Question

While executing a command, the shell _________.

1) Executes it in the same process (as shell)
2) Creates a child shell to execute it
3) Loads a special program to take care of the execution

Answer 1

The shell creates a child process to execute a command, allowing the shell to stay active for further commands.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a command is executed in a shell, the typical behavior is this: the shell creates a new process (known as a child process) to execute the command. The shell itself does not execute the command; instead, it forks a child process and uses one of the exec family of functions to run the command within this new process. This allows the shell to remain active and accept new commands once the executed command completes.