I hereby propose "ls --limit=..." $ ls --limit=1 # Would only print one result item: A
You might say: "Jacobson, just use "ls|sed q". Closed: Worksforme." Ah, but I am talking about items, not lines: $ ls A B C D E F G H I J K L $ ls -C|sed 2q A B C D E F G H $ ls -C --limit=2 A B $ ls --limit=2 A B Indeed, directories might be huge. And any database command already has a --limit option these days, and does not rely on a second program to trim its output because it can't control itself. Indeed, on some remote connections one would only want to launch one program, not two. Thanks.
