Linux Interview Questions

1) What is Linux?

Linux is an operating system based on UNIX, and was first introduced by Linus Torvalds. It is based on the Linux Kernel, and can run on different hardware platforms manufactured by Intel, MIPS, HP, IBM, SPARC and Motorola. Another popular element in Linux is its mascot, a penguin figure named Tux.

2) What is Linux Kernel?
The Linux Kernel is a low-level systems software whose main role is to manage hardware resources for the user. It is also used to provide an interface for user-level interaction.

3) What is LILO?
LILO is a boot loader for Linux. It is used mainly to load the Linux operating system into main memory so that it can begin its operations.


4) What is BASH?
BASH is short for Bourne Again SHell. It was written by Steve Bourne as a replacement to the original Bourne Shell (represented by /bin/sh). It combines all the features from the original version of Bourne Shell, plus additional functions to make it easier and more convenient to use. It has since been adapted as the default shell for most systems running Linux.

5) What is a swap space?
A swap space is a certain amount of space used by Linux to temporarily hold some programs that are running concurrently. This happens when RAM does not have enough memory to hold all programs that are executing.

6) What is the basic difference between BASH and DOS?
The key differences between the BASH and DOS console lies in 3 areas:
- BASH commands are case sensitive while DOS commands are not;
- under BASH, / character is a directory separator and \ acts as an escape character. Under DOS, / serves as a command argument delimiter and \ is the directory separator
- DOS follows a convention in naming files, which is 8 character file name followed by a dot and 3 character for the extension. BASH follows no such convention.

7) What is CLI?
CLI is short for Command Line Interface. This interface allows user to type declarative commands to instruct the computer to perform operations. CLI offers an advantage in that there is greater flexibility. However, other users who are already accustom with using GUI find it difficult to remember commands including attributes that come with it.

8) What is GUI?
GUI, or Graphical User Interface, makes use of images and icons that users click and manipulate as a way of communicating with the computer. Instead of having to remember and type commands, the use of graphical elements makes it easier to interact with the system, as well as adding more attraction through images, icons and colors.

9) How can you find out how much memory Linux is using?
From a command shell, use the “concatenate” command: cat /proc/meminfo for memory usage information.

10) What are symbolic links?
Symbolic links act similarly to shortcuts in Windows. Such links point to programs, files or directories. It also allows you instant access to it without having to go directly to the entire pathname.

11) What are hard links?

Hard links point directly to the physical file on disk, and not on the path name. This means that if you rename or move the original file, the link will not break, since the link is for the file itself, not the path where the file is located.

12) Are drives such as hard drive and floppy drives represented with drive letters?
No. In Linux, each drive and device has different designations. For example, floppy drives are referred to as /dev/fd0 and /dev/fd1. IDE/EIDE hard drives are referred to as /dev/hda, /dev/hdb, /dev/hdc, and so forth.

13) What is the maximum length for a filename under Linux?
Any filename can have a maximum of 255 characters. This limit does not include the path name, so therefore the entire pathname and filename could well exceed 255 characters.

14)What are filenames that are preceded by a dot?
In general, filenames that are preceded by a dot are hidden files. These files can be configuration files that hold important data or setup info. Setting these files as hidden makes it less likely to be accidentally deleted.

Embedded Systems Training