What command is typically used to view the contents of a file in the terminal?

The command commonly used to view the contents of a file in the terminal is "cat." This command concatenates and displays the content of one or more files directly in the terminal window. When you use "cat" followed by the filename, it outputs the entire content of that file sequentially, which can be useful for quickly viewing small text files.

While "less" is also a valid command for viewing file contents, it allows for more interactive navigation through the file, meaning you can scroll up and down and search within the file. "view" is similar to "less" in function but is essentially a read-only mode of the "vim" editor. "open" is typically not used in Linux for viewing files; rather, it is a command associated with macOS for opening files and applications.

In summary, "cat" is one of the simplest and most straightforward commands to view the contents of a file in the terminal, especially when you just want a quick look at the file's content without any extra features.