Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!lll-winken!uunet!auspex!guy
From: guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
Subject: Re: Trying to remove a file called "-ls"
Message-ID: <1434@auspex.auspex.com>
Date: 14 Apr 89 18:33:41 GMT
References: <570@sdrc.UUCP> <5950015@hpccc.HP.COM>
Reply-To: guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris)
Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara
Lines: 34


 >I was just wondering....
 >
 >would the command  
 >
 >     rm "-ls"
 >
 >work?

"rm" is incapable of distinguishing

	rm -ls

from

	rm "-ls"

All the quotes do is affect the way the shell parses the argument; the
argument is passed to the command in the same fashion.

>I used that form to get rid of a file that had a trailing blank space
>at the end of the name (couldn't figure out why it kept showing up in the list
>but "rm" could never find it!).....

That's because it wasn't "rm" that had the problem with the trailing
blank space, it was the shell.

	rm "foobar "<return>

causes the shell to pass the string "foobar " to "rm".

	rm foobar<space><return>

causes the shell to pass the string "foobar" (no trailing space) to "rm".