10.42. File-5.31

The File package contains a utility for determining the type of a given file or files.

10.42.1. Installation of File

Prepare File for compilation:

./configure \
    --prefix=/usr

Compile the package:

make

To test the results, issue:

make check

Install the package:

make install

Installed programs: file

Installed library: libmagic.[a,so]

file	Tries to classify each given file; it does this by performing several tests—file system tests, magic number tests, and language tests
`libmagic`	Contains routines for magic number recognition, used by the file program