This LPIC-1 practice question tests your understanding of shells, scripting and data management. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which command returns the directory part of a full path like '/home/user/script.sh'?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "which command"
Why it matters: Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
echo ${/home/user/script.sh%/*}
Why wrong: Invalid syntax; parameter expansion requires a variable.
dirname /home/user/script.sh
Why wrong: dirname is correct, but not the only correct.
Either dirname or the expansion ${path%/*} if path is set to the full path
Both return /home/user.
basename /home/user/script.sh
Why wrong: basename returns the filename.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Either dirname or the expansion ${path%/*} if path is set to the full path
Option C is correct because both `dirname` and the shell parameter expansion `${path%/*}` extract the directory portion of a given path. The `dirname` command is a standard utility that strips the last component and trailing slash, returning the parent directory. The `${path%/*}` expansion uses the `%` operator to remove the shortest suffix matching `/*`, which effectively removes the filename and leaves the directory path. This works only if `path` is a variable containing the full path string.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
echo ${/home/user/script.sh%/*}
Why it's wrong here
Invalid syntax; parameter expansion requires a variable.
dirname /home/user/script.sh
Why it's wrong here
dirname is correct, but not the only correct.
Either dirname or the expansion ${path%/*} if path is set to the full path
Why this is correct
Both return /home/user.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "which command" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
basename /home/user/script.sh
Why it's wrong here
basename returns the filename.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often pick only `dirname` (Option B) because it is the obvious command, missing that the shell parameter expansion `${path%/*}` is also a valid and commonly used method, and that the question explicitly asks for 'which command' in a way that expects recognition of both approaches as correct.
Detailed technical explanation
The `dirname` command works by removing the trailing slash and the last path component, handling edge cases like root ('/') or paths with no directory (e.g., 'script.sh' returns '.'). The `${path%/*}` expansion uses shell pattern matching: `%` removes the shortest suffix matching the pattern `/*`, which is greedy enough to strip the filename but leaves the directory intact. In real-world scripting, using `${path%/*}` is often faster than forking a subshell for `dirname`, especially in loops, but it fails if the path has no slash (returns the original string) — a subtle difference that can cause bugs.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
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FAQ
Shells, Scripting and Data Management — This question tests Shells, Scripting and Data Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Either dirname or the expansion ${path%/*} if path is set to the full path — Option C is correct because both `dirname` and the shell parameter expansion `${path%/*}` extract the directory portion of a given path. The `dirname` command is a standard utility that strips the last component and trailing slash, returning the parent directory. The `${path%/*}` expansion uses the `%` operator to remove the shortest suffix matching `/*`, which effectively removes the filename and leaves the directory path. This works only if `path` is a variable containing the full path string.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "which command". Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
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.
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