hexdump

hexdump, a C++ code which prints the contents of a file, byte by byte, in hexadecimal format.

This sort of information can be useful when determining the format of a file, checking for byte-swapping, or other common tasks.

On many computer systems, there's already a program called hexdump, so you have to be careful that you know which program you are running! Type

which hexdump

Thanks to John McCabe of Rutgers for pointing out and correcting a bug which occurred on some machines if the byte value 0xFF was encountered, 30 January 2008.

Usage:

hexdump filename

reads filename and writes a hexadecimal dump to the standard output.

Sample Output:

        HEXDUMP: Hexadecimal dump of file: box.3ds.

           Address                   Hexadecimal values                  Printable
        -----  -----------------------------------------------  ----------------

            0  4d 4d 53 02 00 00 02 00 0a 00 00 00 03 00 00 00  MMS.............
           16  3d 3d 68 01 00 00 3e 3d 0a 00 00 00 03 00 00 00  ==h...>=........
           32  00 01 0a 00 00 00 00 00 80 3f 00 40 4e 01 00 00  .........?.@N...
           48  42 6f 78 30 31 00 00 41 42 01 00 00 10 41 68 00  Box01..AB....Ah.
           ...
      

Licensing:

The computer code and data files described and made available on this web page are distributed under the MIT license

Languages:

hexdump is available in a C++ version.

Related programs and data:

hexdump_test

Reference:

1. Howard Burdick,
   Digital Imaging: Theory and Applications,
   McGraw Hill, 1997,
   ISBN: 0079130593,
   LC: TA1637.B87.

Source Code:

• hexdump.cpp, the source code;
• hexdump.sh, compiles the source code;