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shellscriptingtest-data

generate a random file using shell script

How can i generate a random file filled with random number or character in shell script? I also want to specify size of the file.

Solution

  • Use dd command to read data from /dev/random.

    dd if=/dev/random of=random.dat bs=1000000 count=5000

    That would read 5000 1MB blocks of random data, that is a whole 5 gigabytes of random data!

    Experiment with blocksize argument to get the optimal performance.