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LPI

010-100 · Question #41

Which of the following is a valid option for a typical command to get its built-in usage information?

The correct answer is E. --help. The standard convention for displaying built-in help/usage information for most Linux/Unix commands is the --help option.

The Power of the Command Line

Question

Which of the following is a valid option for a typical command to get its built-in usage information?

Options

  • A-?
  • B-H
  • Chelp
  • D--manual
  • E--help

How the community answered

(40 responses)
  • A
    5% (2)
  • B
    3% (1)
  • C
    10% (4)
  • D
    3% (1)
  • E
    80% (32)

Why each option

The standard convention for displaying built-in help/usage information for most Linux/Unix commands is the --help option.

A-?

-? is not a standard or universally recognized help flag on Linux/Unix systems, though some shells like bash accept it in limited contexts.

B-H

-H is not a help flag - it is used in some commands (like find or cp) to control symbolic link behavior.

Chelp

help is a shell built-in command in bash for getting help on shell built-ins, not a command-line option/flag passed to external commands.

D--manual

--manual is not a standard option; the correct long option to open a full manual is accessed via the separate man command, not a flag.

E--helpCorrect

The --help flag is the widely adopted GNU long-option convention for displaying a command's built-in usage information. Most Linux commands implement this flag to print a brief synopsis of syntax, options, and usage examples directly to the terminal. It is part of the GNU coding standards and is the most universally recognized option for inline help.

Concept tested: Standard Linux command help and usage options

Source: https://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/html_node/_002d_002dhelp.html

Topics

#--help flag#command help#command options

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