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Path: utzoo!utcsri!dalcs!hody
From: hody@dalcs.UUCP (Reg Hody)
Newsgroups: net.bugs.4bsd
Subject: Bug (feature?) in rm -r.
Message-ID: <1473@dalcs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 26-Mar-85 13:39:58 EST
Article-I.D.: dalcs.1473
Posted: Tue Mar 26 13:39:58 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 26-Mar-85 23:42:40 EST
Organization: Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
Lines: 14

A user on our system sent in the following report:

Reg, I found an interesting bug in Unix (is that ever interesting?): If "x"
is a subdirectory of "y", then  "rm -r y/x" bombs after removing the
contents of "x", saying that y/x doesn't exist (whereas it should be
deleted).  "rmdir y/x" works if "x" is empty". "rm y/x" at least admits that
"y/x" exists.  If x is a plain file then "rm -r y/x" works as it should.
Also "chdir y; rm -r x" works fine.  Odd, eh?  I assume you can pass this on
to "the apprpriate authorities".
-- 
				reg

Reg Hody, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. B3H 4H8 (902-424-6501)
hody%dalcs@dartmouth or {allegra,decvax,ihnp4}!utcsri!dalcs!hody