To display line numbers when using the less command on a Linux or Unix system, you can use the -N option. less is a utility for viewing and navigating text files, and the -N option enables line numbering, which can be useful for identifying specific lines in a file or for referencing specific lines in a document.
To display line numbers with less, simply include the -N option when running the less command:
less -N /path/to/file
This will display the contents of the /path/to/file file with line numbers. The line numbers will be displayed on the left side of the screen, and will be updated as you navigate through the file using less.
For example:
1 This is the first line of the file. 2 This is the second line of the file. 3 This is the third line of the file.
You can also customize the format of the line numbers by using the --line-numbers option, which allows you to specify a format string for the line numbers. For example:
less --line-numbers=1 /path/to/file
This will display the line numbers with a leading digit (e.g., "1", "2", "3", etc.), rather than the default format of "1.", "2.", "3.", etc.
For more information about using the less command to view and navigate text files on a Linux or Unix system, you can consult the less documentation or seek assistance from a qualified Linux or Unix administrator.