cat -n

You can use the cat command concatenate files and show on the screen under Linux or Unix like operating systems. The cat command also number all output lines starting with number one with the following syntax:

cat -n fileNameHere

OR

cat --number foo.c

The -b / --number-nonblank option number all nonempty output lines, starting with one and the syntax is:

cat -b fileNameHere

OR

cat --number--nonblank filename

Finally, you suppress or remove repeated empty output lines with the -s / --squeeze-blank option:
cat -s -n fileNameHere

OR

cat --squeeze-blank -n filename

Say hello to nl command

Use the nl command number lines of files under Linux or Unix oses. The syntax is:

nl filename

Examples

Create a text file called hello.c as follows:

/* Purpose: Sample see program to print Hello world on stdout * Author: nixCraft * Copyright: None / Copyleft */   #include<stdio.h>   /* our main */ int main(void){ printf("Hello world\n"); return 0; }

Use the cat or nl command to display line numbers:

cat -n hello.c nl hello.c

Sample outputs:

Fig.01: Displaying line numbers for hello.c using the cat and nl command.