GNU bug report logs - #12339
Bug: rm -fr . doesn't dir depth first deletion yet it is documented to do so.

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Message #152 received at 12339 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Bob Proulx <bob <at> proulx.com>
To: Linda Walsh <coreutils <at> tlinx.org>, 12339 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#12339: Bug: rm -fr . doesn't dir depth first deletion yet it
	is	documented to do so.
Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2012 10:42:15 -0600

Jim Meyering wrote:
> Linda Walsh wrote:
> ...
> > GNU needs to be clear their priorities -- maintaining software
> > freedom, or bowing down to corporate powers...  POSIX isn't
> 
> While POSIX is in general a very good baseline, no one here conforms
> blindly.  If POSIX is wrong, we'll lobby to change it, or, when
> that fails, maybe relegate the undesirable required behavior to when
> POSIXLY_CORRECT is set, or even simply ignore it.  In fact, over the
> years, I have deliberately made a few GNU tools contravene some aspects
> of POSIX-specified behavior that I felt were counterproductive.
> 
> We try to make the tools as useful as possible, sometimes adding features
> when we deem them worthwhile.  However, we are very much against changing
> the *default* behavior (behavior that has been that way for over 20
> years and that is compatible with all other vendor-supplied rm programs)
> without a very good reason.

Because I originally voted that this felt like a bug I wanted to state
that after determining that this has already been legacy system
historical practice for a very long time that I wouldn't change it
now.  Portability of applications is more important.

This isn't a feature that could be working in a script for someone.
It isn't something that was recently removed that would cause a script
to break.  A script will run now with the same behavior across
multiple different types of systems.  I think we should leave things
unchanged.

Bob

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