improving find -<a|c|m>min option description

Anton Shterenlikht mexas at bristol.ac.uk
Tue Oct 23 08:51:39 UTC 2012


find(1) man page has:

     -amin n
             True if the difference between the file last access time and the
             time find was started, rounded up to the next full minute, is n
             minutes.

     -cmin n
             True if the difference between the time of last change of file
             status information and the time find was started, rounded up to
             the next full minute, is n minutes.

     -mmin n
             True if the difference between the file last modification time
             and the time find was started, rounded up to the next full
             minute, is n minutes.

The description is not clear enough.
It is not clear that n can be +n, -n or
just n, and the meaning will change.

In "UNIX in a nutshell" by Arnold Robbins, 4th edition, 2006,
pages 87-88, there is, in my opinion, a more clear description:

*quote*
-amin +n | -n | n
	Find files last accessed more than n (+n),
	less that n (-n), or exactly n minutes ago.

-cmin +n | -n | n
	Find files last changed more than n (+n),
	less that n (-n), or exactly n minutes ago.

-mmin +n | -n | n
	Find files last modified more than n (+n),
	less that n (-n), or exactly n minutes ago.
*end quote*

Does anybody agree/disagree with me?
I'll provide a patch if there is agreement.

Anton


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