Interpreting long listings — what does ‘‘ls -l’’ tell you? When you run ls -l on Unix/Linux, which of the following information is displayed for each file entry?

Introduction / Context:
The long listing format (ls -l) is the most common way to inspect filesystem metadata quickly. Being able to read its columns helps you understand permissions, ownership, size, and timestamps at a glance.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• We are using a typical Unix/Linux ls implementation (e.g., GNU coreutils).
• We want to identify which data ls -l shows by default.
• We focus on ownership, size, and modification time.

Concept / Approach:

The output columns include: file type and permissions, link count, owner (user), group, size in bytes, last modification time, and name. Optional flags (-h, -n, --time-style) change formatting but not the presence of core fields. Hence, owner, group, and size/time are all present.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

Use stat filename for a more detailed view; it corroborates the same metadata shown in summarized form by ls -l.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Each single statement (owner, group, size/time) is true individually, but the best overall choice is “All of the above.”
• None of the above is clearly incorrect because ls -l shows all these fields.

Common Pitfalls:

Confusing last access time with last modification time; misreading human-readable sizes with -h; overlooking the link count column; forgetting that timezone and format may vary.

Final Answer:

All of the above