2. Navigating the Filesystem

Question 1

How do you browse through previously executed lines in the terminal?

Answer 1

By using the Up and Down Arrow keys.

Question 2

How do you get the Shell to try to complete the line you’re typing?

Answer 2

By using the Tab key.

In Bash, if there are several options matching what you typed, you have to press it twice to display all matching options.

In Z Shell, if there are several options matching what you typed, they are displayed immediately when the Tab key is pressed. And then, you can press Tab repeatedly to select the one you want.

Question 3

How do you print the path to your current location in Shell?

Answer 3

By executing the pwd command.

eg. pwd

Question 4

What is pwd the abbreviation for?

Answer 4

Path to Working Directory

Question 5

Where are all the home directories in Linux?

Answer 5

Under /Home.

eg. /Home/alican

Question 6

Where are all the home directories in MacOS?

Answer 6

Under /Users.

eg. /Users/alican

Question 7

Where is the root directory in MacOS and Linux?

Answer 7

At the / directory.

Question 8

How do you navigate to the parent directory of the directory that you’re currently in?

Answer 8

By executing cd and passing it double dots (..).

eg. cd ..

Question 9

How do you list the contents of the directory you’re currently in?

Answer 9

By executing the ls command.

Question 10

Where are the essential, system programs that are available in your system located?

Answer 10

Inside the /bin directory.

Question 11

What is the shortcut to navigate to your home directory?

Answer 11

cd.

Question 12

How do you list all files in the current directory including the hidden files?

Answer 12

By executing the ls command with the -a flag.

eg. ls -a

Question 13

How do you list all files in the current directory as well as information about them such as their owners, file sizes and last modification dates?

Answer 13

By executing the ls command with the -l flag.

eg. ls -l

Question 14

How do you open the manual page for a command in the terminal?

Answer 14

By executing the man command with the command you want to view the manual page of.

eg. man cd

Question 15

How do you move up and down in the manual page of a command?

Answer 15

You press SPACE to move down and B to move up.

Question 16

How do you perform a search in the manual page of a command?

Answer 16

By pressing forward slash (/), typing the search term, and pressing enter.

Question 17

How do you list the content of the current directory sorted by time modified?

Answer 17

By executing the ls command with the -t flag.

eg. ls -t

Question 18

How do you exit the manual page?

Answer 18

By pressing Q.

Question 19

What is the first word of a line being executed in the shell?

Answer 19

The command.

Question 20

What is the anatomy of commands?

Answer 20

Commands are words seperated by spaces.

1. The first word is the command itself.
2. All the other words after the command are called arguments and they are passed to the command as information about what you do.
3. A special kind of argument is an option, which usually starts with a dash (-). Options change the behavior of the command.