010-160 · Question #68
Which of the following values could be a process ID on Linux?
The correct answer is E. 21398. Linux process IDs (PIDs) are non-negative integers assigned sequentially by the kernel. Only a plain decimal integer is a valid PID.
Question
Options
- A/bin/bash
- B60b503cd-019e-4300-a7be-922f074ef5ce
- C/sys/pid/9e14
- Dff3
- E21398
How the community answered
(21 responses)- D5% (1)
- E95% (20)
Why each option
Linux process IDs (PIDs) are non-negative integers assigned sequentially by the kernel. Only a plain decimal integer is a valid PID.
'/bin/bash' is an absolute filesystem path to an executable, not a PID - though a running bash process would have a numeric PID.
'60b503cd-019e-4300-a7be-922f074ef5ce' is a UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) format used by services like systemd units or disk partitions, not a Linux PID.
'/sys/pid/9e14' is a fabricated filesystem path - Linux exposes process information under /proc/<pid> using decimal integers, not hex paths.
'ff3' is a hexadecimal value - Linux PIDs are always expressed as decimal integers, not hexadecimal.
Linux PIDs are positive integers assigned by the kernel, starting at 1 (init/systemd) and incrementing up to the system limit (typically 32768 or 4194304). The value 21398 is a valid decimal integer within this range and is the only choice that matches the expected PID format.
Concept tested: Linux process ID format and valid PID values
Source: https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man5/proc.5.html
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