View Issue Details
| ID | Project | Category | View Status | Date Submitted | Last Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0000542 | 1003.1(2008)/Issue 7 | Shell and Utilities | public | 2012-02-16 15:24 | 2019-06-10 08:55 |
| Reporter | eblake | Assigned To | ajosey | ||
| Priority | normal | Severity | Objection | Type | Omission |
| Status | Closed | Resolution | Accepted | ||
| Name | Eric Blake | ||||
| Organization | Red Hat | ||||
| User Reference | ebb.rm | ||||
| Section | rm | ||||
| Page Number | 3135 | ||||
| Line Number | 104163 | ||||
| Interp Status | Approved | ||||
| Final Accepted Text | See 0000542:0002414. | ||||
| Summary | 0000542: rm -f with no file operands | ||||
| Description | On all the implementations that I tried (Solaris, GNU/Linux, HP-UX, AIX, FreeBSD, Irix, Tru64), the command 'rm -f' exits with 0 status and no message. This is intentional behavior, allowing scripts to do things like 'rm -f $filelist' without having to first check whether $filelist contains any words. The standard states (line 104209) that when -f is in effect, no diagnostic messages or exit status changes occur for nonexistent operands, but it could be argued that this text is ambiguous (does it mean the case where no operands were supplied, or only the case where an operand was supplied but names a file that does not exist?); and the synopsis claims that at least one file argument is required for a standard-compliant usage. Since everyone already supports the case of 'rm -f' with no operands, we should allow that in the standard. | ||||
| Desired Action | At line 104163 [XCU rm SYNOPSIS], change: rm [−fiRr] file... to: rm [−iRr] file... rm -f [−iRr] [file...] At line 104209 [OPTIONS], change: Do not write diagnostic messages or modify the exit status in the case of nonexistent operands. to: Do not write diagnostic messages or modify the exit status in the case of no file operands, or in the case of operands that do not exist. | ||||
| Tags | tc2-2008 | ||||
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The standard was silent on the behavior when no operands are present, but all known implementations already behave as described. |
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NetBSD 4 prints a usage message and exits non-0 when you run 'rm -f' without any file operands. |
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Interpretation response ------------------------ The standard does not speak to this issue, and as such no conformance distinction can be made between alternative implementations based on this. This is being referred to the sponsor. Rationale: ------------- The standard did not specify the behavior of the rm utility when it is invoked with no operands. Recent implementations of the utility all provide the behavior suggested so we are adding this extension to the requirements since many applications use this feature. Notes to the Editor (not part of this interpretation): ------------------------------------------------------- Make the changes suggested in the Desired Action. |
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Interpretation proposed: 15 Oct 2014 |
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Interpretation approved 27 November 2014 |
| Date Modified | Username | Field | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-02-16 15:24 | eblake | New Issue | |
| 2012-02-16 15:24 | eblake | Status | New => Under Review |
| 2012-02-16 15:24 | eblake | Assigned To | => ajosey |
| 2012-02-16 15:24 | eblake | Name | => Eric Blake |
| 2012-02-16 15:24 | eblake | Organization | => Red Hat |
| 2012-02-16 15:24 | eblake | User Reference | => ebb.rm |
| 2012-02-16 15:24 | eblake | Section | => rm |
| 2012-02-16 15:24 | eblake | Page Number | => 3135 |
| 2012-02-16 15:24 | eblake | Line Number | => 104163 |
| 2012-02-16 15:24 | eblake | Interp Status | => --- |
| 2012-02-16 17:09 | Don Cragun | Note Added: 0001132 | |
| 2012-02-16 17:09 | Don Cragun | Status | Under Review => Resolved |
| 2012-02-16 17:09 | Don Cragun | Resolution | Open => Accepted |
| 2012-02-16 17:09 | Don Cragun | Tag Attached: tc2-2008 | |
| 2014-10-06 19:59 | rhansen | Note Added: 0002407 | |
| 2014-10-09 15:16 | Don Cragun | Interp Status | --- => Pending |
| 2014-10-09 15:16 | Don Cragun | Note Added: 0002414 | |
| 2014-10-09 15:16 | Don Cragun | Status | Resolved => Interpretation Required |
| 2014-10-09 15:16 | Don Cragun | Final Accepted Text | => See 0000542:0002414. |
| 2014-10-15 11:21 | ajosey | Interp Status | Pending => Proposed |
| 2014-10-15 11:21 | ajosey | Note Added: 0002422 | |
| 2014-11-27 10:31 | ajosey | Interp Status | Proposed => Approved |
| 2014-11-27 10:31 | ajosey | Note Added: 0002448 | |
| 2019-06-10 08:55 | agadmin | Status | Interpretation Required => Closed |
