Gentoo Archives: gentoo-user

From: Daniel D Jones <ddjones@××××××××××××.org>
To: gentoo-user@l.g.o
Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] xargs and rm funkiness
Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 17:51:45
Message-Id: 201005231351.10622.ddjones@riddlemaster.org
In Reply to: Re: [gentoo-user] xargs and rm funkiness by Neil Bothwick
1 On Saturday 22 May 2010 08:25:55 Neil Bothwick wrote:
2 > On Sat, 22 May 2010 12:35:10 +0100, David W Noon wrote:
3 > > >find -name *.ext -exe rm "{}" +
4 > >
5 > > Or simpler still:
6 > >
7 > > find -name *.ext -delete
8 >
9 > Neat - I hadn't noticed that option.
10 >
11 > Anyone for find / -delete ?
12
13 If you use the -delete switch, just be careful. From the man page:
14
15 <QUOTE>
16 Warnings: Don't forget that the find command line is evaluated as an
17 expression, so putting -delete first will make find try to delete
18 everything below the starting points you specified.
19 </QUOTE>
20
21 That means that the command
22
23 find -name *.tmp -delete
24
25 will delete all your temp files while
26
27 find -delete -name *.tmp
28
29 will delete everything below your current directory. If you're in the root
30 directory, it's equivalent to running your suggested command above. I just
31 found this out the hard way, although luckily I wasn't in the root directory
32 when I ran the command and so didn't trash my system. I did lose the changes
33 I'd made to the project I was working on but fortunately had a backup of the
34 original files.
35
36 --
37 "If you give me six lines written by the most honest man, I will find something
38 in them to hang him." - Cardinal Richelieu