Command Line Interface

Question 0

prompt

Answer 0

Prompt when logged in as root

Question 1

$ prompt

Answer 1

Prompt when logged in as a regular user

Question 2

exit

Answer 2

Logs the user off

Question 3

clear

Answer 3

Clears the screen

Question 4

pwd

Answer 4

Print working directory. Shows the current path.

Question 5

/

Answer 5

Root location on the drive

Question 6

/home

Answer 6

Where user home accounts live.

Question 7

ls

Answer 7

Lists contents of current folder. Doesn’t show hidden files or attributes without flags.

Question 8

ls -a

Answer 8

Lists all files, including hidden (‘all’) files.

Flag -a shows hidden files

Question 9

ls –help

Answer 9

Shows possible flags/modifiers for the ls command

Question 10

ls -l

Answer 10

Lists files in long format.

-l flag shows more information about each file, including permissions, file size, modified date.

Question 11

ls -la

Answer 11

Lists all files, including hidden files, with detailed information

Question 12

bash

Answer 12

Bourne again shell. The default shell.

Question 13

sh

Answer 13

Bourne shell. Earlier version of bash.

Question 14

ksh

Answer 14

Korn shell. Developed by David Korn. Has scripting features that are not found in bash

Question 15

csh

Answer 15

C shell. Uses a syntax that is similar to the syntax used in the C programming language

Question 16

tsch

Answer 16

An improved version of csh. It offers commandline editing and completion features not available with csh.

Question 17

Where is the list of available shells stored?

Answer 17

/etc/shells

Question 18

bash

Answer 18

The Bourne again shell. The standard shell on most Linux computers.

Question 19

ash

Answer 19

The Bourne shell. Earlier version of bash.

Question 20

ksh

Answer 20

Korn shell, developed by David Korn. Has scripting features not present in bash.

Question 21

csh

Answer 21

C shell. Syntax similar to the c programming language.

Question 22

tsch

Answer 22

Improved version of csh. Offers command line editing and completion features not available in csh.

Question 23

Where can you find a list of shells?

Answer 23

/etc/shells

Question 24

What is the command path?

Answer 24

The set of directories in which Linux searches to find executable files

Question 25

Does the command path include the present working directory?

Answer 25

No

Question 26

How can you see the command path?

Answer 26

echo $PATH

Question 27

How do you add a directory to the command path?

Answer 27

PATH:$PATH:[insert new path here]

Question 28

What are the three ways to execute a program in Linux?

Answer 28

1. Type the executable name (only if the name is in the command path) 2. Type ./file name if the executable is in the pwd 3. Type the full pathname

Question 29

pwd

Answer 29

Shows the present working directory

Question 30

whoami

Answer 30

Shows the current username

Question 31

uname

Answer 31

Shows system information. Available flags: a, o, p.

Question 32

uname -a

Answer 32

Shows all system information

Question 33

uname -o

Answer 33

Shows the operating system

Question 34

uname -p

Answer 34

Shows the processor architecture type

Question 35

su

Answer 35

Switches users. Without flags, switches to the root user, and does not load any environment variables.

Question 36

su -l [username]

Answer 36

Switches to the specified user in a login shell

Question 37

su [username]

Answer 37

Switches to the specified user

Question 38

su - [username]

Answer 38

Switches to the specified user and also loads that user's environment variables.

Question 39

su -

Answer 39

Switches to the root user and loads the root user's environment variables.

Question 40

exit

Answer 40

Exits the login shell, or goes back to the original user after a su

Question 41

exec

Answer 41

Executes and executable and replaces the shell with the new process created by the executable

Question 42

cd

Answer 42

Changes directories

Question 43

ls

Answer 43

Lists the contends of a directory

Question 44

ls -a

Answer 44

Lists all contents of a directory including any hidden files

Question 45

ls -l

Answer 45

Lists detailed information about the contents of a directory including file size, permissions, owner, last modified date

Question 46

ls -d

Answer 46

Lists only directories

Question 47

ls -s

Answer 47

Lists contents of a directory and sorts by size

Question 48

ls -X

Answer 48

lists contents of a directory and sorts by extension

Question 49

history

Answer 49

Shows all commands in the history queue.

Question 50

history -c

Answer 50

Clears the history queue

Question 51

clear

Answer 51

Clears the shell screen

Question 52

chsh

Answer 52

Changes the default shell. (e.g., chsh -s /bin/ksh changes the default shell to the Korn shell)

Question 53

chsh -s [shell path]

Answer 53

Changes the default shell to the specified shell.

Question 54

chsh -l

Answer 54

Lists all installed shells

Question 55

What is the login shell?

Answer 55

It is a shell that is run only when the system starts and is only using the text interface.

Question 56

What is a non-login shell?

Answer 56

It is a shell that is run when the system boots into a graphical user interface add a user requests to start a terminal session.

Question 57

Where are shell preferences for individual users stored?

Answer 57

~/.bashrc (for non-login shells) ~/.bash_profile (for login shells)

Question 58

Where are systemwide configuration command stored?

Answer 58

/etc/profile This is used primarily to set environment variables.

Question 59

Where are commands stored that are executed when a user logs in?

Answer 59

~/.bash_login

Question 60

Where are individual users' configuration preferences stored?

Answer 60

~/.profile

Question 61

Where are commands stored that are executed when a user logs out?

Answer 61

~/.bash_logout

Question 62

What is the order in which login shells execute the configuration scripts that they use?

Answer 62

1: /etc/profile 2: ~/.bash_profile 3: ~/.bash_login 4: ~/.profile

Question 63

su -l

Answer 63

Switches to a login shell.

Question 64

what is the command to start a new shell session?

Answer 64

bash

Question 65

Where are documentation files stored?

Answer 65

/usr/share/doc

Question 66

man [command]

Answer 66

Displays the manual page for the command. Rarely gives examples. For examples, use info instead

Question 67

info

Answer 67

More expansive version of man; gives more helpful documentation

Question 68

How to get help at the shell prompt

Answer 68

add --help or -? after a command in the shell.