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From: sog@bierstadt.scd.ucar.edu (Steve Gombosi)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: How do I tell when a directory is empty in a script?
Message-ID: <10859@ncar.ucar.edu>
Date: 1 Apr 91 18:35:12 GMT
References: <1991Mar30.040400.13893@ncsu.edu> <gt0fjt=@rpi.edu> <563@bria>
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Organization: Scientific Computing Division/NCAR, Boulder, CO
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`ls $dir|wc -l` doesn't always work.

A straight "ls" won't catch the existence of "hidden" files (i.e., files
whose name begins with "."). You could have megabytes worth of such files
and STILL think the directory was empty.

You have to use the -a option to see these files.