CompTIA Linux+ XK0-006 (V8) Practice Question

The alternatives framework stores generic commands such as /usr/bin/editor as symbolic links that ultimately resolve through /etc/alternatives. Using the --set option tells update-alternatives to switch the master link (and any slave links) for a given name to the specified path and to place the link group in manual mode. Running sudo update-alternatives --set editor /usr/bin/vim.basic therefore rewires the editor link group so that /usr/bin/editor → /etc/alternatives/editor → /usr/bin/vim.basic, making Vim the global default for every user and script.

The --auto option instead returns the group to automatic mode and would very likely reset the link to whichever implementation has the highest priority-so it does not guarantee Vim. Manually creating a symbolic link with ln -sf bypasses the alternatives system and may be overwritten by the packaging tools. Editing /etc/profile only changes a shell variable (and only for future logins), leaving the editor command itself unaffected.