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IBM Quantitative Aptitude Core Computer Science Medium

The standard UNIX/Linux system commands like cat and date are stored in which directory?

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The standard UNIX/Linux system commands like cat and date are stored in which directory?

Choose one option.
Show answer & explanation
Answer: D. /bin

The /bin directory is the standard location for essential user command binaries in UNIX/Linux systems. Common utilities like cat, date, ls, cp, and mv are stored here and are available to all users. /dev contains device files, /temp is not a standard Linux directory (though /tmp is), and /prog is not a standard system directory.

Step-by-step Derivation:
In Linux filesystem hierarchy:

  • /bin: Essential command binaries (user commands executable by all users)
  • /sbin: System binaries (administrative commands)
  • /dev: Device files (hardware devices and pseudo-devices)
  • /tmp: Temporary files (not /temp)
  • /prog: Non-standard directory (not part of FHS)

Commands like cat and date are user-level utilities found in /bin, making D the correct answer.