doc: describe how kernel inotify support affects tail -f

[platform/upstream/coreutils.git] / doc / coreutils.texi

diff --git a/doc/coreutils.texi b/doc/coreutils.texi
index b77d8df..dfaf4c9 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/coreutils.texi
+++ b/doc/coreutils.texi
@@ -1883,7 +1883,7 @@ Output at most @var{bytes} bytes of the input.  Prefixes and suffixes on
 Instead of the normal output, output only @dfn{string constants}: at
 least @var{bytes} consecutive @acronym{ASCII} graphic characters,
 followed by a zero byte (@acronym{ASCII} @sc{nul}).
-Prefixes and suffixes on @code{bytes} are interpreted as for the
+Prefixes and suffixes on @var{bytes} are interpreted as for the
 @option{-j} option.
 
 If @var{n} is omitted with @option{--strings}, the default is 3.
@@ -2830,6 +2830,11 @@ no @var{file} operand is specified and standard input is a FIFO or a pipe.
 Likewise, the @option{-f} option has no effect for any
 operand specified as @samp{-}, when standard input is a FIFO or a pipe.
 
+With kernel inotify support, output is asynchronous and generally very prompt.
+Otherwise, @command{tail} sleeps for one second between checks---
+use @option{--sleep-interval=@var{N}} to change that default---which can
+make the output appear slightly less responsive or bursty.
+
 @item -F
 @opindex -F
 This option is the same as @option{--follow=name --retry}.  That is, tail