PowerShell vs Bash vs CMD comparison - Interactive Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to list files in the current directory using PowerShell.

PowerShell

Get-ChildItem [1]

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

A-File

B-List

C-Path .

D-Name

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using -List which is not a valid parameter for Get-ChildItem.

Using -File which filters only files, not listing all items.

Using -Name which lists only names, not full details.

In PowerShell, Get-ChildItem -Path . lists files and folders in the current directory.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to print the current directory path in Bash.

PowerShell

echo [1]

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

A$PWD

B$HOME

C$PATH

D$USER

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using $HOME which points to the home directory, not current directory.

Using $PATH which is for executable search paths.

Using $USER which is the username.

In Bash, $PWD holds the current directory path.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in this CMD command to list files with details.

PowerShell

dir [1]

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

A/w

B/a

C/q

D/p

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using /w which shows wide format but less detail.

Using /p which pauses output but does not change details.

Using /q which shows file owner but not full details.

The /a option in CMD shows files with attributes, giving detailed listing.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a PowerShell command that lists only files larger than 1MB.

PowerShell

Get-ChildItem [1] | Where-Object { $_.Length [2] 1MB }

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

A-File

B-Directory

C-gt

D-lt

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using -Directory instead of -File to filter folders.

Using -lt which means less than, opposite of what is needed.

-File filters only files, and -gt means greater than, so files larger than 1MB are listed.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a Bash command that finds all '.txt' files and counts them.

PowerShell

find [1] -name [2] | wc [3]

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

A.

B"*.txt"

C-l

D-w

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using -w with wc which counts words, not lines.

Using directory other than current (.) which changes search location.

Not quoting the '*.txt' pattern causing shell expansion issues.

find . -name "*.txt" finds all text files in current directory and subdirectories. wc -l counts the lines, which equals the number of files found.

Practice

1. Which shell is object-based and primarily designed for Windows automation?

easy

A. CMD

B. Bash

C. PowerShell

D. Zsh

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand shell types

   PowerShell is known for handling objects, unlike Bash and CMD which handle text.

2. Step 2: Identify platform focus

   PowerShell is designed mainly for Windows automation, while Bash is common on Linux/macOS and CMD is basic Windows shell.

3. Final Answer:

   PowerShell -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Object-based Windows shell = PowerShell [OK]

Hint: PowerShell = objects + Windows automation [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing Bash as object-based
• Thinking CMD is object-based
• Selecting shells not related to Windows

2. Which of the following is the correct way to list files in PowerShell?

easy

A. ls -l

B. listfiles

C. dir /w

D. Get-ChildItem

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall PowerShell commands

   PowerShell uses cmdlets like Get-ChildItem to list files.

2. Step 2: Compare with other shells

   ls -l is Bash/Linux syntax, dir /w is CMD syntax, listfiles is invalid.

3. Final Answer:

   Get-ChildItem -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   PowerShell file list = Get-ChildItem [OK]

Hint: PowerShell cmdlets start with Get- or Set- [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using Bash command ls -l in PowerShell
• Using CMD dir /w in PowerShell
• Typing invalid commands like listfiles

3. What will be the output of this PowerShell command?

Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.CPU -gt 100 }

medium

A. Lists all processes with CPU usage less than 100 seconds

B. Lists all processes with CPU usage greater than 100 seconds

C. Shows an error because CPU property does not exist

D. Lists all processes regardless of CPU usage

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand Get-Process output

   Get-Process returns process objects with a CPU property showing CPU time in seconds.

2. Step 2: Analyze Where-Object filter

   The filter $_.CPU -gt 100 selects processes with CPU time greater than 100 seconds.

3. Final Answer:

   Lists all processes with CPU usage greater than 100 seconds -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Filter CPU > 100 seconds = Lists all processes with CPU usage greater than 100 seconds [OK]

Hint: Where-Object filters objects by property conditions [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing greater than (gt) with less than
• Assuming CPU property is missing
• Thinking it lists all processes without filtering

4. Identify the error in this PowerShell command that tries to list files:

ls -l | grep ".txt"

medium

A. PowerShell does not support ls -l syntax

B. grep is not a native PowerShell command

C. Quotes around .txt should be single quotes

D. The pipe symbol | is invalid in PowerShell

Solution

1. Step 1: Check command compatibility

   PowerShell supports ls alias but not with -l option; it uses Get-ChildItem instead.

2. Step 2: Identify grep usage

   grep is a Linux command, not native in PowerShell; PowerShell uses Where-Object or Select-String.

3. Final Answer:

   PowerShell does not support ls -l syntax -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   ls -l syntax unsupported = PowerShell does not support ls -l syntax [OK]

Hint: PowerShell ls alias lacks Bash -l flag [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming ls -l works fully in PowerShell
• Thinking pipe | is invalid
• Believing quote style causes error here

5. You want to write a script that works on Windows and Linux to list files. Which approach is best?

hard

A. Write a PowerShell script using Get-ChildItem and run PowerShell Core on both OS

B. Write a Bash script using ls and run it only on Linux

C. Write a CMD batch file using dir and run it on Windows only

D. Write separate scripts for each OS and manually switch

Solution

1. Step 1: Consider cross-platform support

   PowerShell Core (PowerShell 7+) runs on Windows and Linux, supporting Get-ChildItem on both.

2. Step 2: Evaluate other options

   Bash scripts work only on Linux/macOS; CMD batch files only on Windows; separate scripts add complexity.

3. Final Answer:

   Write a PowerShell script using Get-ChildItem and run PowerShell Core on both OS -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Cross-platform scripting = PowerShell Core + Get-ChildItem [OK]

Hint: PowerShell Core runs cross-platform, unlike CMD or Bash alone [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming Bash works on Windows by default
• Thinking CMD scripts run on Linux
• Ignoring cross-platform PowerShell Core availability