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NAME

cat-v - visualize non-printing characters

SYNOPSIS

cat-v [ options ] args ...

OPTIONS
   -n   --reset         Disable all character conversion
   -c   --visible=#     Specify visualize characters
   -r   --repeat=#      Specify repeat characters
   -o   --original      Print original line as is
   -t   --expand[=#]    Expand tabs
   -T   --no-expand     Do not expand tabs
   -E                   Escape backslash character
  --ts  --tabstyle=#    Set tab style
        --tabstop=#     Set tab width
        --tabhead=#     Set tab-head character
        --tabspace=#    Set tab-space character
   -C   --color=#       Set color
   -h   --help          Print this message
   -v   --version       Print version

OPTIONS FOR EACH CHARACTERS
  --esc                 Enable escape
  --esc=c               Show escape in control format
  --esc=+c              Show escape in control format and reproduce
  --nl=0                Disable newline
  --sp=~                Convert spaces to tilde
  --sp='OPEN BOX'       Unicode name
  --esc=+U+035B         Unicode code point

VERSION

Version 1.05

DESCRIPTION

The cat -v command is often used to display characters that cannot be displayed, but is not always suitable for viewing the output of modern applications because it converts all non-ASCII characters.

The cat-v command visualizes whitespace and control characters while preserving the display of displayable graphic characters.

Also, by default, escape characters are not converted, so decorations by ANSI escape sequences are retained.

Sometimes it is desirable to visualize whitespace characters. The cat -t command can visualize tab characters, but the problem is that it breaks the visual format. We may want to see which parts are tabs and which parts are space characters while preserving the format. Extra whitespace characters at the end of a line can also be noticed by visualizing them.

Using cat-v, tab characters are visualized in such a way that the space on the display does not change.

Control characters can be displayed in control format and Unicode symbol characters. By default, control characters other than newline and escape characters are displayed as corresponding Unicode symbols.

The second field is the default action. s stands for symbol, m for Unicode mark, and 0 for no conversion.

nul   s  \000  \x{2400}  ␀  SYMBOL FOR NULL
soh   s  \001  \x{2401}  ␁  SYMBOL FOR START OF HEADING
stx   s  \002  \x{2402}  ␂  SYMBOL FOR START OF TEXT
etx   s  \003  \x{2403}  ␃  SYMBOL FOR END OF TEXT
eot   s  \004  \x{2404}  ␄  SYMBOL FOR END OF TRANSMISSION
enq   s  \005  \x{2405}  ␅  SYMBOL FOR ENQUIRY
ack   s  \006  \x{2406}  ␆  SYMBOL FOR ACKNOWLEDGE
bel   s  \007  \x{2407}  ␇  SYMBOL FOR BELL
bs    s  \010  \x{2408}  ␈  SYMBOL FOR BACKSPACE
ht    s  \011  \x{2409}  ␉  SYMBOL FOR HORIZONTAL TABULATION
nl    m  \012  \x{240A}  ␊  SYMBOL FOR LINE FEED
vt    s  \013  \x{240B}  ␋  SYMBOL FOR VERTICAL TABULATION
np    m  \014  \x{240C}  ␌  SYMBOL FOR FORM FEED
cr    s  \015  \x{240D}  ␍  SYMBOL FOR CARRIAGE RETURN
so    s  \016  \x{240E}  ␎  SYMBOL FOR SHIFT OUT
si    s  \017  \x{240F}  ␏  SYMBOL FOR SHIFT IN
dle   s  \020  \x{2410}  ␐  SYMBOL FOR DATA LINK ESCAPE
dc1   s  \021  \x{2411}  ␑  SYMBOL FOR DEVICE CONTROL ONE
dc2   s  \022  \x{2412}  ␒  SYMBOL FOR DEVICE CONTROL TWO
dc3   s  \023  \x{2413}  ␓  SYMBOL FOR DEVICE CONTROL THREE
dc4   s  \024  \x{2414}  ␔  SYMBOL FOR DEVICE CONTROL FOUR
nak   s  \025  \x{2415}  ␕  SYMBOL FOR NEGATIVE ACKNOWLEDGE
syn   s  \026  \x{2416}  ␖  SYMBOL FOR SYNCHRONOUS IDLE
etb   s  \027  \x{2417}  ␗  SYMBOL FOR END OF TRANSMISSION BLOCK
can   s  \030  \x{2418}  ␘  SYMBOL FOR CANCEL
em    s  \031  \x{2419}  ␙  SYMBOL FOR END OF MEDIUM
sub   s  \032  \x{241A}  ␚  SYMBOL FOR SUBSTITUTE
esc   0  \033  \x{241B}  ␛  SYMBOL FOR ESCAPE
fs    s  \034  \x{241C}  ␜  SYMBOL FOR FILE SEPARATOR
gs    s  \035  \x{241D}  ␝  SYMBOL FOR GROUP SEPARATOR
rs    s  \036  \x{241E}  ␞  SYMBOL FOR RECORD SEPARATOR
us    s  \037  \x{241F}  ␟  SYMBOL FOR UNIT SEPARATOR
sp    m  \040  \x{2420}  ␠  SYMBOL FOR SPACE
del   s  \177  \x{2421}  ␡  SYMBOL FOR DELETE
nbsp  s  \240  \x{2423}  ⍽  SHOULDERED OPEN BOX

At this time, Unicode markings are available for the following characters

nul   \x{2205}  ∅  EMPTY SET
bel   \x{237E}  ⍾  BELL SYMBOL
nl    \x{23CE}  ⏎  RETURN SYMBOL
np    \x{2398}  ⎘  NEXT PAGE
sp    \x{00B7}  ·  MIDDLE DOT
esc   \x{21B0}  ↰  UPWARDS ARROW WITH TIP LEFTWARDS
del   \x{232B}  ⌫  ERASE TO THE LEFT

OPTIONS

INSTALL

CPANMINUS

From CPAN archive:

cpanm App::cat::v

From GIT repository:

cpanm https://github.com/tecolicom/App-cat-v.git

SEE ALSO

AUTHOR

Kazumasa Utashiro

LICENSE

Copyright © 2024-2025 Kazumasa Utashiro.

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.