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

From: Eric Blake <eblake <at> redhat.com>
To: Linda Walsh <coreutils <at> tlinx.org>
Cc: Alan Curry <pacman-cu <at> kosh.dhis.org>, 12339 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#12339: Bug: rm -fr . doesn't dir depth first deletion yet it
Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2012 18:23:40 -0600

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On 09/07/2012 06:02 PM, Linda Walsh wrote:

> The thing is, by doing rm -rf on ., I am not trying to remove . or ..
> I'm trying to remove the files in it.
> 
> Other wise there is no way to specify, using "rm" to delete the contents
> of a directory  but not the directory itself.

Yes there is, and Paul already told it to you:

rm -rf * .[!.] .??*

> 
> I just want to "clean" out a directory -- I don't want to try to delete the
> directory itself.

Then use the triple-glob.  This is portable to both POSIX and to the old
implementations we have been discussing.

-- 
Eric Blake   eblake <at> redhat.com    +1-919-301-3266
Libvirt virtualization library http://libvirt.org

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