using 'find' to list "files" or "folders" named with any of three patterns

SaintDanBert · 04-14-2015, 05:39 PM

I'm trying to use find to make a list of "folders" or "files".

Code:

prompt$ sudo find / -type d -or -type f \
     {options} -print
password: **********

... output from find command ....
prompt$

Since I start my scan in the root folder, I want to avoid "devices", "special" file systems like /proc or /sys, and such. I want to see all folders (directories) or regular files.

PROBLEM: I get more items listed than expected.
Specifically, if I make a list of "-type d" folders as one collection, and then make a list of "-type f" regular files as a second collection, there are fewer total items (using 'wc -l') than using "-type d -or -type f".

Once I'm able to locate all "folders" and "files"

Code:

prompt$ sudo find / {locate folders and files} \
     -iname "pattern1" -or iname "pattern2"    \
     {options} -print
password: **********

... output from find command ....
prompt$

For example, I might want to locate any "tmp" or "temp" folders and any files "*.tmp" or "temp*" regardless of where they are.

PROBLEM: I can't get find to match on any of multiple patterns. The man-page says "expr expr" is ANDed by default.
As I understand find, "-iname "*.tmp" -or -iname "temp*" should (1)ignore case in names (2)report any with a dot-tmp file type, and (2) report any that begin with "temp". I don't get results as I describe.

Keith Hedger · 04-14-2015, 06:07 PM

try using '-o' for or instead of '-or' as '-or' is not posix complient

SaintDanBert · 04-15-2015, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith Hedger

try using '-o' for or instead of '-or' as '-or' is not posix complient

So I have the following:

Code:

prompt$  ls -l
total 128
drwxrwxr-x 2 user group  4096 May 23  2013 dopples
-rw-r--r-- 1 user group     0 Oct 21  2013 hp-doctor.err
-rw-rw-r-- 1 user group 30671 Sep 20  2013 Kids-Lacrosse-Drills.html
lrwxrwxrwx 1 user group    20 Apr 14 13:37 myAuth.log -> /home/some/auth.log
-rw-r--r-- 1 user group 27614 Jun 23  2014 Other-Card.html
-rw-r--r-- 1 user group 52529 Apr  8 16:31 today_USR.log
-rw-r--r-- 1 user group  8676 Apr  8 16:32 today_VAR.log
prompt$

I get the following

Code:

prompt$ find . -type d -o -type f  -iname '*log'
.
./dopples
./dopples/junk.log
./today_USR.log
./today_VAR.log
prompt$

However, I also get the following

Code:

prompt$ find . -type d -o -type f -o -type l  -iname '*log'
.
./myAuth.log
./dopples
./dopples/junk.log
./dopples/rem-duplicates.sh
./hp-doctor.err
./Kids-Lacrosse-Drills.html
./Other-Card.html
./today_USR.log
./today_VAR.log
prompt$

The man-page for find explains (my words) that given "expr1 -o expr2", expr2 is not evaluated if expr1 is true. Also, given "expr1 expr2", expr2 is not evaluated if expr1 is false. I expect that -iname will look at any files that meet any one of the -type tests and report files of any requested type that have the requested name pattern.

I also get the following

Code:

prompt$  find . -type d -o -type f -o -type l  -iname '*log' -print

./myAuth.log
prompt$

Again, the find man-page says that -print is the default action. However, I only get the log file that is a symlink and not the others.

What am I missing? What am I doing wrong?
~~~ 8d;-/ Dan

pan64 · 04-15-2015, 10:00 AM

I would say it is a problem with precedence. Using explicit -print will remove the implied -prints, but I think the implied -print belongs to each condition (one by one), while the written one belongs to the whole.
I mean something like this:
find . -type d -print -o -type f -print -o -type l -iname '*log' -print
Obviously this is a guess only. If you need unambiguous result use \( and \) to group and rule the order of evaluation.