The main difference between rmdir and rm commands in Linux!

In the Linux system, the rmdir and rm commands are both used to delete files and directories. They are also one of the very basic commands. Although they have the same function, they have different Differences, so what are the main differences between the rmdir and rm commands in Linux? Let’s take a look at the specific content.

In Linux, rmdir and rm are commands used to delete directories, but they have differences.

The rmdir command is used to delete an empty directory. If there are files or subdirectories in the directory, it cannot be deleted and an error message will be displayed. Therefore, rmdir is usually used to empty a directory that contains no content.

The rm command is used to delete files and directories. When deleting a directory, you need to add the -r option to delete the directory and its contents. The rm command is more powerful and flexible and can delete single or multiple files as well as non-empty directories.

The main differences are as follows:

rmdir can only delete empty directories, while rm can delete files and non-empty directories.

Normally, the rmdir operation is faster than rm because rmdir only needs to delete directory records and does not involve file processing. The rm command requires the recursive option to delete a directory and its contents, including files and subdirectories.

Be careful when using the rm and rmdir commands, especially when deleting directories. The rm command does not have a verification step, and accidental deletion may result in unrecoverable data loss. To avoid accidentally deleting important files, please check the command parameters carefully and preferably make a backup before executing.

The above is the detailed content of The main difference between rmdir and rm commands in Linux!. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!