What benefit does an alias in bash provide?

What benefit does an alias in bash provide?
A . It provides faster lookups for commands in the system directory.
B . It creates a local copy of a file from another directory.
C . It hides what command you are running from others.
D . It allows a string to be substituted for the first word of a simple command.

View Answer

Answer: D

Explanation:

An alias in bash provides the benefit of allowing a string to be substituted for the first word of a simple command. This means that you can create a shortcut or alternative name for a command that is already installed on your system, and use the new name to run the command instead of the original name. For example, you can create an alias for the ls -la command, which lists all files and directories in the current directory with detailed information, by running the following command: alias ll=’ls -la’

After defining the alias, you can use the ll command to execute the ls -la command. The alias will be active for the duration of the current shell session, unless you make it persistent by adding it to your shell startup file (such as ~/.bashrc for the Bash shell). The other options are incorrect for the following reasons:

A: An alias does not provide faster lookups for commands in the system directory. The system directory is where the executable files for the commands are stored, and the shell uses the PATH variable to search for them. An alias does not affect the PATH variable or the system directory.

B: An alias does not create a local copy of a file from another directory. An alias is a way to rename a command, not a file. To create a local copy of a file, you can use the cp command.

C: An alias does not hide what command you are running from others. An alias is a way to simplify the use of a command, not to conceal it. Anyone can see what command an alias represents by using the type command or the alias command without any arguments.

Reference: LPI E – alias