>>> Numbering currently starts over at 1 for each input file [...] >> If you want to have continuing (non-restarting) numbering for >> multiple input files, one could use "cat file1 file2 | cat -n". > True, that would be a workaround.
> But shouldn't the current behaviour still be fixed? First, I think, we should decide whether "fixed" is an appropriate word. Perhaps it's just me, but I don't consider Linux cat to be a reference implementation. (Indeed, I don't consider the Linux implementation of pretty much _anything_ to be a reference, except for Linux-specific things.) > The restarting for each file has never been mentioned in the manual > as a feature, The manual is semi-silent on it. It's not specifically described, but -n is documented as numbering "the output lines", which I think indicates the numbering should continue. > and it isn't what most people would expect. I'm not so sure. Without having seen this thread or the exact wording in the manpage, I'm not sure which behaviour I would have expected. (Not that I'm `most people', of course, but, as bad as a sample of size 1 is, it's better than a sample of size 0.) There _is_ the point that, with the restarting behaviour, there is a simple workaround if you want the other behaviour; working around in the other direction is harder - instead of two cat processes you need one process per input source, plus one shell (or other overseer) to reap finished ones and start new ones. /~\ The ASCII Mouse \ / Ribbon Campaign X Against HTML mo...@rodents-montreal.org / \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B
