What command would you use to view the contents of a text file?

The command used to view the contents of a text file is "cat." This command, short for "concatenate," reads the file specified and outputs its contents to the standard output, which is typically the terminal screen. It is a simple and effective way to display the contents of text files in a linear format.

While other commands might be related to file viewing or manipulation, "cat" is the most direct and commonly used command specifically for this purpose. It handles both viewing and concatenating files, making it versatile in a Linux environment. For instance, using "cat filename.txt" allows a user to quickly see what's inside "filename.txt."

Other commands listed have different purposes: "open" is generally used in GUI environments to open files with respective applications, "view" could refer to a command in some text editors but is not standard across all Linux distributions, and "display" typically relates to image files rather than text files. Thus, cat remains the most appropriate and widely recognized command for viewing text file contents in a terminal.