nerdexam
Linux_Foundation

LFCS · Question #759

To what environment variable will an administrator assign or append a value if the administrator needs to tell the dynamic linker to look in a build directory for some of a program's shared libraries?

The correct answer is C. LD_LIBRARY_PATH. The LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable specifies additional directories where the dynamic linker should search for shared libraries during program execution.

Submitted by marco_it· Apr 18, 2026Operation of Running Systems

Question

To what environment variable will an administrator assign or append a value if the administrator needs to tell the dynamic linker to look in a build directory for some of a program's shared libraries?

Options

  • ALD_LOAD_PATH
  • BLD_LIB_PATH
  • CLD_LIBRARY_PATH
  • DLD_SHARE_PATH
  • ELD_RUN_PATH

How the community answered

(29 responses)
  • A
    3% (1)
  • B
    3% (1)
  • C
    90% (26)
  • D
    3% (1)

Why each option

The `LD_LIBRARY_PATH` environment variable specifies additional directories where the dynamic linker should search for shared libraries during program execution.

ALD_LOAD_PATH

`LD_LOAD_PATH` is not a standard environment variable used by the dynamic linker for specifying library search paths.

BLD_LIB_PATH

`LD_LIB_PATH` is not a standard environment variable used for this purpose by the dynamic linker, though it might be confused with the correct variable.

CLD_LIBRARY_PATHCorrect

The `LD_LIBRARY_PATH` environment variable provides a colon-separated list of directories that the dynamic linker (e.g., `ld.so` on Linux) searches for shared libraries before looking in standard system locations. This is extremely useful for developers to test programs with custom-built libraries located in a build directory without installing them system-wide.

DLD_SHARE_PATH

`LD_SHARE_PATH` is not a standard environment variable used by the dynamic linker for shared library search paths.

ELD_RUN_PATH

`LD_RUN_PATH` is a historical term or a conceptual path embedded in executables (often via RPATH during compilation) but not a runtime environment variable the dynamic linker uses in the same way as `LD_LIBRARY_PATH`.

Concept tested: Dynamic linker shared library path environment variable

Source: https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man8/ld.so.8.html

Topics

#Shared Libraries#Dynamic Linker#Environment Variables#Program Execution

Community Discussion

No community discussion yet for this question.

Full LFCS Practice