LFCS · Question #789
Bob accidentally created the subdirectory \bobsdir in his home directory. He tried to remove the subdirectory with the command rmdir \bobsfile only to receive the error: "No such file or directory."…
The correct answer is E. rmdir ~bob/\\bobsdir. To remove a directory named \bobsdir containing a literal backslash, the backslash must be escaped using another backslash in the rmdir command.
Question
Options
- Armdir '~bob/\bobsdir'
- Brmdir "~bob/\bobsdir"
- Crmdir ~bob/'bobsdir'
- Drmdir ~bob/\bobsdir
- Ermdir ~bob/\bobsdir
How the community answered
(21 responses)- A10% (2)
- B5% (1)
- D5% (1)
- E81% (17)
Why each option
To remove a directory named `\bobsdir` containing a literal backslash, the backslash must be escaped using another backslash in the `rmdir` command.
`rmdir '~bob/\bobsdir'` would prevent `~bob` from expanding to the home directory and might not correctly interpret the literal backslash within the path, depending on the exact shell behavior.
`rmdir "~bob/\bobsdir"` would expand `~bob`, but the single backslash `\` within double quotes would still be interpreted as an escape character, likely not preserving the literal backslash in the directory name.
`rmdir ~bob/'bobsdir'` would attempt to remove a directory literally named `bobsdir` (without the leading backslash), which is not the directory Bob created.
`rmdir ~bob/\bobsdir` would interpret `\b` as an escape sequence for a backspace character or simply strip the backslash, searching for `obsdir` in Bob's home directory.
The `\` sequence in the shell represents a literal backslash. Therefore, `rmdir ~bob/\bobsdir` correctly targets the directory named `\bobsdir` within Bob's home directory.
Concept tested: Shell escaping special characters in paths
Source: https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man1/bash.1.html
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