[lug] Odd Problem with rm and Symbolic Links

[Chris McDermott]

Just an additional note that there's also an unlink command, which I use on
occasion when I want to be *absolutely* sure that the outcome is what I
expect (ie, there is no way to do anything other than remove a link).


On Sun, Dec 29, 2013 at 9:36 AM, <stimits at comcast.net> wrote:

> This must have been the issue. Normally such things would seem obvious,
> but I use tab completion a lot, especially when I'm tired of typing long
> names. If there had been a real bug I imagine one like this would fill bug
> reports instantly.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Davide Del Vento
> To: Boulder (Colorado) Linux Users Group -- General Mailing List
> Sent: Sun, 29 Dec 2013 14:38:23 -0000 (UTC)
> Subject: Re: [lug] Odd Problem with rm and Symbolic Links
>
> That's right. And not only for rm but for all commands. Some commands then
> ignore the difference, but there is one. Also do note that ls does not
> ignore it. Try
>
> ls  link
>
>
>
> vs
>
> ls  link/
>
> Note that the options must be the same to see the difference, since -d
> changes the behavior of ls.
>
> Cheers,
> Davide
>
>
>
>
> On Sat, Dec 28, 2013 at 8:38 PM, Orion Poplawski <orion at cora.nwra.com>wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> On 12/28/2013 06:53 PM, stimits at comcast.net wrote:
>>
>>
>>> I'm using Fedora 19, fully updated. I'd created a symbolic link with "ln
>>>
>>> -s ", but ls -ld shows this as a directory, while a
>>>
>>>
>>> simple ls -a --color=auto shows that this is indeed a symbolic link, and
>>>
>>> if I use "ls -l" from the parent the output indicates it is a soft link
>>>
>>> and where the link goes.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> rm fails. If I go to "rm " it tells me this is a directory...so
>>>
>>>
>>> apparently ls -ld and rm agree, but ls -a --color=auto and ls -l from
>>>
>>> parent DISagree with rm. If I use "rm -f ", it refuses, because it
>>>
>>> is a directory.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> If I use "rmdir ", it also refuses, because it is NOT a directory!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> My only success is to "rm -Rf" the link. Sadly, this removes all of the
>>>
>>> subdirectories the link pointed at...removing a symbolic link should not
>>>
>>> remove what it points at! What gives? Was rm or the use of symbolic link
>>>
>>> written to a different standard than I'm used to? Is there some new way
>>>
>>> in fedora to remove a symbolic link without removing what it points to?
>>>
>>> I have a backup of what it removed, but something seems drastically
>>> wrong.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Both rm and ln are provided by rpm coreutils-8.21-11.fc19.x86_64.
>>>
>>> Filesystem is a single partition with ext4. Kernel is current
>>>
>>> 3.12.5-200.fc19.x86_64.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> be aware that:
>>
>>
>>
>> rm link/
>>
>>
>>
>> and
>>
>>
>>
>> rm link
>>
>>
>>
>> are different.  Tab-completion (which adds the /) can be an issue here.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Orion Poplawski
>>
>> Technical Manager                     303-415-9701 x222
>>
>> NWRA/CoRA Division                    FAX: 303-415-9702
>>
>> 3380 Mitchell Lane                  orion at cora.nwra.com
>>
>> Boulder, CO 80301              http://www.cora.nwra.com
>>
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>>
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>>
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>>
>>
>
>
>
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