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STRINGS(1)                                                                                        STRINGS(1)



NAME
       strings - find the printable strings in a object, or other binary, file

SYNOPSIS
       strings [ - ] [ -a ] [ -o ] [ -t format ] [ -number ] [ -n number ] [--] [file ...]

DESCRIPTION
       Strings  looks for ASCII strings in a binary file or standard input.  Strings is useful for identify-ing identifying
       ing random object files and many other things.  A string is any sequence of 4 (the default)  or  more
       printing  characters  ending  with a newline or a null.  Unless the - flag is given, strings looks in
       all sections of the object files except the (__TEXT,__text) section.  If no files are specified stan-dard standard
       dard input is read.

       The  file  arguments  may be of the form libx.a(foo.o), to request information about only that object
       file and not the entire library.   (Typically this argument must be quoted, ``libx.a(foo.o)'', to get
       it past the shell.)

       The options to strings(1) are:

       -a     This  option  causes strings to look for strings in all sections of the object file (including
              the (__TEXT,__text) section.

       -      This option causes strings to look for strings in all bytes of the files (the default for non-object nonobject
              object files).

       --     This option causes strings to treat all the following arguments as files.

       -o     Preceded each string by its offset in the file (in decimal).

       -t format
              Write each string preceded by its byte offset from the start of the file.  The format shall be
              dependent on the single character used as the format option-argument:

       d      The offset shall be written in decimal.

       o      The offset shall be written in octal.

       x      The offset shall be written in hexadecimal.

       -number
              The decimal number is used as the minimum string length rather than the default of 4.

       -n number
              Specify the minimum string length, where the number argument is a  positive  decimal  integer.
              The default shall be 4.

       -arch arch_type
              Specifies  the architecture, arch_type, of the file for strings(1) to operate on when the file
              is a universal file.  (See arch(3) for the currently know arch_types.)  The arch_type  can  be
              "all" to operate on all architectures in the file, which is the default.

SEE ALSO
       od(1)

BUGS
       The algorithm for identifying strings is extremely primitive.



Apple Computer, Inc.                         September 11, 2006                                   STRINGS(1)