What is the default number of lines displayed by the tail command?

What is the default number of lines displayed by the tail command?

• A. Ten lines
• B. Five lines
• C. Twenty lines
• D. Fifteen lines

Answer: (A)

Tail shows the last ten lines by default. This gives a quick, readable snapshot of the end of a file, which is especially handy for logs where the most recent activity sits at the bottom. If you need a different amount, adjust it with the -n option, for example tail -n 20 filename shows the last 20 lines. You can also use tail -f to follow new lines as they are added for real-time monitoring. This default of ten lines is a long-standing convention in Unix-like tools, balancing useful information with concise output.

Tail shows the last ten lines by default. This gives a quick, readable snapshot of the end of a file, which is especially handy for logs where the most recent activity sits at the bottom. If you need a different amount, adjust it with the -n option, for example tail -n 20 filename shows the last 20 lines. You can also use tail -f to follow new lines as they are added for real-time monitoring. This default of ten lines is a long-standing convention in Unix-like tools, balancing useful information with concise output.