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Re: A safer "rm" (fileutils)


From: Bob Proulx
Subject: Re: A safer "rm" (fileutils)
Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2002 12:24:43 -0700

> Suggestion:
> ===========
> If an argument looks like / or /* then prompt the user with a message like 
> this:
> 
> address@hidden> rm -r /*
> rm: You are about the remove all entries from the root filesystem.
>     This will make your system unusable, are you sure? (y/n)

A common misconception is that unix programs expand wildcard
arguments.  But that is not true.  The command shell expands shell
file wildcards.  The rm command never sees the '/*'.

Here is another piece of information to understand the behavior.  The
shell interpreter is expanding the command line glob characters prior
to handing the arguments off to your command.  This is a simple form
of regular expression matching designed to make file name matching
easier.  This provides a consistent interface to all programs since
the expansion code is common to all programs by being in the
interpreting shell instead of in the program itself.  Commands in UNIX
do not see the '/*' or any of the shell metacharacters.  Commands see
the expanded out names which the shell found matched file names in
current directory.

The "*" is the "glob" character because it matches a glob of
characters.  The shell matches and expands glob characters and hands
of the resulting information to the command.

You can double check this by using the echo command.  This is built
into most command shells, for example into bash.  Try echo /*.  The
command would see the result and has no idea that you provided a wild
card to match against file names.

What you suggest, a double check for certain operations, might
possibly be implemented as part of the "completion" subsystem of
command shells like zsh and bash.  You might check into those programs
and see if they have the capability to screen those dangerous commands
first since those are the only place the full text of the dangerous
command is seen.  http://www.zsh.org/ and
http://www.caliban.org/bash/index.shtml#completion

Bob



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