Xref: utzoo comp.unix.xenix:6098 comp.unix.questions:13798 comp.unix.wizards:16326 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!athena.mit.edu!jik From: jik@athena.mit.edu (Jonathan I. Kamens) Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix,comp.unix.questions,comp.unix.wizards Subject: Re: Ugly file name Message-ID: <11606@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> Date: 23 May 89 03:45:43 GMT References: <31925@sri-unix.SRI.COM> Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU Reply-To: jik@athena.mit.edu (Jonathan I. Kamens) Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lines: 23 In article <31925@sri-unix.SRI.COM> ghe@nucthy.physics.orst.edu (Guangliang He) writes: >= rm -- -badfile > >But this trick don't work on the BSD4.3. It has a broken 'getopt' function >:-) :-) I'm not sure whether or not the smileys are to indicate that you know you are incorrect here, so I'll just have to correct you anyway. rm.c under BSD 4.3 does *not* use getopt at all; if it did, the -- argument would work. In fact, BSD 4.3's version of rm was written before getopt even existed, I would bet. BSD 4.3 Tahoe, on the other hand, uses getopt and therefore gets things right and -- will work. - will also work, but will generate a spurious error message since rm will try to delete the file - and *then* delete the file after it. Jonathan Kamens USnail: MIT Project Athena 410 Memorial Drive, No. 223F jik@Athena.MIT.EDU Cambridge, MA 02139-4318 Office: 617-253-4261 Home: 617-225-8218