Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 15:50:54 -0400 From: DAve <dave.list@pixelhammer.com> To: freeBSD <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: rm command problem Message-ID: <4539289E.4040404@pixelhammer.com> In-Reply-To: <45390333.4020007@pixelhammer.com> References: <20061020162119.49001.qmail@web25221.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <45390333.4020007@pixelhammer.com>
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DAve wrote:
> Efren Bravo wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Accidentally I've created a file called -exclude
>> and now I cann't delete it.
>>
>> I tried with:
>>
>> rm -exclude and rm *exclude but it returns this:
>>
>> rm: illegal option -- -
>> usage: rm [-f | -i] [-dIPRrvW] file ...
>> unlink file
>>
>> How can I delete it?
>
> You have probably found that anything you try errors because the shell
> thinks -e is a switch. The easiest way is to find the files inode number
> and delete the file using that.
>
> director# ls -i
> 107008 .bash_history 107760 .login 107759 .mail_aliases
> 107764 .profile 107765 .shrc
> 107758 .cshrc 107761 .login_conf 107762 .mailrc 107763
> .rhosts
>
> then use find to remove the file.
>
> director# find . -inum 107763 -exec rm -i {} \;
> remove ./.rhosts? y
>
> This works for all manner of funky file names. I had done that many
> times before, generally from not reading man pages and passing switches
> to programs that didn't expect it, or by piping commands incorrectly.
>
> DAve
Chuck Swiger wrote:
> On Oct 20, 2006, at 9:21 AM, Efren Bravo wrote:
>> Accidentally I've created a file called -exclude
>> and now I cann't delete it.
>
> Try:
>
> rm -- -exclude
>
See, just like I said. I got into trouble a long time ago by not reading
man pages, and discovered I could delete by inode. I've done it that way
from habit since.
*Had I read the man pages back then* I would have known about rm -- ;^)
I read all manner of man pages, README, CHANGES, and INSTALL docs now
before I do anything new. John Polstra from SeaBug gently chided me into
that habit until I caught on.
DAve
--
Three years now I've asked Google why they don't have a
logo change for Memorial Day. Why do they choose to do logos
for other non-international holidays, but nothing for
Veterans?
Maybe they forgot who made that choice possible.
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