Linux command (like cat) to read a specified quantity of characters

Question

Is there a command like cat in linux which can return a specified quantity of characters from a file?

e.g., I have a text file like:

Hel         


        

Answer 1

head or tail can do it as well:

head -c X

Prints the first X bytes (not necessarily characters if it's a UTF-16 file) of the file. tail will do the same, except for the last X bytes.

This (and cut) are portable.