From: Mark Wooding <mdw@distorted.org.uk>
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 14:30:36 GMT
Subject: Re: OT: data destruction classics (was: Re: Error converting from 1.4.4.1 to 1.5.0?)
Message-ID: <slrnet8rkc.sbe.mdw@metalzone.distorted.org.uk>
In-Reply-To: <200702150914.01361.andyparkins@gmail.com>

Andy Parkins <andyparkins@gmail.com> wrote:

> 4) rm -rf .*

I'm nowhere near that impressive, unfortunately.

Once upon a time, I was trying to build some package (I forget which)
from its source distribution.  It was an GNU-y Autoconf kind of thing.
I didn't want to install it globally at that point, just in my home
directory.  So I said

  $ ./configure --prefix=~
  $ make
  $ make install

So far, so good.  Now try to run the thing.

  $ foo
  bash: foo: command not found

Oh.  Where's it gone?

  $ ls

That's annoying.  Bad shell.  It's failed to expand `~', and just put
everything in a directory called `~' in my build tree.  Bugger.  I don't
want it there.

  $ rm -rf ~

I wonder why it's taking so lo... ^C^C^C^C

-- [mdw]