What is the effect of sourcing a file in Bash?

• A. Executes the file in a subshell
• B. Deletes the file
• C. Compiles the file
• D. Imports defined functions into the current shell context

Answer: (D)

Sourcing a file in Bash loads the file’s content into the current shell session, executing it there rather than in a new process. Because it runs in the same shell, any functions defined in the file become immediately available in your current environment, and any variables or settings altered by the file persist after it finishes. This is why sourcing effectively imports defined functions into the current shell context. If you ran the file as a script, Bash would execute it in a subshell, so those definitions wouldn’t automatically appear in the original shell. Sourcing isn’t about deleting or compiling the file either.