Finding user startup files across the system: Which find command locates all files named '.profile' anywhere on the system and prints their full paths?

Introduction / Context:
User shell initialization files such as .profile influence environment variables, PATH, and login behavior. Administrators often need to audit or update all .profile files on a system. The find utility provides a recursive, flexible way to search the entire filesystem or a subtree by filename.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Target filename: .profile (note the leading dot).
• We want to search system-wide from root (/) and print full paths.
• We have adequate permissions to traverse directories (or use sudo where appropriate).

Concept / Approach:

The command find / -name '.profile' -print recursively descends from the root directory, matching files whose basename equals .profile and printing their paths. Quoting the name prevents shell globbing and correctly preserves the leading dot. -print is explicit for clarity on classic UNIX find implementations.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

Manually navigate to a reported path and run ls -la to confirm the file exists and is a regular file. For a smaller search, use find ~ -name '.profile' -print to search only the current user's home.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

b: ls profile looks in the current directory and for profile (without dot), not recursively.

c: cd /.profile attempts to change into a file; also wrong path.

d: l -u .profile is not a standard command.

e: Searches only the current user's home, not the entire system as required.

Common Pitfalls:

Forgetting the leading dot; failing to quote the pattern; running from a restricted account that cannot traverse certain directories.

Final Answer:

find / -name '.profile' -print