when I execute xargs -n2, enter x x x x x and hit Enter, I get only 4 x back:$ xargs -n2x x x x x x x x x But, when I pipe the x x x x x into the same command, I get the same amount of x back:$ echo x x x x x | xargs -n2x x x x xwhy is it that in the first scenario the amount of arguments is either rounded up or rounded down ? 
why does the output of xargs -n2 applied to the same number of arguments different whether piped or from keyboard?
command line;pipe;xargs