On Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:20:55 -0500, Shawn Milochik wrote: > On Sun, Nov 16, 2008 at 1:21 PM, Mike Hoy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> I'm writing a small program that writes to a text file. I want to be >> able to view the contents of the text file inside of shell. But the >> file is too large for a small shell window. Is there a way for the user >> to 'scroll' through the contents of file that has been read into the >> program? I noticed that on the man pages that you can do that although >> I'm sure it's not written in python. Do I need to find a new language >> to write this in? Maybe use a different language for the output and >> still use python? Any help appreciated. >> >> -- >> Mike Hoy >> http://www.mikehoy.net > > > > As Alan has noted, your request isn't perfectly clear. So, I'm going to > change your question and answer it. If I picked the wrong question, > please be more explicit in your next reply. > > Question: How can I read a text file from the command line if the file > is too large to fit on the screen at once? > > Answer: more or less > If you're in Windows, you can use the more command: more file.txt That > will allow you to scroll up and down. > > If you're on pretty much any other OS, you can use more or less. I > prefer less, because it has more features. You use it the same way you > use more: less file.txt
If that explanations mixing up "more" and "less" as names of programs and more and less for real more and less doesn't confuse you, I think you must already know what "more" and "less" is. "more" and "less" is a pager program, used to provide scroll facility to a file or a stream. Windows only have "more", many Unix-like OS provide both "more" and "less". The most striking difference between "more" and "less" is that "more" is simple forward-only, you can't scroll up, only down. "less" support both backward and forward navigation. As the manpage of "less" explains: 'less - opposite of more' _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor