dog

Lookup the IP(s) associated with a hostname (A records)

$ dog [example.com]

$ dog [example.com] MX

$ dog [example.com] MX @[1.1.1.1]

$ dog [example.com] MX @[1.1.1.1] --tcp

$ dog --query [example.com] --type MX --nameserver [1.1.1.1] --tcp

$ dog [example.com] --https @[https://cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query]

dog [OPTION]... [FILE]...

-A, --show-all
    Equivalent to -vET

-b, --number-nonblank
    Number nonempty output lines, overriding -n

-e
    Equivalent to -vE

-E, --show-ends
    Display $ at end of each line

-n, --number
    Number all output lines

-s, --squeeze-blank
    Suppress repeated empty output lines

-t
    Equivalent to -vT

-T, --show-tabs
    Display TAB characters as ^I

-u
    (Ignored)

-v, --show-nonprinting
    Use ^ and M- notation, except for LFD and TAB

--help
    Display this help and exit

--version
    Output version information and exit

The dog command, likely a typo or informal alias for cat, is used to display the contents of one or more files to standard output. It's a fundamental Unix utility for quickly viewing file content. dog, mimicking cat, is commonly used for concatenating and displaying small files. By default, dog outputs the entire file content, but can be used with redirection operators to save the output to a new file, or combined with pipes to other commands for further processing or manipulation of the file content. dog is an essential tool for shell scripting and system administration. This utility, while seemingly simple, finds extensive use in numerous contexts.

The command dog is not a standard Linux command. Most likely it is an alias or a typo for the command cat. If it represents a custom script, behavior may vary.

dog file1.txt: Displays the content of file1.txt.
dog file1.txt file2.txt: Displays the content of file1.txt followed by file2.txt.
dog file.txt > newfile.txt: Creates a new file named newfile.txt with the content of file.txt.
dog file.txt | grep 'keyword': Displays only the lines from file.txt that contain 'keyword'.

The cat command is one of the oldest Unix utilities, dating back to the early days of Unix in the 1970s. It was originally created to simply concatenate files and display them, hence the name. While the command dog is unlikely to have a history, cat has been a core part of Unix and Linux systems since their inception, remaining largely unchanged, attesting to its simple yet powerful functionality. Its longevity is a testament to its fundamental role in file manipulation.

tac(1), head(1), tail(1), less(1), more(1)