UUOC

:UUOC: [from the comp.unix.shell group on Usenet] Stands for `Useless Use of cat ; the reference is to the Unix command cat(1), not the feline animal. As received wisdom on comp.unix.shell observes, "The purpose of cat is to concatenate (or `catenate') files. If it's only one file, concatenating it with nothing at all is a waste of time, and costs you a process." Nevertheless one sees people doing

cat file | some_command and its args ... instead of the equivalent and cheaper

some_command and its args ... = V = =====

Jargon File Version 4.3.1, 29 JUN 2001 =

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