rm(1)                                                       rm(1)



NAME
     rm, rmdir - remove files or directories

SYNOPSIS
     rm [-f] [-i] [-r] file...

     rmdir dir...

ARGUMENTS
     dir  Specifies the directory to be removed.

     -f   Forces the execution of the command, no questions
          asked.  This option can be used when the standard input
          is not a terminal.  Also, this option prevents error
          messages from being printed.

     file Specifies the file to be removed.

     -i   Asks (interactively) whether to delete each file, and,
          under -r, whether to examine each directory.

     -r   Causes an error comment to be printed unless this
          option is given, if the designated file is a directory.
          In that case, rm recursively deletes the entire
          contents of the specified directory, and the directory
          itself.

DESCRIPTION
     rm removes the entries for one or more files from a
     directory.  If an entry was the last link to the file, the
     file is destroyed.  Removal of a file requires write
     permission in its directory, but neither read nor write
     permission on the file itself.

     If a file has no write permission and the standard input is
     a terminal, its permissions are printed and a line is read
     from the standard input.  If that line begins with y, the
     file is deleted, otherwise the file remains.

     rmdir removes entries for the named directories, which must
     be empty.

EXAMPLES
     The command:

        rm -rf dirname

     will remove the entire contents of the named directory and
     all subdirectories, and finally the directory itself, with
     no questions asked.





January 1992                                                    1

rm(1)                                                       rm(1)



STATUS MESSAGES AND VALUES
     Generally self-explanatory.  It is forbidden to remove the
     file .. merely to avoid the antisocial consequences of
     inadvertently doing something like:

        rm -r .*


FILES
     /bin/rm
          Executable file
     /bin/rmdir
          Executable file

SEE ALSO
     mkdir(1)

     unlink(2) in A/UX Programmer's Reference





































2                                                    January 1992