Operating system | Unix, Unix-like, Plan 9, Inferno |
---|---|
Platform | Cross-platform |
Type | Command |
In computer software, strings is a program in Unix, Plan 9, Inferno, and Unix-like operating systems that finds and prints text strings embedded in binary files such as executables. It can be used on object files and core dumps.
Overview[edit]
Strings are recognized by looking for sequences of at least 4 (by default) printable characters terminating in a NUL character (that is, null-terminated strings). Some implementations provide options for determining what is recognized as a printable character, which is useful for finding non-ASCII and wide character text.
Common usage includes piping its output to grep and fold or redirecting the output to a file.[1]
It is part of the GNU Binary Utilities (binutils), and has been ported to other operating systems including Windows.[2]
Example[edit]
Using strings to print sequences of characters that are at least 8 characters long (this command prints the system's BIOS information; should be run as root):
dd if=/dev/mem bs=1k skip=768 count=256 2>/dev/null | strings -n 8 | less
See also[edit]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
- The Single UNIX Specification, Issue 7 from The Open Group – Commands & Utilities Reference,
- Plan 9 Programmer's Manual, Volume 1 –
- Inferno General commands Manual –