How to delete files under several sub-dirs in one command

thomas2004ch · 09-12-2011, 02:19 AM

Hi all,

Assumed I have logs as follow:

dir1/log/1.log
dir1/log/2.log
dir1/log/3.log

dir2/log/1.log
dir2/log/2.log
dir2/log/3.log

Now I do want go into each subdir to delete the logs but want to delete all the log files with a command

Possible?

Thomas

corp769 · 09-12-2011, 02:28 AM

Hello,

Something like the following?

Code:

rm *.log

Also, this following link should definitely help you in the long run.... http://code.google.com/edu/tools101/linux/basics.html

Cheers,

Josh

thomas2004ch · 09-12-2011, 02:45 AM

Your answer is wrong. I find out the correct one:

Code:

find -name "*.log" -type f -delete

corp769 · 09-12-2011, 02:56 AM

Technically, it is correct. Your way is correct too. You could always go under the parent directory where the logs are stored, and issue the following command:

Code:

rm -r *.log

Of course, that would need to be modified. I'm not in linux right now, so I don't know the full arguments to make that work off the top of my head.

David the H. · 09-12-2011, 10:52 AM

Bash v4.0+ has a new globstar shell option. When it's enabled you can use ** to match all subdirectories.

Code:

shopt -s globstar
rm **/*.log

corp769 · 09-13-2011, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David the H.

Bash v4.0+ has a new globstar shell option. When it's enabled you can use ** to match all subdirectories.

Code:

shopt -s globstar
rm **/*.log

Ooooo, thanks for that. Adding to my list of tricks....

David the H. · 09-13-2011, 11:52 AM

Useful, isn't it?

I'd think I should clarify how it works a little, based on my understanding, as the behavior can be a bit confusing at first:

Code:

echo **			#expands to all files and directories, recursively.

echo **.txt		#identical to *.txt; does not recurse
			#when combined with other glob patterns.

echo **/		#expands to sub-directories only, recursively.

echo **/*.txt		#lists all .txt files in all directories recursively.
			#IOW, appended regular globs are applied to the top
			#level and all sub-directories.

echo **/*		#identical to **

Skaperen · 09-13-2011, 12:08 PM

There's more than one way to skin a cat ... err ... log files.

It just depends on what one wants to specifically do. Deleting all the logs and the directories containing them is one option. But it might be desired to leave the directories in place. Are there other files in there that are not logs and want to be kept? Are the logs always at the same directory level? Is it desired to delete them from several directories but not from all directories? It's best to know exactly what the OQer wanted to precisely do. Any of the answers seen might well do, depending on the exact need.

The thing to do beyond this is to understand what each of the various commands actually do, and see if they fit the need. Maybe the command, or maybe the need, can be manipulated to find a simple solution. For example, I once wanted to remove every file but one the ones ending in .iso from a very large directory. The simple solution was to make a new directory, move the .iso files over to the new directory, completely remove the old directory full of junk (including the directory itself), and finally rename the temporary directory to the original name. That might not be a solution for your issue. But if you understand the commands, I think you will find that even in very complex situations, you can figure out a way to do what you want.