Free 010-160 Practice Test Questions and Answers (2026) | Cert Empire Practice Questions

A symbolic link, also known as a symlink or soft link, is a special type of file that points to another file

or directory by its name. A symbolic link can point to a file or directory on the same or different file

system, as long as the target is accessible. For example, you can create a symbolic link to a file on a

USB drive or a network share, as long as the device is mounted or the connection is established.

However, if the target of the symbolic link is moved, renamed, or deleted, the link becomes broken

and does not work. To create a symbolic link, you can use the ln command with the -s or --symbolic

option, followed by the target name and the link name. For example, ln -s /mnt/usb/file.txt

link.txt creates a symbolic link named link.txt that points to the file.txt on the USB drive mounted at

/mnt/usb.

The other options are not true about links in a Linux file system. A symbolic link can point to a

directory as well as a file. A hard link, which is a direct reference to the same data as another file, can

only point to a file and not a directory. A hard link cannot span across different file systems, because

it depends on the inode number, which is unique within a file system. When the target of the

symbolic link is moved, the link is not automatically updated, but becomes broken. Any user can

create hard links, as long as they have the permission to read and write the target file and the link

directory.

Reference:

Linux Essentials - Linux Professional Institute (LPI)

Ln Command in Linux (Create Symbolic Links) | Linuxize

A typical shell script is a text file that contains a series of commands or instructions that can be

executed by a shell interpreter. A shell script usually has the executable permission bit set, which

means that it can be run as a program by the user or another program. A shell script also starts with

the two character sequence #!, which is called a shebang or a hashbang. This sequence tells the

operating system which shell interpreter to use to run the script. For example, #!/bin/bash indicates

that the script should be run by the bash shell. Reference:

Linux Essentials - Linux Professional Institute (LPI) 1

Linux Essentials - Linux Professional Institute Certification Programs 2

The /var directory must be mounted with read and write access if it resides on its own dedicated file

system. The reason is that the /var directory contains files and directories that are expected to

change in size and content as the normal operation of the system progresses, such as logs, spool

files, and temporary files1. Therefore, the /var directory needs to have enough space and permission

to accommodate these changes. If the /var directory is mounted as read-only, some system services

and applications may fail to start or function properly2.

The other options are not directories that must be mounted with read and write access if they reside

on their own dedicated file system. The /opt directory contains optional or third-party software

packages that are not part of the default installation1. The /lib directory contains libraries and kernel

modules that are essential for the binaries in /bin and /sbin directories1. The /etc directory contains

configuration files for the system and applications1. The /usr directory contains user-related

programs, libraries, documentation, and data1. These directories are usually mounted as read-only

to prevent accidental or malicious modification of their contents3. Reference:

Linux Essentials Exam Objectives, Version 1.6, Topic 102.1, Weight 3

Linux Essentials Certification Guide, Chapter 2, Page 34-35

Linux Filesystem Hierarchy, Chapter 3, Page 17-18

The correct commands to output the content of the file Texts 2.txt are A and E. These commands use

the cat command, which stands for concatenate, to display the content of one or more files. The cat

command can take one or more filenames as arguments and print their content to the standard

output (usually the terminal screen)12. The commands A and E use different ways to deal with the

space character in the filename. The space character is a special character in Linux that separates

words and commands. To prevent the shell from interpreting the space as a word separator, the

commands A and E use either of the following methods34:

Option A uses single quotes (') around the filename to preserve the literal value of the space

character. This tells the shell to treat the filename as a single argument and pass it to the cat

command. For example: cat ‘Texts 2.txt’

Option E uses a backslash () before the space character to escape its special meaning. This tells the

shell to ignore the space as a word separator and treat it as part of the filename. For example: cat

Texts\ 2.txt

The other options are incorrect because they use different syntax that do not output the content of

the file. For example:

Option B uses a double dash (–) before the filename to indicate the end of options. This is usually

used to prevent the shell from interpreting a filename that starts with a dash (-) as an option.

However, in this case, the filename does not start with a dash, so the double dash is unnecessary and

will cause the command to fail. For example: cat – Texts 2.txt

Option C uses vertical bars (|) around the filename to indicate a pipe. A pipe is a way of connecting

the output of one command to the input of another command. However, in this case, there is no

command before or after the pipe, so the pipe is meaningless and will cause the command to fail.

For example: cat |Texts 2.txt|

Option D uses single quotes (') and a backslash () together around the filename. This is redundant

and will cause the command to fail. The single quotes already preserve the literal value of the space

character, so the backslash is not needed. Moreover, the backslash inside the single quotes will be

treated as part of the filename, not as an escape character. For example: cat ‘Texts\ 2.txt’

Reference: 1: How to Use Linux Cat Command (With Examples) - phoenixNAP 2: Cat command in

Linux with examples - GeeksforGeeks 3: How to escape spaces in path during scp copy in Linux? -

Stack Overflow 4: How to handle spaces in file names when using xargs on find results? - Ask Ubuntu

The correct command to set the variable USERNAME to the value bob is USERNAME=bob. This

command assigns the string bob to the variable name USERNAME, using the equal sign (=) as the

assignment operator. There is no space around the equal sign, and the variable name and value are

case-sensitive. This command sets a shell variable, which is only valid in the current shell session. To

make the variable an environment variable, which can be inherited by child processes and subshells,

you need to use the export command, such as export USERNAME=bob. The other commands are not

valid for setting variables in Linux. The set command is used to set or unset shell options and

positional parameters, not variables. The $ sign is used to reference the value of a variable, not to

assign it. The == sign is used for comparison, not assignment. The var keyword is not used in Linux,

but in some other programming languages. The <= sign is used for redirection, not

assignment. Reference:

Linux Essentials - Linux Professional Institute (LPI)

How to Set and List Environment Variables in Linux | Linuxize

The PATH environment variable is a special variable that contains a list of directories that the system

searches when looking for a command to execute12. The purpose of the PATH variable is to make it

easier and faster for users to run commands without having to type the full path to the executable

file. For example, if you want to run the ls command, which is located in the /bin directory, you don’t

have to type /bin/ls every time. You can just type ls, and the system will find the executable file in the

/bin directory, which is one of the directories in the PATH variable. The PATH variable can be viewed

with the echo command12:

$ echo $PATH

The PATH variable can also be modified by adding or removing directories, either temporarily or

permanently, depending on the user’s needs12. For example, if you have a custom script or program

in your home directory, and you want to run it from anywhere, you can add your home directory to

the PATH variable with the export command12:

$ export PATH=$PATH:~/myprogram

This will append your home directory to the end of the PATH variable, and the system will search it

last when looking for a command. To make this change permanent, you need to edit a configuration

file, such as ~/.bashrc or ~/.profile, and add the export command there12.

Reference:

How To View and Update the Linux PATH Environment Variable | DigitalOcean

Linux path environment variable - Linux command line - LinuxConfig.org

DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. It is a protocol that provides quick, automatic,

and central management for the distribution of IP addresses within a network. It also configures

other network information, such as the subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS server information,

on the device1. DHCP uses a client/server architecture, where a DHCP server issues unique IP

addresses and automatically configures the devices that request them2. DHCP allows devices to

move freely from one network to another and receive an IP address automatically, which is helpful

with mobile devices1.

The other options are not protocols used for automatic IP address configuration. NFS stands for

Network File System, which is a protocol that allows a user to access and modify files over a network

as if they were on their own computer. LDAP stands for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, which

is a protocol that provides access to a centralized directory service that stores information about

users, groups, computers, and other resources on a network. SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer

Protocol, which is a protocol that enables the sending and receiving of email messages over a

network. DNS stands for Domain Name System, which is a protocol that translates domain names

into IP addresses and vice versa. Reference:

Linux Essentials Exam Objectives, Version 1.6, Topic 105.1, Weight 4

What Is DHCP? (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) - Lifewire

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) | Microsoft Learn

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol - Wikipedia

How does AutoIP work? - Barix

[Network File System - Wikipedia]

[Lightweight Directory Access Protocol - Wikipedia]

[Simple Mail Transfer Protocol - Wikipedia]

[Domain Name System - Wikipedia]

The command pwd stands for “print working directory”. It will print the absolute path of the current

working directory to the terminal. For example, if we are currently in the /home/user/directory, it

will print out that exact path1. The pwd command is useful for finding out where we are in the file

system hierarchy and for verifying the location of files and directories2.

The other options are not commands that show the absolute path to the current working

directory. The who command shows the users who are currently logged in to the system3. The cd …

command changes the current working directory to the parent directory of the current one2. The ls -l

command lists the files and directories in the current working directory in a long format, which

shows the permissions, ownership, size, date, and name of each file and directory2. The cd ~/home

command changes the current working directory to the /home directory under the user’s home

directory, which may or may not exist2. Reference:

Linux Essentials Exam Objectives, Version 1.6, Topic 103.1, Weight 2

Linux Essentials Certification Guide, Chapter 3, Page 51-52

How to Get the current directory in Linux - howtouselinux

How To Find The Absolute Path Of A File Or Directory In Linux - systranbox

The command that displays manual pages for Linux commands is the man command. The man

command is used to display the manual pages for a given command or topic. For example, to view

the manual page for the ls command, you can type:

man ls

This will open the manual page for the ls command in a pager, which allows you to scroll and search

through the text. You can also specify the section number of the manual page if there are multiple

pages with the same name. For example, to view the manual page for the passwd command in

section 1, you can type:

man 1 passwd

The man command is one of the most useful and important commands for learning and using Linux.

It provides detailed information about the syntax, options, arguments, examples, and other aspects

of a command or topic. You can also use the --help option to get a brief summary of the usage and

options of a command. For example, to get a quick help for the man command, you can type:

man --help

To learn more about the man command and how to use it effectively, you can refer to the following

resources:

Linux Essentials Exam Objectives, Version 1.6, Topic 103.1, Weight 2

Linux Essentials Certification Guide, Chapter 3, Page 51-52

How to Access Manual Pages for Linux Commands - Linux Tutorials - Learn Linux Configuration

How to Easily Read a Linux Man Page - Make Tech Easier

The keyword for is used in a shell script to begin a loop that iterates over a list of items or a range of

numbers. The syntax of the for loop is as follows:

for in do done

The variable is assigned to each element of the in turn, and the are

executed for each iteration. The can be a sequence of words, numbers, filenames, or other

values. If the is omitted, the for loop will iterate over the positional parameters ($1, $2, …). The

do and done keywords mark the beginning and the end of the loop body, respectively. The for loop is

one of the three types of loops in shell scripting, along with the while and until loops. Reference: 1:

Looping Statements | Shell Script - GeeksforGeeks 1 2: unix - Shell script "for" loop syntax - Stack

Overflow 2 3: For Loop Shell Scripting - javatpoint 3

The backslash character () is used to escape the meaning of the next character in a command line.

This means that the next character is treated as a literal character, not as a special character. For

example, if you want to use a space in a file name, you can use a backslash before the space to

prevent the shell from interpreting it as a separator. Similarly, if you want to split a long command

line across multiple lines, you can use a backslash at the end of each line to tell the shell that the

command is not finished yet. The shell will ignore the newline character and continue reading the

next line as part of the same command. For example, you can write:

ls -l

/home/user/Documents

instead of:

ls -l /home/user/Documents

Both commands will produce the same output, but the first one is easier to read and type. Reference:

Linux Essentials - Linux Professional Institute (LPI), section 2.1.2

2.1 Command Line Basics - Linux Professional Institute Certification Programs, slide 7.

The -R parameter of the ls command prints a recursive listing of a directory’s content, meaning that it

will list not only the files and directories in the current directory, but also the files and directories in

all the subdirectories12. For example, if you have a directory structure like this:

/home/user/ ├── dir1 │ ├── file1 │ └── file2 └── dir2 ├── file3 └── file4

You can use the command ls -R /home/user/ to list all the files and directories recursively, and the

output will look like this:

/home/user/: dir1 dir2

/home/user/dir1: file1 file2

/home/user/dir2: file3 file4

The -R parameter is also known as the --recursive option, which is the long form of the same

parameter12. You can use either -R or --recursive to achieve the same result.

Reference:

Use ls Command Recursively - Linux Handbook

How to List Files Recursively in Linux command line

A process ID on Linux is a unique integer value that identifies a running process. The process ID can

range from 0 to a maximum limit, which is usually 32768 or higher, depending on the system

configuration. The process ID of 0 is reserved for the kernel’s idle task, and the process ID of 1 is

reserved for the init system, which is the first process launched by the kernel. The process IDs are

assigned sequentially to new processes, and are recycled when a process terminates. Therefore, the

only valid value for a process ID among the given options is 21398, which is an integer within the

possible range. The other values are not valid process IDs because they are either strings,

hexadecimal numbers, or file paths, which do not match the format of a process ID on

Linux. Reference:

Linux Essentials - Linux Professional Institute (LPI)

How Are Linux PIDs Generated? | Baeldung on Linux

A bus is a communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer or

between computers. There are different types of buses that serve different purposes. The RAM bus

connects the CPU with the main memory, the NUMA bus connects multiple processors in a

multiprocessor system, the CPU bus connects the CPU with other components on the motherboard,

and the Auto bus is a fictional bus that can transform into a robot. The SATA bus is the correct answer

because it is a type of bus that can connect hard disk drives with the motherboard. SATA stands for

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment and it is a standard interface for connecting storage devices

such as hard disk drives, solid state drives, and optical drives. SATA offers faster data transfer rates,

lower power consumption, and improved cable management compared to older interfaces such as

IDE and SCSI. Reference: : [Bus (computing)] : [Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 TV series)] :

[Serial ATA]3) : [SATA vs. IDE: What’s the Difference?]

The top command is a Linux command that shows the running processes on the system. It provides a

dynamic real-time view of the system performance and resource usage. The top command can

display various information about the processes, such as their process ID, user, priority, state, CPU

and memory usage, command name, and more. The top command can also sort the processes by

different criteria, such as CPU or RAM consumption, by using the interactive commands. The top

command is useful for monitoring the system load and identifying the processes that are consuming

the most resources. Reference:

Linux Essentials