From the Shell manual: "find the printable strings in a object, or other binary,
+ file".
+ Strings can be used to extract character information and string of a given lenght
+ from text file(s). When used without any options, strings displays all strings
+ that are at least four characters in length in the files whose names are
+ supplied as arguments (i.e., input data). Strings that are on separate lines
+ in the input files are shown on separate lines on the screen, and an attempt
+ is made to display all strings found on a single line in a file on a single
+ line on the screen (although there may be a carryover to subsequent lines in
+ the event that numerous strings are found on a single line). strings looks in
+ all sections of the object files except the (__TEXT,__text) section.
Basic syntax for this command is as follows:
+ +strings [options] file_name(s)+ +
strings -n 2 file1 file2+ +
For example, the code above would display all strings in the files named + file1 and file2 that consist of at least two characters.
+ +