Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 (Tek) 9/26/83; site hercules.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!houxm!houxz!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!teklds!hercules!archiel From: archiel@hercules.UUCP Newsgroups: net.bugs.4bsd Subject: rm and symbolic links (4.2) Message-ID: <214@hercules.UUCP> Date: Tue, 5-Jun-84 18:52:19 EDT Article-I.D.: hercules.214 Posted: Tue Jun 5 18:52:19 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 6-Jun-84 07:41:19 EDT Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR Lines: 18 I just found out the hard way that if one runs "rm -r" on a directory that contains a symbolic link, the object that the link points to gets removed (recursively). Since plain old "rm" run on a symbolic link removes the link but NOT the object that it points to, I was surprised by this behavior (no flames, please). This behavior is, in my opinion, not obvious until after you've experienced it. I am submitting this so that no one who reads it will be similarly surprised. Be careful of this one. It can really hurt! -- Archie Lachner Logic Design Systems Division Tektronix, Inc. uucp: {ucbvax,decvax,pur-ee,cbosg,ihnss}!tektronix!teklds!archiel CSnet: archiel@tek ARPAnet: archiel.tek@csnet-relay