LPIC-1 Shells, Scripting and Data Management Practice Question
A script starts multiple background processes. An administrator wants to wait for all background jobs to complete before proceeding. Which command should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse `wait` with `jobs` or assume that a fixed sleep duration is sufficient, not realizing that `wait` is the only command that dynamically synchronizes with the actual completion of all background jobs.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
wait
The `wait` command without any arguments waits for all background jobs spawned by the current shell to complete before returning control to the script. This is the correct way to synchronize multiple background processes in a shell script, ensuring all child processes finish before proceeding to the next command.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
jobs -l
Why it's wrong here
Lists background jobs but does not wait for them.
- ✗
wait %1
Why it's wrong here
Waits only for the first background job, not all.
- ✓
wait
Why this is correct
Waits for all background jobs to complete.
- ✗
sleep 5
Why it's wrong here
Pauses for 5 seconds but does not ensure background jobs are complete.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LPIC-1 practice question is part of Courseiva's free LPI certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the LPIC-1 exam.