LPI 101-500 Actual Questions

UEFI firmware is a software program that provides the interface between the hardware and the operating system on a computer. UEFI stands for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface and it is a replacement for the traditional BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). UEFI firmware has several advantages over BIOS, such asfaster boot times, better security, larger disk support, and graphical user interface. Some of the features of UEFI firmware are12:

• It can use and read certain file systems: UEFI firmware can access files on partitions formatted with FAT12, FAT16, or FAT32 file systems. This allows UEFI to load boot loaders, kernels, and configuration files from these partitions without relying on the legacy MBR (Master Boot Record) or boot sector code. UEFI firmware can also support other file systems, such as NTFS or ext4, with additional drivers.
• It is loaded from a fixed boot disk position: UEFI firmware is stored in a ROM chip on the motherboard, but it also requires a special partition on the boot disk to store additional files and drivers. This partition is called the EFI System Partition (ESP) and it is usually the first partition on the disk. The ESP must have a specific GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) and must be formatted with a FAT file system. The UEFI firmware will look for the ESP on the boot disk and load the files from there.

The other options are false or irrelevant. UEFI firmware does not read and interpret partition tables, it relies on the operating system to do that. UEFI firmware does not store its entire configuration on the /boot/ partition, it stores some of its settings in the NVRAM (Non-Volatile Random Access Memory) on the motherboard and some of its files on the ESP. UEFI firmware is not stored in a special area within the GPT (GUID Partition Table) metadata, it is stored in a ROM chip and an ESP. GPT is a partitioning scheme that supports larger disks and more partitions than the legacy MBR scheme. References:

• Linux Essentials - Linux Professional Institute Certification Programs1
• Exam 101 Objectives - Linux Professional Institute2
• How to Boot and Install Linux on a UEFI PC With Secure Boot3
• How to Access UEFI Settings From Linux - It’s FOSS4
• UEFI firmware updates for linux-surface - GitHub5

The directories on a 64 bit Linux system that typically contain shared libraries are /usr/lib64/ and /lib64/. Shared libraries are binary files that provide reusable functions, routines, classes, data structures, and so on for programs and applications. They are loaded into memory before the program starts and shared by multiple processes that use the same library. Shared libraries are usually stored in standard locations in the file system, such as /usr/lib, /usr/local/lib, /lib, and /lib64 for 32 bit systems, and /usr/lib64, /usr/local/lib64, /lib64, and /lib for 64 bit systems12. The /usr/lib64 and /lib64 directories contain the shared libraries for the system and user applications, respectively. The other directories are either non-existent or do not contain shared libraries. The ~/.lib64/ directory is not a standard location for shared libraries, and it is unlikely that a user would have such a directory in their home directory. The /var/lib64/ directory is also not a standard location for shared libraries, and it is usually used for variable data files that are specific to a package or application. The /opt/lib64/ directory is not a standard location for shared libraries, and it is usually used for optional software packages that are installed in the /opt directory3. References:

• Linux Essentials - Linux Professional Institute Certification Programs1
• Exam 101 Objectives - Linux Professional Institute2
• Understanding Shared Libraries in Linux - Tecmint3

This command redirects the output of ls to standard error, which is file descriptor 2 by default. The syntax of the command is:

ls >& file_descriptor

The ls command is a utility that lists the files and directories in the current working directory or a specified directory. The >& symbol is a redirection operator that redirects the standard output of a command to another file descriptor, which can be a file, a device, or another stream. The file_descriptor is the number of the file descriptor to which the output is redirected.

Therefore, the command ls >&2 will run the ls command and redirect its output to file descriptor 2, which is standard error. This means that the output of ls will not be displayed on the screen, but sent to the standard error stream, which can be used for error handling or logging purposes.

The other commands are incorrect for the following reasons:

• A, ls >-1: This command will not redirect the output of ls to standard error, but it will cause an error. The > symbol is a redirection operator that redirects the standard output of a command to a file or device, overwriting any existing content. The -1 argument is not a valid file name or device name, and it will cause the shell to report an error and exit.
• B, ls <
• D, ls >>2: This command will not redirect the output of ls to standard error, but it will append the output of ls to a file named 2. The >> symbol is a redirection operator that redirects the standard output of a command to a file or device, appending to any existing content. The 2 argument is the name of the file to which the output is appended. If the file does not exist, it will be created. The command will not display anything on the screen, but write the output of ls to the file 2.
• E, ls |error: This command will not redirect the output of ls to standard error, but it will pipe the output of ls to another command named error. The | symbol is a pipe operator that redirects the standard output of one command to the standard input of another command. The error argument is the name of the command that receives the output of ls as its input. However, there is no such command named error in the Linux system, and the shell will report an error and exit.

The stream redirection operators within Bash are used to redirect the input and output of commands to files, devices, or other commands. The valid stream redirection operators within Bash are:

• < : This operator redirects the standard input (STDIN) of a command from a file or device. For example, wc -l < file.txt counts the number of lines in file.txt by using it as the input for the wc command.
• > : This operator redirects the standard output (STDOUT) of a command to a file or device, overwriting any existing content. For example, echo "Hello World" > file.txt writes the string “Hello World” to file.txt, replacing any previous content.
• >> : This operator redirects the standard output (STDOUT) of a command to a file or device, appending to any existing content. For example, echo "Hello World" >> file.txt writes the string “Hello World” to file.txt, without deleting any previous content.
• >& : This operator redirects one file descriptor to another file descriptor. A file descriptor is a number that represents an open file or device. The standard input (STDIN) has the file descriptor 0, the standard output (STDOUT) has the file descriptor 1, and the standard error (STDERR) has the file descriptor 2. For example, command > file 2>&1 redirects both the standard output and standard error of the command to the file.
• <& : This operator redirects one file descriptor from another file descriptor. For example, command <&3 redirects the standard input of the command from the file descriptor 3.

The other operators are not valid stream redirection operators within Bash. They will cause syntax errors or unexpected behavior. For example, #> is a comment followed by a redirection operator, %> is a modulo operator followed by a redirection operator, and >>> is a bitwise right shift operator followed by a redirection operator.

References:

• Redirections (Bash Reference Manual)
• Guide to Stream Redirections in Linux | Baeldung on Linux
• Standard Streams in Bash | Delft Stack
• Bash Tutorial => Redirection
• stream redirection order and what os perform in details