GNU bug report logs - #15926
RFE: unlink command already uses 'unlink' call; make 'rm' use 'remove' call

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From: Pádraig Brady <P <at> draigBrady.com>
To: Bernhard Voelker <mail <at> bernhard-voelker.de>
Cc: 15926 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Eric Blake <eblake <at> redhat.com>
Subject: bug#15926: RFE: unlink command already uses 'unlink' call; make 'rm' use 'remove' call
Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 08:55:52 +0000

On 11/21/2013 07:12 AM, Bernhard Voelker wrote:
> On 11/21/2013 03:07 AM, Eric Blake wrote:
>> On 11/20/2013 05:03 PM, Bernhard Voelker wrote:
>>> What about the following?
>>>
>>>   $ src/rm -r src/.
>>>   src/rm: refusing to remove '.' or '..' directory: skipping 'src/.'
>>
>> That helps.
> 
> Thanks, I'll push it unless someone comes up with a better wording.
> 
>>  But I'm also starting to think we should add a new long
>> option --no-preserve-dot, similar to how --no-preserve-root can be used
>> to work around the restriction.  Then people that want to can create an
>> alias or other wrapper around rm to get the non-nanny behavior, while
>> the default behavior still complies with POSIX.
> 
> Admittedly, compared to the academic question behind "--no-preserve-root"
> (which is like "what happens to me when the globe under my feet disappears?"),
> there may be more real-world reasons to remove ".".
> 
> However, as it's possible to pass the canonicalized file name of "."
> or ".." to rm(1), I'm not yet convinced that it warrants adding a
> new --no-preserve-dot-or-dotdot (and for symmetry reasons a new
> --preserve-dot-or-dotdot) option.

I would say this does not need an option for the reason you describe.

thanks,
Pádraig.

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