$ help type
type: type [-afptP] name [name ...]
Display information about command type.
For each NAME, indicate how it would be interpreted if used as a
command name.

----------------------
So here are some command types:
$ type type
type is a shell builtin

$ type bash
bash is /bin/bash
$ type ls
ls is aliased to `ls --color=auto'
$ type mkdir
mkdir is hashed (/bin/mkdir)
$ type echo
echo is a shell builtin
$ type ps
ps is /bin/ps

Questions:
What is the difference of command types between the outputs above?

We have these groupings:
a) bash is /bin/bash, ps is /bin/ps
b) mkdir is hashed (/bin/mkdir)
c) echo is a shell builtin
c) ls is aliased to `ls --color=auto'

What are the differences amongst the command types?
Note: I understand what alias is.

As an example, why is mkdir called a hashed command, and
bash or ps is just shown as a /path/filename,
and echo is called a shell builtin.

I also thought bash is a shell.
So the output of type command is confusing to me.....
Thank you.

When you have a path, this is a 'standalone' program.
Otherwise it is a command belonging to the shell you're running.
Don't know what hashed means.

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In the case of
$ type ls
ls is aliased to `ls --color=auto'

How do you determine the type of the real ls?
Thank you.

Some command interpreters maintain a hash table of frequently used commands.

This eliminates having to search through a long PATH environment variable to find a corresponding executable for a command.

It can cause some problems when the command is added to a directory in the path, but not where the hash table has it recorded. These interpreters also include a "rehash" command that causes it to make a pass through the directories and identify new entries, and generate a new hash table.

The "type" command allows you to identify what is actually going to be used when a given command is issued. If a command is located in the hash table it lets you know that (useful if you expected a different result in a command).

The way shells interpret commands is also why the "." is normally excluded from the search path as a security hazard. You really don't want someone elses command to be picked when you really wanted the one you always use...

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