Re: lynx-dev Re: [-dev.12] experimental text entry fields patch (updated)

[David Combs]

> From address@hidden Mon Jan 11 06:48:57 1999
> From: address@hidden
> Subject: Re: lynx-dev Re: [-dev.12] experimental text entry fields patch 
> (updated)
> 
> In a recent note, Kim DeVaughn said:
> 
> > Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 16:35:07 -0800
> > 
> > can't just do (an equivalent of) "rm -f some-dir" and have it and all
> > its contents blown away ... you still need to unlink() the individual
> > files in it before rmdir()'ing the directory.
> > 
> That's what "rm -rf some-dir" does.  Don't know about portability.
>                  ^
>                 ^^^


It's so damned dangerous, doing that.  A key-bounce, eg between
a dot and a name, is just horrible.

What I have learned (the hard way!) to do is to create
a triple-deep directory todelete/todelete/todelete, then
"mv" all to-be-deleted files to that directory,
then cd to there (easy: cd !$), l (alias for ls -AFs),
be sure, then do a "sh" (to get away from adding
to a history list for csh),
do a ls -lAts, AND ALSO a pwd,
and ONLY THEN the rm *, etc.

If I screw up, I am protected by two OTHER layers of
dummy directories.

Of course, I've aliased rm to rm -i.

David (who once did the fastest-ever control-c <repeated>
after noticing a boo boo on my prior method!)


Oh, I also, from time to time, do a "du -a / >! allunixdua.out",
which helped then to find out how far it had gotten.