developer-roadmap/src/data/roadmaps/linux/content/104-text-processing/112-wc.md

WC - Text Processing

The wc command is a commonly used tool in Unix or Linux that allows users to count the number of bytes, characters, words, and lines in a file or in data piped from standard input. The name wc stands for 'word count', but it can do much more than just count words. Common usage of wc includes tracking program output, counting code lines, and more. It's an invaluable tool for analyzing text at both granular and larger scales.

Below is a basic usage example for wc in Linux:

wc myfile.txt

This command would output the number of lines, words, and characters in myfile.txt. The output is displayed in the following order: line count, word count, character count, followed by the filename.

Learn more from the following resources:

• @article@Linux wc Command: Text Counting