Listing hidden files without special entries | LPIC-1 101-500 Exam original practice question

103.3Standard

The current directory contains normal files and dot-files.

List hidden files but omit the special entries . and .. .

Which command is correct?

Hint 1: Focus on the requirement

Identify what must change and what must remain unchanged. Then choose the command whose scope matches that requirement.

Hint 2: Check each command's role

Separate commands that display information, change state, remove data, or affect a child process.

ls: Incorrect. Plain ls omits dot-files.
ls -A: Correct. -A includes hidden entries except the two special directory entries.
ls -a: Incorrect. -a also displays . and .., which must be excluded here.
ls -d: Incorrect. -d lists directory entries themselves rather than selecting hidden entries.

Detailed explanation

Incorrectls

Incorrect. Plain ls omits dot-files.

Correctls -A

Correct. -A includes hidden entries except the two special directory entries.

Incorrectls -a

Incorrect. -a also displays . and .., which must be excluded here.

Incorrectls -d

Incorrect. -d lists directory entries themselves rather than selecting hidden entries.

An example you can run in a temporary verification environment.

LAB_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
touch "$LAB_DIR/normal" "$LAB_DIR/.hidden"
ls -A "$LAB_DIR" | sort
rm -r "$LAB_DIR"

.hidden
normal

Foundation review

Check whether the command acts on the current shell, a new process, an existing process, or a file.

Use the supplied command and compare the output with the expected result.

Question IDKP-103-051

EnvironmentGNU coreutils 9.x

Last technical review2026-08-12