=== CHANGES === v2.1 - Stamps out a Y2K bug and now uses GNU autoconf. === SUMMARY === "xtail" watches the growth of files. It's like running a "tail -f" on a bunch of files at once. The syntax is: xtail name ... You can specify both filenames and directories on the command line. If you specify a directory, it watches all the files in that directory. It will notice when new files are created (and start watching them) or when old files are deleted (and stop watching them). I originally wrote this program so I could run: xtail /usr/spool/uucp/.Log/* Even though I don't use "uucp" any more, I still use this utility a lot. These days, my favorite is: xtail /var/log/* /usenet/lib/*log === INSTRUCTIONS === - xtail version 2 requires an ANSI compiler such as gcc. - Run: sh configure - If you'd like, review the configuration definitions in xtail.h - Run: make - If you'd like, as root run: make install === HISTORICAL NOTES === This program is an oldie but goodie. It was posted to comp.sources.misc in July 1989 (see ftp.uu.net:/usenet/comp.sources.misc/volume7/xtail.Z). I remember posting an even earlier version to alt.sources. It has been published in the O'Reilly & Associates "Unix Power Tools" collection (book and CD-ROM). Over the years, some fly-by-night organizations (such as the MIT X Consortium and SGI) have tried to steal the "xtail" name. Don't be fooled! Insist on the original. The 1989 release credited David Dykstra for his contributions. Chip Rosenthal <chip@unicom.com> $Id: README,v 2.4 2000/06/04 05:15:35 chip Exp $