What does the 'uniq' command accomplish in Linux?

What does the 'uniq' command accomplish in Linux?

• A. View detailed information about a file
• B. Remove duplicate lines from a sorted file
• C. Terminate a running process by PID
• D. Change a user's password

Answer: (B)

The 'uniq' command in Linux is specifically designed to filter adjacent matching lines in a file, thereby removing duplicate lines from sorted input. It is important to note that 'uniq' only removes duplicates if the file is already sorted beforehand. This tool helps in data processing where duplicate entries are not desired, making the output cleaner and easier to analyze. For effective use, the command is typically combined with 'sort' since 'uniq' itself does not sort the data. When the input is sorted, 'uniq' efficiently identifies and removes repeated lines, leaving just one instance of each unique entry. This functionality is crucial in scripting and data manipulation tasks where duplicate data can be problematic, such as log file management or data reporting.

The 'uniq' command in Linux is specifically designed to filter adjacent matching lines in a file, thereby removing duplicate lines from sorted input. It is important to note that 'uniq' only removes duplicates if the file is already sorted beforehand. This tool helps in data processing where duplicate entries are not desired, making the output cleaner and easier to analyze.

For effective use, the command is typically combined with 'sort' since 'uniq' itself does not sort the data. When the input is sorted, 'uniq' efficiently identifies and removes repeated lines, leaving just one instance of each unique entry. This functionality is crucial in scripting and data manipulation tasks where duplicate data can be problematic, such as log file management or data reporting.