Ubuntu – “Do you want to continue[Y/n]?” Why the upper case

aptnaming conventions

I am new to Ubuntu and some little thing start to bug me. Such as when trying to install a program, Ubuntu asks,

Do you want to continue[Y/n]?

What is bugging me is why the letter "Y" is upper case and "n" is lower case. Do they have any significant reason why one is upper and the latter is lower? Whatever case I enter it doesn't change the outcome: it either continues or not. Are they trying to notify us that we can enter both and it won't change anything?

Best Answer

Usually, the uppercase option (Y in your case) is the default option if you don't provide any and just press ↲ Enter. This is a convention I see very often on the command line.

I wish I could provide a credible source, but I fail to find one. However, this is something I see very often in Debian/Ubuntu systems, in various programs.

The closest "source" I could find is a Q&A on Stack Overflow: Standard format for yes/no questions in the terminal?

Related Solutions

Ubuntu – Why apt-get does not ask permission to continue before installing small packages

apt does not ask for confirmation depending upon the size, but the importance of the process that will take place. One of the instances is when packages are going to be installed that you didn't ask for. apt will also ask for confirmation when:

Installing packages that you didn't specifically want to install
Removal of essential packages
Changing a held package (a held package is one you want to keep in the version currently installed)

If you don't want the confirmation, you can override it with one of the following:

-y
-yes
--assume-yes

However, prompts for "essential packages" will still be displayed for safety reasons.

What are "Essential packages":

Essential is defined as the minimal set of functionality that must be available and usable on the system at all times, even when packages are in an unconfigured (but unpacked) state.

Ubuntu – How to install a package with apt without the “Do you want to continue [Y/n]?” prompt

sudo apt-get install -y whatever

From the man page (man apt-get):

 -y, --yes, --assume-yes

           Automatic yes to prompts; assume "yes" as answer to all prompts and
           run non-interactively. If an undesirable situation, such as
           changing a held package, trying to install a unauthenticated
           package or removing an essential package occurs then apt-get will
           abort. Configuration Item: APT::Get::Assume-Yes.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Ubuntu – Why apt-get does not ask permission to continue before installing small packages

Ubuntu – How to install a package with apt without the “Do you want to continue [Y/n]?” prompt

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