Explain what happens when you run ls
Company: Google
Role: Software Engineer
Category: Software Engineering Fundamentals
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Technical Screen
In Linux, explain the **end-to-end flow** of what happens when a user types `ls` in a shell and presses Enter.
Include:
- What the shell does
- How the executable is found and started
- Key system calls / kernel filesystem interactions
- How directory entries and file metadata are retrieved
- What changes for common flags like `-l`, `-a`, and `-R`
Quick Answer: This question evaluates a candidate's understanding of process creation and execution, shell command resolution, kernel and VFS filesystem interactions, and how directory entries and file metadata are retrieved; category/domain: Software Engineering Fundamentals.