What does linux rm mean?

In Linux, the full name of rm is "remove", which means "delete". It is used to delete a file or directory. The syntax is "rm [option] file or directory"; this command can permanently delete files. The specified file or directory in the system, and the system will not generate any prompt message when deleting it; if the file is not backed up, it will not be restored.

#The operating environment of this tutorial: CentOS 6 system, Dell G3 computer.

Linux rm, full English spelling: remove.

#Linux rm command is used to delete a file or directory.

rm is a powerful deletion command that can permanently delete specified files or directories in the file system. When using the rm command to delete a file or directory, the system will not generate any prompt message. The basic format of this command is:

rm [选项] 文件或目录

Options:

• -f: force deletion (force), the opposite of the -i option, use - f, the system will no longer ask, but directly delete the target file or directory.

• -i: Just the opposite of -f. Before deleting a file or directory, the system will give a prompt message. Using -i can effectively prevent accidental deletion. Useful files or directories.

• -r: Recursive deletion, mainly used to delete directories. It can delete the specified directory and all the content it contains, including all subdirectories and files.

Note that the rm command is a destructive command because the rm command will permanently delete the file or directory. This means that if the file or directory is not deleted, After making a backup, once you delete it using the rm command, it cannot be restored. Therefore, be careful when using the rm command to delete a directory.

How to use the rm command:

1. Omit the options

If no options are added to the rm command, then The default execution is "rm -i file name", which means that before deleting a file, it will ask whether to delete it. For example:

[root@localhost ~]# touch cangls
[root@localhost ~]# rm cangls
rm:是否删除普通空文件"cangls"?y
#删除前会询问是否删除

2. Delete the directory

If you need to delete the directory, you need to use the "-r" option. For example:

[root@localhost ~]# mkdir -p /test/lm/movie/jp
#递归建立测试目录
[root@localhost ~]# rm /test
rm:无法删除"/test/": 是一个目录
#如果不加"-r"选项，则会报错
[root@localhost ~]# rm -r /test
rm:是否进入目录"/test"?y
rm:是否进入目录"/test/lm/movie"?y
rm:是否删除目录"/test/lm/movie/jp"?y
rm:是否删除目录"/test/lm/movie"?y
rm:是否删除目录"/test/lm"?y
rm:是否删除目录"/test"?y
#会分别询问是否进入子目录、是否删除子目录

You will find that if each level of directory and each file needs to be confirmed, it will be a disaster in actual use!

3. Forced deletion.

If there are 10,000 subdirectories or subfiles in the directory to be deleted, then ordinary rm deletion requires at least 10,000 confirmations. Therefore, when actually deleting files, we will choose to force delete. For example:

[root@localhost ~]# mkdir -p /test/lm/movie/jp
#重新建立测试目录
[root@localhost ~]# rm -rf /test
#强制删除，一了百了

After adding the force function, deletion will become very simple, but it should be noted that data cannot be recovered after force deletion, unless relying on third-party data recovery tools, such as extundelete, etc. But please note that data recovery is difficult to restore complete data. Generally, it is very rare to recover 70%~80%. Therefore, instead of betting on data recovery, it is better to develop good operating habits.

Although the "-rf" option is used to delete directories, no error will be reported when deleting files. Therefore, for ease of use, generally the "-rf" option will be used directly whether deleting files or directories.

Related recommendations: "Linux Video Tutorial"

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