Date: Tue, 03 Feb 2026 17:27:22 -0500
From: Greg Troxel <[email protected]>
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
| I sort of thought that at first, but there is a recursion rule, and if
| you read the spec like a computer, I think only the macos/linux behavior
| is ok. But it's really hard for me to be sure I'm reading it right.
I agree. However note that (as long as the file/dir name is included)
what the message is supposed to say is not specified, it can be almost
anything (though "Should XYC be retained? " where a "y" answer means
"remove it" would be stretching things.)
| and to mouse about -r vs -R, posix says:
|
| -R
| Remove file hierarchies. See the DESCRIPTION.
| -r
| Equivalent to -R.
|
And in the RAIIONALE they explain it:
The -r option is historical practice on all known systems.
The synonym -R option is provided for consistency with the other
utilities in this volume of POSIX.1-2024 that provide options
requesting recursive descent through the file hierarchy.
kre
