du (disk usage by directory) in Linux CLI - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to show disk usage of the current directory.

Linux CLI

du [1] .

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-h

B-a

C-s

D-x

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using -s only shows total size, not all directories.

Using -a shows all files, which is more than needed.

The -h option shows sizes in a human-readable format like KB, MB.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to show only the total disk usage of the current directory.

Linux CLI

du [1] .

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-a

B-h

C-s

D-c

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using -a lists all files and directories, too much detail.

Using -c adds a grand total, not just the directory total.

The -s option summarizes the total size of the directory.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code to show disk usage in human-readable format for /var directory.

Linux CLI

du -h [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A/usr/var

Bvar

C~/var

D/var

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'var' without slash looks in current directory, which may not exist.

Using '~/var' looks in home directory, not /var.

The absolute path /var is needed to correctly specify the directory.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to show disk usage of /home directory in human-readable format and summarize only total size.

Linux CLI

du [1] [2] /home

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-h

B-s

C-a

D-c

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using -a shows all files, not just summary.

Using -c adds a grand total which is not needed here.

Use -h for human-readable sizes and -s to summarize total size.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a dictionary comprehension that maps each subdirectory in /tmp to its size in human-readable format, only if size is greater than 100K.

Linux CLI

sizes = [1]: subprocess.check_output(['du', '-h', '-s', f'/tmp/[2]']).decode().split()[0] for [3] in os.listdir('/tmp') if int(subprocess.check_output(['du', '-s', f'/tmp/[2]']).decode().split()[0]) > 100}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ad

Ditem

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using different variable names causes errors.

Using 'item' instead of 'd' breaks the comprehension.

Use the same variable d for key and value construction and iteration.

Practice

1. What does the du command primarily show in Linux?

easy

A. The disk space used by files and directories

B. The number of files in a directory

C. The current directory path

D. The list of running processes

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of du

   The du command stands for disk usage and shows how much space files and directories use.

2. Step 2: Compare options

   Options B, C, and D relate to other commands like ls or ps, not du.

3. Final Answer:

   The disk space used by files and directories -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   du = disk space used [OK]

Hint: Remember: du = disk usage, shows space used [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing du with ls or ps commands
• Thinking du shows file counts
• Assuming du shows current directory path

2. Which du command option shows sizes in a human-readable format?

easy

A. -s

B. -c

C. -a

D. -h

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the option for human-readable sizes

   The -h option makes sizes easier to read by adding units like K, M, G.

2. Step 2: Understand other options

   -s summarizes, -a shows all files, -c adds a total line.

3. Final Answer:

   -h -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   -h = human-readable sizes [OK]

Hint: Use -h for sizes like KB, MB, GB [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using -s expecting human-readable sizes
• Confusing -a or -c with size formatting
• Omitting the -h option for readability

3. What is the output of the command du -sh /var/log if the /var/log directory uses 120M of disk space?

medium

A. 120M

B. 120M /var/log

C. 120MB /var/log

D. 120 /var/log

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the command options

   -s summarizes total size, -h shows human-readable format.

2. Step 2: Predict output format

   The output shows size with unit, a tab, then directory path: "120M\t/var/log".

3. Final Answer:

   120M /var/log -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   du -sh output = size + tab + path [OK]

Hint: du -sh shows size and path separated by tab [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Omitting the tab separator
• Writing size without unit
• Showing size without path

4. You run du -h /home/user but get an error: "du: invalid option -- 'h'". What is the likely cause?

medium

A. The directory /home/user does not exist

B. You need to run the command as root

C. The du command does not support the -h option on this system

D. You must use --human-readable instead of -h

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the error message

   The error says -h is invalid, meaning this du version lacks that option.

2. Step 2: Check other options

   Running as root or directory existence wouldn't cause invalid option error; -h is standard, no need for long form.

3. Final Answer:

   The du command does not support the -h option on this system -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Invalid option error means unsupported flag [OK]

Hint: Invalid option means your du version lacks that flag [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming permission or path errors cause invalid option
• Trying --human-readable instead of checking version
• Ignoring error message details

5. You want to find the total disk usage of all subdirectories inside /home/user but only see sizes for individual files. Which command correctly summarizes each subdirectory size in human-readable form?

hard

A. du -sh /home/user/*

B. du -ah /home/user

C. du -h /home/user

D. du -s /home/user

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the goal

   You want sizes of each subdirectory summarized, not individual files.

2. Step 2: Analyze options

   du -ah shows all files and dirs, du -sh on directory alone summarizes total only, du -s no human-readable. du -sh /home/user/* summarizes each subdirectory separately in human-readable form.

3. Final Answer:

   du -sh /home/user/* -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use du -sh with wildcard for each subdir [OK]

Hint: Use du -sh with * to summarize each subdirectory [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using -a to include files instead of just dirs
• Using -s alone for total only
• Not using wildcard to list subdirectories