Math and Format

Question 1

What is the purpose of the printf command in Linux?

Answer 1

It formats and controls the presentation of text and numbers in output.

Question 2

What does the %s specifier do in printf?

Answer 2

It acts as a placeholder for string values.

Question 3

What does \n do in printf?

Answer 3

It creates a new line in the output.

Question 4

Example: What does the command ‘printf “User: %s\nHome Directory: %s\nShell: %s\n” “$USER” “$HOME” “$SHELL”’ do?

Answer 4

It displays user information in a structured format using variables.

Question 5

What is the bc command used for?

Answer 5

It performs precise arithmetic operations, including floating‑point calculations.

Question 6

What does ‘scale=2’ do in bc?

Answer 6

It sets the output precision to two decimal places.

Question 7

Example: What does ‘echo “scale=2; (2.45 + 3.67 + 4.89) / 3” | bc’ calculate?

Answer 7

The average of the three numbers with two decimal precision (3.67).