LOCATE(1) MachTen Reference Manual LOCATE(1)

NAME
locate - find files

SYNOPSIS
locate pattern

DESCRIPTION
Locate searches a database for all pathnames which match the specified
pattern. The database is recomputed periodically, and contains the path-
names of all files which are publicly accessible.

Shell globbing and quoting characters (‘‘*’’, ‘‘?’’, ‘‘´’, ‘‘[’’ and
‘‘]’’) may be used in pattern, although they will have to be escaped from
the shell. Preceding any character with a backslash (‘‘´’) eliminates
any special meaning which it may have. The matching differs in that no
characters must be matched explicitly, including slashes (‘‘/’’).

As a special case, a pattern containing no globbing characters (‘‘foo’’)
is matched as though it were ‘‘*foo*’’.

FILES
/var/db/locate.database

SEE ALSO
find(1), fnmatch(3)

Woods, James A., "Finding Files Fast", ;login, 8:1, pp. 8-10, 1983.

HISTORY
The locate command appears in 4.4BSD.

4.4BSD June 6, 1993 1