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From: "Olivier Cortes" <olive@deep-ocean.net>
To: "Doug Barton" <DougB@gorean.org>,
	"FreeBSD Questions" <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org>
Subject: RE: "rm -rf *" - "argument list too long"
Date: Mon, 8 May 2000 01:59:58 +0200
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yeah !
great answer !

I use to be too sophisticated.
thanks to pull me back to simplicity :)

Olivier

PS: but don't you think a little program written in perl ou c could.... Okay, i shut up :)

> -----Message d'origine-----
> De : owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG
> [mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG]De la part de Doug Barton
> Envoyé : lundi 8 mai 2000 01:51
> À : Darren Wyn Rees
> Cc : freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
> Objet : Re: "rm -rf *" - "argument list too long"
>
>
> Darren Wyn Rees wrote:
> >
> > I'm in a directory with a tonne of files I wish to delete.
> > I type "rm -rf *", but it won't work, it gives "/bin/rm: Argument
> > list too long".  So how can I delete these many files ?
> >
> > I can "cd ..", and then "rm -rf <directory name>", and that works.
> >
> > However, what if I didn't wish to remove directories.  In that
> > case, what would I do to remove the files ?
>
> 	First, ignore the overly complicated and potentially dangerous answers
> so far on this thread. :) Second, think about it for a minute. If "*"
> provides a list that's too long for rm to handle, why not break it up
> into smaller chunks? For example, if your files mainly have alpha
> characters in their names, do something like:
>
> rm [a-c]*
>
> Starting with larger chunks, and going smaller as needed till the error
> messages disappear.
>
> Doug
> --
>         "Live free or die"
> 		- State motto of my ancestral homeland, New Hampshire
>
> 	Do YOU Yahoo!?
>
>
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