Problem Statement
What is the difference between cat and less commands?
Explanation
Cat (concatenate) displays the entire file content to stdout immediately, useful for small files or when piping to other commands. It shows all content without pausing, so for large files, output scrolls too fast to read. Cat is also used to concatenate multiple files: cat file1 file2 > combined creates a combined file.
Less is a pager that displays file content one screen at a time with navigation controls. Use arrow keys or j/k to scroll, Space for next page, b for previous page, / to search forward, ? to search backward, and q to quit. Less loads files efficiently, even huge files, without loading entire content into memory.
Use cat for small files, piping to other commands, or concatenating files. Use less for large files, log files, or when you need to search and navigate through content. More is similar to less but with fewer features - less is preferred. Understanding when to use each tool improves efficiency when working with files of different sizes.