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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-23T14:16:58+00:00

For a given file, can I count number of lines backwards? i.e. starting from

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For a given file, can I count number of lines backwards? i.e. starting from EOF, counting the lines till the beginning?

I could fseek to the end of the file. Start form there, keep looking for new line char (indication of a new line) and keep incrementing my line_number count. But what should be my ending condition?

Is there any opposite of EOF? 🙂

My own suggestion: If I am looking for Xth line from end, I could always get it from beginning at this line number : total_lines – X — fair enough?

Motive: I am interested in getting to Xth line form the end of a HUGE (read really huge) file. So, looking for the most optimal solution.

PS: This is not a homework (though I am a lifetime student :p)

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    The opposite of EOF is pos == 0.

    The POSIX tail command does this; for example code, see http://www.koders.com/c/fid8DEE98A42C35A1346FA89C328CC3BF94E25CF377.aspx

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