Chapter 3 - Exploring Linux Filesystems

Question 1

A metacharacter used to represent a user’s home directory.

Answer 1

~ metacharacter

Question 2

The full pathname to a certain file or directory starting from the root directory.

Answer 2

absolute pathname

Question 3

A file that contains machine language (binary 1s and 0s) and stores information (such as common functions and graphics) used by binary compiled programs.

Answer 3

binary data file

Question 4

A Linux command used to display (or concatenate) the entire contents of a text file to the screen.

Answer 4

cat command

Question 5

A Linux command used to change the current directory in the directory tree.

Answer 5

cd (change directory) command

Question 6

One of the two modes in vi; it allows a user to perform any available text-editing task that is not related to inserting text into the document.

Answer 6

command mode

Question 7

The joining of text together to make one larger whole. In Linux, words and strings of text are joined together to form a displayed file.

Answer 7

concatenation

Question 8

A Linux command that compares the contents of text files to identify any differences.

Answer 8

diff command

Question 9

A special file on the filesystem used to organize other files into a logical tree structure.

Answer 9

directory

Question 10

A variant of the grep command used to search files for patterns, using extended regular expressions.

Answer 10

egrep command

Question 11

A popular and widespread text editor more conducive to word processing than vi. It was originally developed by Richard Stallman.

Answer 11

Emacs (Editor MACroS) editor

Question 12

A file that can be executed by the Linux operating system to run in memory as a process and perform a useful function.

Answer 12

executable program

Question 13

A variant of the grep command that does not allow the use of regular expressions.

Answer 13

fgrep command

Question 14

A Linux command that displays the file type of a specified filename.

Answer 14

file command

Question 15

The process of using wildcard metacharacters within a command to match multiple files or directories.

Answer 15

file globbing

Question 16

The user-friendly identifier given to a file.

Answer 16

filename

Question 17

A series of identifiers following a dot ( . ) at the end of a filename, used to denote the type of the file; the __________________ .txt denotes a text file.

Answer 17

filename extension

Question 18

A common text editor used within GUI environments.

Answer 18

gedit editor

Question 19

A Linux command that searches files for patterns of characters using regular expression metacharacters. The command name is short for “global regular expression print.”

Answer 19

grep command

Question 20

A Linux command that displays the first set of lines of a text file; by default, the ____ command displays the first 10 lines.

Answer 20

head command

Question 21

A directory on the filesystem set aside for users to store personal files and information.

Answer 21

home directory

Question 22

One of the two modes in vi; it allows the user to insert text into the document but does not allow any other functionality.

Answer 22

insert mode

Question 23

One of the two modes in vi; it allows the user to insert text into the document but does not allow any other functionality.

Answer 23

insert mode

Question 24

A Linux command used to display a text file page-by-page on the terminal screen; users can then use the cursor keys to navigate the file.

Answer 24

less command

Question 25

The files that represent the same data as other files.

Answer 25

linked file

Question 26

An alias for the ls –l command; it gives a long file listing.

Answer 26

ll command

Question 27

A file that contains past system events.

Answer 27

log file

Question 28

A Linux command used to list the files in a given directory.

Answer 28

ls command

Question 29

A Linux command used to display a text file page-by-page and line-by-line on the terminal screen.

Answer 29

more command

Question 30

A temporary connection that sends information from one command or process in memory to another; it can also be represented by a file on the filesystem.

Answer 30

named pipe file

Question 31

A user-friendly terminal text editor that uses Ctrl key combinations to perform basic functions.

Answer 31

nano editor

Question 32

A Linux command used to display the contents of a file in octal format.

Answer 32

od command

Question 33

The directory that is one level closer to the root directory in the directory tree relative to your current directory.

Answer 33

parent directory

Question 34

A Linux command used to display the current directory in the directory tree.

Answer 34

pwd (print working directory) command

Question 35

The special metacharacters used to match patterns of text within text files; they are commonly used by text tool commands, including grep.

Answer 35

regular expressions (regexp)

Question 36

The pathname of a target directory relative to your current directory in the tree.

Answer 36

relative pathname

Question 37

A text file that contains a list of commands or constructs for the shell to execute in order.

Answer 37

shell script

Question 38

A named pipe connecting processes on two different computers; it can also be represented by a file on the filesystem.

Answer 38

socket file

Question 39

A file used to identify hardware devices such as hard disks and serial ports.

Answer 39

special device file

Question 40

A Linux command used to search for and display text characters in a binary file.

Answer 40

strings command

Question 41

A directory that resides within another directory in the directory tree.

Answer 41

subdirectory

Question 42

A feature of the BASH shell that fills in the remaining characters of a unique filename or directory name when the user presses the ___ key.

Answer 42

Tab-completion feature

Question 43

A Linux command that displays a file on the screen, beginning with the last line of the file and ending with the first line of the file.

Answer 43

tac command

Question 44

A Linux command used to display lines of text at the end of a file; by default, the ____ command displays the last 10 lines of the file.

Answer 44

tail command

Question 45

A file that stores information in a readable text format.

Answer 45

text file

Question 46

The programs that allow for the creation, modification, and searching of text files.

Answer 46

text tools

Question 47

A powerful command-line text editor available on most UNIX and Linux systems.

Answer 47

vi editor

Question 48

The metacharacters used to match certain characters in a file or directory name; they are often used to specify multiple files.

Answer 48

wildcard metacharacters