strings(C)
strings --
find the printable strings in an object file
Syntax
strings [ - ] [ -aoCF ]
[ -num ] [-t format ]
[ -n num ] [ file ... ]
Description
The strings command looks for printable strings in a
binary file. A string is any sequence of four or more printing
characters. When searching Common Object File Format
(COFF) binaries, strings only looks in the
initialized data section of the file. (To make strings
search the whole of a COFF binary, use the -a or
- flags. COFF is the standard file format for
compiled executables.) All other files are searched in their
entirety.
The following options are recognized by strings:
-a-
Scan files in their entirety.
--
Synonym for -a.
-n num-
Specify the minimum string length to report; default value is 4
characters.
-num-
Same as -n num.
-t format-
Write each string preceded by its byte offset in the file. The
format used for the offset is:
d-
decimal
o-
octal
x-
hexadecimal
-o-
Same as -t d.
-C-
Recognize only C language strings. strings normally
selects strings of four or more printable characters. This option
adds the requirement that strings be terminated with either a null
or newline character.
-F-
Precede each string by the name of the file it was found in.
See also
hd(C),
od(C)
Standards conformance
strings is conformant with:
ISO/IEC DIS 9945
2:1992, Information technology Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) Part 2: Shell and Utilities (IEEE Std 1003.21992);
X/Open CAE Specification, Commands and Utilities, Issue 4, 1992.
© 2005 The SCO Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
SCO OpenServer Release 6.0.0 -- 03 June 2005