The wc command is a filter that prints on one line sequentially the number of:
from:
/bin/echo -e 'Hello\nWorld' > hello.txt
# -e takes the sequence character \n has an end of line
Hello
World
cat hello.txt | wc # read from the input stream created by cat
2 2 12
wc -
Example when copy/pasting
The wc command is a filter that prints on one line sequentially the number of:
newlines (lines),
words,
and characters
5 20 120 -
When using a file name as argument
wc hello.txt # transform hello.txt as an input stream and read
2 2 12 hello.txt
with a a glob pattern that select all files that begins with hello
wc hello*
2 2 12 hello.txt
1 2 12 helloIn.txt
1 2 12 helloOut.txt
4 6 36 total
wc [OPTION]... [FILE]...
where option can be