In a typical linux system we can use cat -A [file]
to output the file with tabs shown as ^I
and a $
sign at the true end of the line which indicates how many spaces are there at the end of the line.
But in my Mac OS Calatlina zsh terminal, I get the following error
tilak@Tilaks-Macbook-Pro ~ % cat -A file.txt
cat: illegal option -- A
usage: cat [-benstuv] [file ...]
tilak@Tilaks-Macbook-Pro ~ %
I have tried cat -tv [file]
but that has the same output as cat [file]
Here is the cat manual for -tv options...
-t Display non-printing characters (see the -v option), and display tab characters as `^I'.
-v Display non-printing characters so they are visible. Control characters print as `^X' for control-X; the delete character (octal 0177) prints as `^?'. Non-ASCII characters (with the high bit set) are printed as `M-' (for meta) followed by the character for the low 7 bits.
idk if it helps but ... Currently referring book: William Shotts - A Linux Command Line complete introduction _ (No Starch Press 2019)
I use cat -vet
In this order, it is easy for me to remember -- my Mac cat needs a vet.
option | desc |
---|---|
-v | <Display non-printing characters so they are visible. Control characters print as ‘^X’ for control-X; the delete character (octal 0177) prints as ‘^?’. Non-ASCII characters (with the high bit set) are printed as ‘M-’ (for meta) followed by the character for the low 7 bits. |
-e | Display non-printing characters (see the -v option), and display a dollar sign (‘$’) at the end of each line. |
-t | Display non-printing characters (see the -v option), and display tab characters as ‘^I’. |