Re: rm command fails

Jian --

...and then Chen, Jian (FSH) said...
% 
% Hi,

Hi!


% 
% "rm" command does not remove files, and complains "Argument is too big"
% when the number of files is large. In my case, there are over 9000 files
% within a directory. 

Right.


% I don't know if it is a feature or a bug. I guess there is a physical limit
% to the maximum files for the command to handle, but I didn't find it from
% the man page. 

It's actually a shell limit rather than an rm limit, as I understand it.
It's certainly not limited to rm.


%  
% The Linux I am using is:
% Linux version 2.4.18-10smp ([email protected]) (gcc
% version 2.96 20000731 (Red Hat Linux 7.3 2.96-110)) #1 SMP Wed Aug 7
% 11:17:48 EDT 2002

You can get around this with xargs; see the man pages for xargs and find
(where it's most commonly used, or at least best known) for more.


% 
% Thanks
% 
% 
% Jian CHEN
% Sr. Database Administrator
% Family Services and Housing
% Government of Manitoba
% phone: (204)945-0498
% fax: (204)948-2394


HTH & HAND & Happy Holidays

:-D
-- 
David T-G                      * There is too much animal courage in 
(play) [email protected] * society and not sufficient moral courage.
(work) [email protected]  -- Mary Baker Eddy, "Science and Health"
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