usp lab questions and answers please.... .. .. ..............................................................

1) What is UNIX?

It is a portable operating system that is designed for both efficient multi-tasking and mult-user functions. Its portability allows it to run on different hardware platforms. It was written is C and lets user do processing and control under a shell.

2) What are filters?

The term Filter is often used to refer to any program that can take input from standard input, perform some operation on that input, and write the results to standard output. A Filter is also any program that can be used between two other programs in a pipeline.

3) What is a typical syntax being followed when issuing commands in shell?

Typical command syntax under the UNIX shell follows the format:

Command [-argument] [-argument] [–argument] [file]

4) Is there a way to erase all files in the current directory, including all its sub-directories, using only one command?

Yes, that is possible. Use “rm –r *” for this purpose. The rm command is for deleting files. The –r option will erase directories and subdirectories, including files within. The asterisk represents all entries.

6) What is Kernel?

Kernel is the UNIX operating system. It is the master program that controls the computer’s resources, allotting them to different users and to different tasks. However, the kernel doesn’t deal directly with a user. Instead, it starts up a separate, interactive program, called a shell, for each user when he/she logs on.

7) What is Shell?

A shell acts as an interface between the user and the system. As a command interpreter, the shell takes commands and sets them up for execution.

8) Differentiate multiuser from multitask.

Multiuser means that more than one person can use the computer at the same time. Multitask means that even a single user can have the computer work on more than one task or program at the same time.

9) What is a directory?

Every file is assigned to a directory. A directory is a specialized form of file that maintains a list of all files in it.

10) What is inode?

An inode is an entry created on a section of the disk set aside for a file system. The inode contains nearly all there is to know about a file, which includes the location on the disk where the file starts, the size of the file, when the file was last used, when the file was last changed, what the various read, write and execute permissions are, who owns the file, and other information.


11) Describe file systems in UNIX

Understanding file systems in UNIX has to do with knowing how files and inodes are stored on a system. What happens is that a disk or portion of a disk is set aside to store files and the inode entries. The entire functional unit is referred to as a file system.

12) Differentiate relative path from absolute path.

Relative path refers to the path relative to the current path. Absolute path, on the other hand, refers to the exact path as referenced from the root directory.

13) Explain the importance of directories in a UNIX system

Files in a directory can actually be a directory itself; it would be called a subdirectory of the original. This capability makes it possible to develop a tree-like structure of directories and files, which is crucial in maintaining an organizational scheme.

14) Briefly describe the Shell’s responsibilities

– program execution

– variable and file name substitution

– I/O redirection

– pipeline hookup

– environment control

– interpreted programming language

15) What are shell variables?

Shell variables are a combination of a name ( identifier), and an assigned value, which exist within the shell. These variables may have default values, or whose values can be manually set using the appropriate assignment command. Examples of shell variable are PATH, TERM and HOME.

16) What are the differences among a system call, a library function, and a UNIX command?

A system call is part of the programming for the kernel. A library function is a program that is not part of the kernel but which is available to users of the system. UNIX commands, however, are stand-alone programs; they may incorporate both system calls and library functions in their programming.

17) What is the use of -l when listing a directory?

-l, which is normally used in listing command like ls, is used to show files in a long format, one file per line. Long format refers to additional information that is associated with the file, such as ownership, permissions, data and filesize.

18) What is piping?

Piping, represented by the pipe character “|”, is used to combine two or more commands together. The output of the first command serves as input the next command, and so on.

19) What is a superuser?

A superuser is a special type user who has open access to all files and commands on a system. Note that the superuser’s login is usually root, and is protected by a so-called root password.

20) Is it possible to see information about a process while it is being executed?

Every process is uniquely identified by a process identifier. It is possible to view details and status regarding a process by using the ps command.

21) What is the standard convention being followed when naming files in UNIX?

One important rule when naming files is that characters that have special meaning are not allowed, such as * / & and %. A directory, being a special type of file, follows the same naming convention as that of files. Letters and numbers are used, along with characters like underscore and dot characters.

22) Why is it that it is not advisable to use root as the default login?

The root account is very important, and with abusive usage, can easily lead to system damage. That’s because safeguards that normally apply to user accounts are not applicable to the root account.

23) Differentiate cat command from more command.

When using the cat command to display file contents, large data that does not fit on the screen would scroll off without pausing, therefore making it difficult to view. On the other hand, using the more command is more appropriate in such cases because it will display file contents one screen page at a time.

24) What is parsing?

Parsing is the process of breaking up of a command line into words. This is made possible by using delimiters and spaces. In the event that tabs or multiple spaces are part of the command, these are eventually replaced by a single space.

25) What is pid?

Pid is short for Process ID. It is used primarily to identify every process that runs on the UNIX system, whether it runs on the foreground or runs at the background. Every pid is considered unique.

26) What is wild-card interpretation?

When a command line contains wild-card characters such as ‘*’ or ‘?’, these are replaced by the shell with a sorted list of files whose pattern matches the input command. Wild-card characters are used to setup a list of files for processing, instead of having it specified one at a time.