Which command makes the shell variable named VARIABLE visible to subshells?

Question

Options

• Aexport $VARIABLE
• Benv VARIABLE
• Cset $VARIABLE
• Dset VARIABLE
• Eexport VARIABLE

• A
  2% (1)
• B
  10% (5)
• C
  2% (1)
• D
  4% (2)
• E
  82% (40)

Explanation

export VARIABLE (E) makes a shell variable part of the environment, which is inherited by any child processes (subshells) spawned from the current shell. The variable name is passed to export - not its value - so no $ prefix is used.

Why the distractors fail:

• A (export $VARIABLE) - the $ causes the shell to expand VARIABLE to its value first, so you'd be exporting that value as a variable name, not the variable itself.
• B (env VARIABLE) - env without an assignment (VAR=val) just prints the environment or runs a command; it doesn't export anything.
• C (set $VARIABLE) - set with a $-prefixed argument sets positional parameters ($1, $2, …), not named variables.
• D (set VARIABLE) - set configures shell options (e.g., set -e); it doesn't create or export named variables.

Memory tip: Think "export the name, not the value" - just like you'd label a box before shipping it, you write the variable's name (VARIABLE), not what's inside it ($VARIABLE).

No community discussion yet for this question.