title: what is ^@ character in vi?
body: <p>I am seeing a lot of <code>^@</code> character in a contents of a text file on my UNIX server. I am unable to understand what does <code>^@</code> mean? and how to remove them from the file? and above all why it is generated?</p>
  
  <p>If i try to see the contents of the file using <code>cat</code> , I am getting this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>u3210#"! utypyado
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>however if try to use <code>cat -v</code> , i am getting <code>^@</code> characters (as attached screenshot) along with some text in english. Same output is observed when i use <code>vi</code> with <code>:set list</code> command.</p>
  
  <p>Any help is much appreciated , thanks very much in advance.</p>
  
  <p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/w45KS.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></p>