What does xargs file do?

xargs (short for “eXtended ARGumentS”) is a command on Unix and most Unix-like operating systems used to build and execute commands from standard input. It converts input from standard input into arguments to a command.

Why is xargs necessary?

xargs can be used when you need to take the output from one command and use it as an argument to another. In your first example, grep takes the data from standard input, rather than as an argument. So, xargs is not needed. If you have 3 text files in /etc you’ll get a full directory listing of each.

How do you use xargs I?

How to Use the xargs Command With Examples

Combine xargs with find. The find command often precedes xargs in a pipeline.
Combine xargs with grep.
Xargs Multiple Commands.
Read Items From File.
Find and Archive Images Using tar.
Print Command.
Approve xargs Command Execution.
Limit Output per Line.

What is the xargs command and how does it work?

The xargs command is used in a UNIX shell to convert input from standard input into arguments to a command. In other words, through the use of xargs the output of a command is used as the input of another command. We use a pipe ( | ) to pass the output to xargs .

Which is the parallel command for search on Linux?

Multiple inputs The find command is an excellent gateway to Parallel as long as you’re familiar with find and xargs (collectively called GNU Find Utilities, or findutils ). It provides a flexible interface that many Linux users are already comfortable with and is pretty easy to learn if you’re a newcomer.

How do you echo without newline?

Bash is the command console in Linux and Mac OS, which also recognizes the ‘echo’ command. In the case of Bash, echo also creates a new line in the output, but you can use different steps to stop it. The best way to remove the new line is to add ‘-n’. This signals not to add a new line.

How do I run two parallel commands in Linux?

How to run command or code in parallel in bash shell under Linux or Unix

Use GNU/parallel.
Use the wait command built-in command with & .
The xargs command.