NAME
rm, rmdir - remove (unlink) files or directories
SYNOPSIS
rm [ -e ] [ -f ] [ -r ] [ -i ] [ - ] file ...
rmdir dir ...
DESCRIPTION
Rm removes the entries for one or more files from a
directory. If
an entry was the last link to the file, the file is
destroyed. If
the -e option is given, the name of each file removed is
printed.
Removal of a file requires write permission in its
directory, but
neither read nor write permission on the file itself.
If a file has no write
permission and the standard input is a
terminal, its name is printed and a line is read from the
standard
input. If that line begins with ‘y’ the file is
deleted, otherwise
the file remains. No questions are asked and no errors are
reported when the -f (force) option is given.
If a designated file is a
directory, an error comment is printed
unless the optional argument -r has been used. In that case,
rm
recursively deletes the entire contents of the specified
directory,
and the directory itself.
If the -i (interactive) option
is in effect, rm asks whether to
delete each file, and, under -r, whether to examine each
directory.
The null option - indicates that
all the arguments following it are
to be treated as file names. This allows the specification
of file
names starting with a minus.
Rmdir(1) removes entries for the
named directories, which must be
empty.
ENVIRONMENT
RMEXTS is used to specify a list of protected file
extensions.
When rm encounters a file whose name ends in one of these
extensions it interrogates the user for confirmation to
remove the
file.
SEE ALSO
unlink(2), rmdir(2)