.TH UNBUFFER 1 "1 June 1994"
.SH NAME
unbuffer \- unbuffer output
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B unbuffer
.I program
[
.I args
]
.SH INTRODUCTION
.B unbuffer
disables the output buffering that occurs when program output
is redirected.
For example, suppose you are watching the output from a fifo by running it
through od and then more.  
.nf

	od -c /tmp/fifo | more

.fi
You will not see anything until a full page
of output has been produced.

You can disable this automatic buffering as follows:

.nf

	unbuffer od -c /tmp/fifo | more

.fi
When you have a pipeline, unbuffer must be applied to each element
except the last (since that doesn't have its output redirected).
Example:
.nf

        unbuffer p1 | unbuffer p2 | unbuffer p3 | p4
.fi
.SH BUGS

The man page is longer than the program.

.SH SEE ALSO
.I
"Exploring Expect: A Tcl-Based Toolkit for Automating Interactive Programs"
\fRby Don Libes,
O'Reilly and Associates, January 1995.
.SH AUTHOR
Don Libes, National Institute of Standards and Technology