Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!att!cbnewsh!wcs
From: wcs@cbnewsh.att.com (Bill Stewart 201-949-0705 erebus.att.com!wcs)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Recursion without -R
Keywords: recursion
Message-ID: <1990Aug21.204841.29065@cbnewsh.att.com>
Date: 21 Aug 90 20:48:41 GMT
References: <494@llnl.LLNL.GOV> <104905@convex.convex.com>
Organization: Here, beside the rising tide
Lines: 24

In article <104905@convex.convex.com> tchrist@convex.COM (Tom Christiansen) writes:
]In article <494@llnl.LLNL.GOV> rjshaw@ramius.llnl.gov writes:
]>What are some quick tricks for getting programs like chmod and chown to
]>descend into all subdirectories? Programs without a -R option, that is.

Sorry if this is a duplicate; the expire daemon hit while I was on
vacation.

	find $* -depth -exec foo -args {} morestuff \;

which is slow (does things one at a time) but flexible, or

	find $* -depth -print | xargs chown joeuser

The find command recursively searches directories; the -depth option
tells it to do things depth-first (sometimes important when you're
dealing with directory ownership/permission changes), the -exec
executes one command per found item, and the xargs takes names from
standard input and builds them into command lines.
-- 
					Thanks; Bill
# Bill Stewart 908-949-0705 erebus.att.com!wcs AT&T Bell Labs 4M-312 Holmdel NJ

# There'll be a brand new war coming soon to a theatre near you - promise!