1.2 Given a scenario, manage files and directories

Question 1

Command: cp

Answer 1

copies files or directories to another location
Syntax: cp [options] SOURCE DESTINATION

Question 2

What 2 options can be used with the cp command to also include the contents of a directory?

Answer 2

-r or -R

Question 3

Command: mkdir

Answer 3

creates a new directory
Syntax: mkdir [options] DIRECTORY

Question 4

What option must be used with command mkdir to create all directories in the path if they don’t exist, i.e. /folder1/folder2/directory?

Answer 4

-p

Question 5

Command: rmdir

Answer 5

removes a directory, if it is empty
Syntax: rmdir [options] DIRECTORY

Question 6

Command: ls

Answer 6

lists the contents of a directory
Syntax: ls [options] DIRECTORY

Question 7

Command: pwd

Answer 7

prints full name of the current working directory

Question 8

Command: cd

Answer 8

changes the current working directory
Syntax: cd [path/directory]

Question 9

Command: cat

Answer 9

shows, read-only, text of a file
Syntax: cat [filename]

Question 10

Command: less

Answer 10

like cat, but content is shown with paging
Syntax: less [filename]

Question 11

Define vi(m)

Answer 11

default text editor included with Linux distributions, can be complex to use

Question 12

Define nano

Answer 12

Simple, easy to use CLI text editor that must be installed

Question 13

ls -a, what does the switch “a” do

Answer 13

shows all files/folders, including hidden

Question 14

ls -l, what does the switch “l” do

Answer 14

long - shows more detailed information, such as permissions, file size, etc…

Question 15

Command: touch

Answer 15

creates the file, if it doesn’t exist, otherwise updates the modification of the file
Syntax: touch [filename]

Question 16

Define tar command

Answer 16

1. compresses files and directories into a single file
2. maintains directory structure and other features such as file permissions

Question 17

What is the tar command used to backup a directory to a tar file?

Answer 17

tar -cvf [name of tar file] [directory/file to backup]
*note “v” is optional, enables verbose mode to show the progress

Question 18

What is the tar command used to restore a tar file?

Answer 18

tar -xvf [tar filename]

Question 19

What does the “d” switch do for tar command?

Answer 19

Compares a directory to the tar file and identifies differences

Question 20

What does the “J” switch do for tar command?

Answer 20

Specifies use of the xz utility for compression/decompression (.xz)

Question 21

What does the “z” switch do for tar command?

Answer 21

Specifies use of the gzip utility for compression/decompression (.gz)

Question 22

What does the “j” switch do for tar command?

Answer 22

Specifies use of the bzip2 utility for compression/decompression (.bz2)

Question 23

What does the “r” switch do for tar command?

Answer 23

Adds files to the end of an existing tar archive

Question 24

What does the “t” switch do for tar command?

Answer 24

Lists the files in the tar archive file

Question 25

How can one back up only the files that have changed since a previous tar backup?

Answer 25

The “u” switch will append files to the tar archive only if the modification date is newer than the file in the tar archive

Question 26

What is the syntax and switch to restore a tar file to a specified location

Answer 26

tar -xf [tar filename] -C [location]

Question 27

How do you add files to an existing tar archive?

Answer 27

The “r” switch

Question 28

What is the basic gzip syntax to compress a file? What potential issue happens using this syntax?

Answer 28

1. gzip [filename]
2. The original, uncompressed file, is replaced with the new compressed file

Question 29

What is the syntax to compress a file with gzip to a new file without overwriting the original file?

Answer 29

gzip -C [filename to compress] > [newfilename]

Question 30

What switch decompresses a file with gzip?

Answer 30

“d”

Question 31

What gzip switch lists the files in a compressed file?

Answer 31

“l”

Question 32

What gzip switch recursively compresses all files & sub-directories, and is equal to tar -z?

Answer 32

“r”

Question 33

What is the basic command syntax to compress a file with xz?

Answer 33

xz [filename]
*this overwrites the original file

Question 34

What is the syntax to compress a file with xz to a new file without overwriting the original file?

Answer 34

xz -k [filename]

Question 35

What switch decompresses a file compressed with xz?

Answer 35

“d”