What does the command 'tail' do?

The command 'tail' is designed specifically to display the last few lines of a file, which is particularly useful for previewing the most recent entries in log files or checking the end of documents. By default, it shows the last 10 lines, but users can modify this behavior with various options to display more or fewer lines as needed. This functionality makes 'tail' a fundamental tool in systems administration for monitoring the latest output in files that are continuously written to, such as system logs or application logs.

The other options relate to functionalities that 'tail' does not provide. For example, showing the beginning of a file is typically the job of the 'head' command, while displaying the whole file would require the use of commands like 'cat' or 'less'. Additionally, error logging is not a direct function of 'tail', although it can be used to view the end of log files where errors may be reported.