Argument list too long

[Jeff Voskamp]

Ashley M. Kirchner wrote:
>
>    Question: at what point would commands such as 'ls', 'cp' and 
> others consider the argument list too long?  The reason I'm asking is 
> because I'm getting random results here.  One time 'ls' would tell it 
> the argument list is too long when the file count in the folder 
> reached around 2,000 files.  Another, like this morning, it let me go 
> all the way to 2,600+ before complaining.  And just now it reached 
> 1,900 files and already 'ls' is complaining.  That seems random to 
> me.  Is there a set number that causes all of these commands to fail 
> with 'Argument list too long' or what convoluted algorithm is used to 
> figure it out?
>
It's not a word count limit.  It's a character limit. The current value 
of which escapes me at this point.

Jeff