Which command is used to view the contents of a text file in the terminal?

The command used to view the contents of a text file in the terminal is "cat." This command is short for "concatenate" and is primarily utilized to display the content of files on the standard output, which is typically the terminal. When you use it followed by a file name, it reads the file and prints its content line by line directly to the terminal window, making it a quick and straightforward tool for viewing text files.

While the "head" command is helpful for viewing the first few lines of a file and "tail" is used for viewing the last few lines, both are limited in that they do not show the entire content of the file by default. The "nano" command is a text editor that allows for both viewing and editing files, but it operates in a different mode that isn't solely focused on displaying text. Therefore, if your intention is to quickly view the entire content of a file, "cat" is the most suitable command.