locate:tldr:100df

The locate command is used to quickly search for files and directories on a Unix-based system. When you run the command locate ${pattern}, you are searching for files or directories whose names match the specified pattern.

Here's how the command works:

1. The ${pattern} part is a placeholder for the pattern you want to search for. This can be a specific filename, a partial filename, or even a wildcard pattern using special characters like * or ?. For example, if you want to search for all files with the word "example" in their filename, your command would be: locate *example*.

2. The locate command searches a pre-built database called the locate database. This database contains an index of all files and directories on the system. It is typically updated using the updatedb command, which you may need to run periodically to ensure accurate search results.

3. The locate command then searches the locate database for any entries that match the specified pattern. It returns a list of file and directory paths that match the pattern.

4. The search performed by locate is case-insensitive, so it will match filenames regardless of their case.

It's worth noting that the locate command is extremely fast because it searches the pre-built locate database, rather than scanning the entire filesystem during each search. However, this also means that it may not return the most up-to-date results if the locate database hasn't been recently updated using the updatedb command.