"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

To build "xtail":

    - you'll need an ANSI compiler (such as "gcc")
    - tweak the "Makefile" (required!!!)
    - review configuration settings in "xtail.h"
    - run a "make"

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 2.2 1997/01/05 01:02:49 chip Exp $
