remind me ... (file undelete on FreeBSD 5.4)

[Xin LI]

Hi, Bill,

On 11/27/05, Bill Vermillion <bv at wjv.com> wrote:
[snip]
> > One suggestion is you specify '-I' when doing rm, which will prompt if
> > you are going to recursively remove directory, or removing more than 3
> > files.  This is more or less a foot-shooting proof.  Another
> > suggestion is that everything important should be backed up elsewhere,
> > periodically and explictly.
>
> He had a major problem when he specified 'f' as on option, and 'f'
> will over-ride any 'i' option.
>
> Using the i option for large amounts of files will make you give
> that up in a hurry.  As I suggested earlier perform an 'ls' with
> the appropriate options, and then if it all looks well use the
> command editor to change the 'ls' to 'rm'.
>

Fortunately, 'I' is a new option introduced in 6.0 and 5.3.  'f' does
not override this option :-)  It is different from the 'i' option, as
it prompt for once to confirm if the operation should be committed. 
From user experience perspective, it is better than the annoying 'i'
option when you are going to remove a lot of files, and enough to
prevent most foot-shooting.

> And when you start using wildcards, always make sure to run
> 'pwd' before you make the final choice.  Sometimes you will be
> surprised and you will save yourself a lot of grief.

Sure, that's what we call "best practice".  Maybe we should suggest
this in our Handbook?

Cheers,
--
Xin LI <delphij at delphij.net> http://www.delphij.net