uuoc from the comp.unix.shell group on usenet stands for `useless use
   of cat'; the reference is to the unix command cat1, not the feline
   animal. as received wisdom on comp.unix.shell observes, "the purpose of
   cat is to concatenate or `catenate' files. if it's only one file,
   concatenating it with nothing at all is a waste of time, and costs you a
   process." nevertheless one sees people doing

  cat file | some_command and its args ...
  
   instead of the equivalent and cheaper

  see also:
cat