What command is used to search for a specific string in files?

The command used to search for a specific string in files is "grep." This powerful utility scans through text files and outputs lines that contain a specified pattern or string. It supports regular expressions, making it versatile for complex search criteria. When you run "grep," you typically specify the string you want to search for, followed by the file or files you want to search through.

The other utilities mentioned serve different purposes. "Find" is used to search for files in a directory hierarchy based on criteria like name, size, or modification date, rather than the contents of the files. "Locate" helps in quickly finding files by name using a pre-built database of files on the system, but it does not search file contents. "Search" is not a standard command in Linux for this purpose, making "grep" the ideal choice for searching through the contents of files.