How to Show Non Printable Characters in Linux
Using the cat Command
When working with text files in Linux, you may encounter non-printable characters that are not visible by default. These characters can include tabs, spaces, and newline characters, among others. Displaying these characters can be helpful for debugging purposes or when working with text files that contain special formatting.
To show non-printable characters in Linux, you can use the cat command with the -v or -E option. The -v option displays non-printable characters, while the -E option displays the end of each line with a dollar sign. For example, you can use the command cat -v file.txt to display the contents of a file with non-printable characters visible.
Alternative Methods
Alternatively, you can use other commands such as od or hexdump to display non-printable characters. The od command displays the contents of a file in octal or hexadecimal format, while the hexdump command displays the contents of a file in hexadecimal format. These commands can be useful for displaying non-printable characters in a more detailed and technical format.
In addition to the cat command, there are other methods for displaying non-printable characters in Linux. For example, you can use the less command with the -R option to display non-printable characters. You can also use the vim editor with the :set list command to display non-printable characters. These alternative methods can be useful for displaying non-printable characters in different contexts and situations.