Displays the first few lines or bytes of a file or files.
head [ -Count | -c Number | -n Number ] [ File ... ]
The head command writes to standard output a specified number of lines or bytes of each of the specified files, or of the standard input. If no flag is specified with the head command, the first 10 lines are displayed by default. The File parameter specifies the names of the input files. An input file must be a text file. When more than one file is specified, the start of each file will look like the following:
==> filename <==
To display a set of short files, identifying each one, enter:
example% head -9999 filename1 filename2...
This command returns the following exit values:
0 | Successful completion. |
>0 | An error occurred. |
To display the first five lines of the Test file, enter:
head -5 Test
OR
head -n 5 Test
The tail command.
Files Overview in AIX 5L Version 5.2 System User's Guide: Operating System and Devices.
Input and Output Redirection Overview in AIX 5L Version 5.2 System User's Guide: Operating System and Devices.