The directory /srv/old still contains files and subdirectories. Which command removes it together with everything inside it?
LPIC-1 Exam 101-500, objective 103. GNU and Unix commands easy
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The options
Not correct rmdir -p /srv/old
Wrong. -p makes rmdir also remove the parent directories after the target, but every one of them still has to be empty first.
Not correct rmdir /srv/old
Wrong. rmdir removes only EMPTY directories; on a non-empty one it fails with 'Directory not empty'.
Not correct rm /srv/old
Wrong. Without -r, rm refuses a directory and reports 'cannot remove ...: Is a directory'.
Correct rm -r /srv/old
Correct. -r (or -R) recurses into the directory and removes its contents and then the directory itself.
Why
rmdir is deliberately limited to empty directories, which makes it the safe tool. rm -r deletes a whole tree; -f additionally suppresses prompts and missing-file errors, and -i asks before each deletion. There is no undo, so the combination rm -rf with a variable or a glob in the path deserves real care.
Where this comes from
- Cited
- LPI exam objective 103.3
- What it says
- Remove files and directories, including recursive removal.
Practise this
Reading one question is not practice. The trainer will draw a short set from objective 103 and space the ones you get wrong.
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