joining multiple PDFs into one

[Chris F.A. Johnson]

On Tue, 15 Nov 2011, Russell Reiter wrote:

> Ditto.
>
> On Tue, Nov 15, 2011 at 1:30 PM, Ian Petersen <ispeters-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
>> On Tue, Nov 15, 2011 at 10:19 AM, Russ <rreiter91-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
>>> I'm replying in the context of the original problem as posted and why he
>>> only saw the last page of the pdf document he was trying to create.
>>> You are the one skimming.
>>
>> Uh, I don't want to fall into the trap of arguing with someone who is
>> "wrong on the internet", but
>>
>> On Mon, Nov 14, 2011 at 9:53 AM, Thomas Milne
>> <thomas.bruce.milne-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
>>> I tried cat file1 file2 file2 > file, but that didn't work, I only got
>>> the last page.
>>
>> which looks to me more like my example than yours.
>
> It's his example which doesn't work. You don't know what kernel, what
> shell or anything else about the environment he's using, yet you know
> that your cat command is absolutely able to run the way you say it
> does. Oh brave new world which has such people in it.

    The kernel and shell make no difference; cat (which is not part of
    the shell) has worked the same way for decades. Redirection ditto.

    Concatenation will work for some files, but not for others. Imagine
    joining three passenger trains into a single consist. You wouldn't
    join it engine to caboose; you'd remove the caboose of the leading
    train and the leading engine of the following train then join them.

    Subway cars, on the other hand, can be joined end to end in any
    order.

    Some files are like trains, others like subway cars.

    (The new TTC subway trains may be different.)

-- 
    Chris F.A. Johnson, <http://cfajohnson.com/>
    Author:
    Pro Bash Programming: Scripting the GNU/Linux Shell (2009, Apress)
    Shell Scripting Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (2005, Apress)
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