...ard-characters

tail -1 [filename]

tells tail to print the last line of the specified file.

I think that, if you ask tail to print the last line of every file (*), tail just gets confused, because that's not what it's designed to do. It seems to need to be pointed at a specific file.

Originally Posted by Mechanikx you're using an obsolete option

OBSOLETE! OBSOLETE! OBSOLETE! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0734667/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

The article to which you referred blames tail's use of parse_obsolete_option for this behavior, which no other Unix utility I know has.

Originally Posted by frankbell if you ask tail to print the last line of every file (*), tail just gets confused, because that's not what it's designed to do. It seems to need to be pointed at a specific file.

Why doesn't any other Unix utility get confused? Why doesn't

tail -n 1 *

confuse it? Mechanikx pointed to the solution, though he has it backwards: parse_obsolete_option.

this is how it is implemented. You may try to add your own improvement if you wish.