On Sun, 2 Jan 2005 12:40:59 -0800 (PST), Globe Trotter <itsme_410@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > how does one convert the following file to read it? > > file -i temp > temp: application/octet-stream The term "octet stream" is just a fancy way of saying arbitrary binary data (a stream of 8-bit bytes). Since the file is unidentified, what you mean by "reading" it is also not well defined. I assume you're trying to figure out what's in it. One of the first tools you can use is the strings(1) command...it will attempt to find and extract the printable text inside a binary file. You also can use hexdump(1) (or the older od(1) for Unix folk). And finally the emacs editor has wonderful binary data capabilities for editing and viewing binary data files. That's a start anyway..... read the manpages. -- Deron Meranda
