MAN page from Old RedHat 5.X findutils-4.1-24.i386.rpm

XARGS

Section: Misc. Reference Manual Pages (1L)
Index 

NAME

xargs - build and execute command lines from standard input 

SYNOPSIS

xargs[-0prtx] [-e[eof-str]] [-i[replace-str]] [-l[max-lines]][-n max-args] [-s max-chars] [-P max-procs] [--null] [--eof[=eof-str]][--replace[=replace-str]] [--max-lines[=max-lines]] [--interactive][--max-chars=max-chars] [--verbose] [--exit] [--max-procs=max-procs][--max-args=max-args] [--no-run-if-empty] [--version] [--help][command [initial-arguments]] 

DESCRIPTION

This manual pagedocuments the GNU version ofxargs.xargsreads arguments from the standard input, delimited by blanks (which can beprotected with double or single quotes or a backslash) or newlines,and executes thecommand(default is /bin/echo) one or more times with anyinitial-argumentsfollowed by arguments read from standard input. Blank lines on thestandard input are ignored.xargsexits with the following status:

0 if it succeeds123 if any invocation of the command exited with status 1-125124 if the command exited with status 255125 if the command is killed by a signal126 if the command cannot be run127 if the command is not found1 if some other error occurred.

 

OPTIONS

--null, -0

Input filenames are terminated by a null character instead of bywhitespace, and the quotes and backslash are not special (everycharacter is taken literally). Disables the end of file string, whichis treated like any other argument. Useful when arguments mightcontain white space, quote marks, or backslashes. The GNU find-print0 option produces input suitable for this mode.

--eof[=eof-str], -e[eof-str]

Set the end of file string to eof-str. If the end of filestring occurs as a line of input, the rest of the input is ignored.If eof-str is omitted, there is no end of file string. If thisoption is not given, the end of file string defaults to "_".

--help

Print a summary of the options toxargsand exit.

--replace[=replace-str], -i[replace-str]

Replace occurences of replace-str in the initial arguments withnames read from standard input.Also, unquoted blanks do not terminate arguments.If replace-str is omitted, itdefaults to "{}" (like for `find -exec'). Implies -x and-l 1.

--max-lines[=max-lines], -l[max-lines]

Use at most max-lines nonblank input lines per command line;max-lines defaults to 1 if omitted. Trailing blanks cause aninput line to be logically continued on the next input line. Implies-x.

--max-args=max-args, -n max-args

Use at most max-args arguments per command line. Fewer thanmax-args arguments will be used if the size (see the -s option)is exceeded, unless the -x option is given, in which case xargswill exit.

--interactive, -p

Prompt the user about whether to run each command line and read a linefrom the terminal. Only run the command line if the response startswith `y' or `Y'. Implies -t.

--no-run-if-empty, -r

If the standard input does not contain any nonblanks, do not run thecommand. Normally, the command is run once even if there is no input.

--max-chars=max-chars, -s max-chars

Use at most max-chars characters per command line, including thecommand and initial arguments and the terminating nulls at the ends ofthe argument strings. The default is as large as possible, up to 20kcharacters.

--verbose, -t

Print the command line on the standard error output before executingit.

--version

Print the version number ofxargsand exit.

--exit, -x

Exit if the size (see the -s option) is exceeded.

--max-procs=max-procs, -P max-procs

Run up to max-procs processes at a time; the default is 1. Ifmax-procs is 0, xargs will run as many processes aspossible at a time. Use the -n option with -P;otherwise chances are that only one exec will be done.

 

SEE ALSO

find(1L), locate(1L), locatedb(5L), updatedb(1)Finding Files (on-line in Info, or printed)

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Index

NAME

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

OPTIONS

SEE ALSO

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