unbuffer

UNBUFFER(1)                                                        UNBUFFER(1)



NAME
       unbuffer - unbuffer output

SYNOPSIS
       unbuffer program [ args ]

INTRODUCTION
       unbuffer  disables the output buffering that occurs when program output
       is redirected.  For example, suppose you are watching the output from a
       fifo by running it through od and then more.

            od -c /tmp/fifo | more

       You  will  not  see  anything until a full page of output has been pro-
       duced.

       You can disable this automatic buffering as follows:


            unbuffer od -c /tmp/fifo | more

       When you have a pipeline, unbuffer must  be  applied  to  each  element
       except the last (since that doesn't have its output redirected).  Exam-
       ple:

               unbuffer p1 | unbuffer p2 | unbuffer p3 | p4

BUGS
       The man page is longer than the program.


SEE ALSO
       "Exploring Expect: A Tcl-Based Toolkit for Automating Interactive  Pro-
       grams" by Don Libes, O'Reilly and Associates, January 1995.

AUTHOR
       Don Libes, National Institute of Standards and Technology



                                  1 June 1994                      UNBUFFER(1)