I don't get this. I write:

[sylow:~]$ find . -name *.sh -print

and I get the error message:

find: paths must precede expression
Usage: find [path...] [expression]

But if I write:

[sylow:~]$ find . -name *.pdf -print

it searches and finds all the pdf files, like I would have expected. Why won't this work with the shell scripts (ie, the .sh-files)?

Thanks.

Both commands worked fine for me. Is there anything peculiar about your current working directory? Try:

echo $PWD

to check what your current working directory is.

--------------------
Steve Stites

If there are files in the working directory when you execute the command, the shell will expand the *.sh argument to match the list of files. Most command don't want to see the glob patterns - the shell pre-expands such patterns and passes the pre-expanded list to the program. However, in the case of find, it evaluates the glob pattens itself, so you have to prevent the shell from doing it.

You do this either by prefixing the glob pattern special characters (* and ?) with \ backslash, or by quoting the argument. i.e. one of these
The fact that the pdf command worked for you suggest that you have no files matching *.pdf in the working directory when you executed the command.

That worked like a charm