look

Additional Notes

look is a text-processing command used to display lines beginning with a string. It performs a binary search on sorted input files for fast prefix matching.

Without a file argument, look searches /usr/share/dict/words by default. For unsorted files, use grep "^prefix" instead, which does not require sorted input.

Syntax

look [options] [file...]

Parameters

• options: Flags that change how look behaves.
• file: Text file to read or process.
• string: Prefix string to match at the beginning of lines.

Common Options

• --help: Show command help when supported.
• --version: Show version information when supported.

Examples

look --help
man look

Practical Notes

Options can vary by distribution and package version. Use man look, look --help, or the package documentation for exact syntax.