Path: csiph.com!x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net!usenet.pasdenom.info!aioe.org!newsfeed1.swip.net!uio.no!nntp.uib.no!svn.schaathun.net!not-for-mail From: Hans Georg Schaathun Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp,comp.lang.python,alt.usage.english Subject: Re: English Idiom in Unix: Directory Recursively Followup-To: comp.lang.python Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 21:19:22 +0100 Organization: University of Bergen Lines: 42 Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: vannskorpion.bccs.uib.no Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: toralf.uib.no 1305749181 20527 129.177.20.20 (18 May 2011 20:06:21 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@uib.no NNTP-Posting-Date: 18 May 2011 20:06:21 GMT User-Agent: slrn/pre1.0.0-18 (Linux) Xref: x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net comp.lang.lisp:3527 comp.lang.python:5737 ["Followup-To:" header set to comp.lang.python.] On Wed, 18 May 2011 13:00:01 -0700 (PDT), Xah Lee wrote: : Mike Barnes wrote: : > I find all this somewhat arcane. Questioning the precise suitability of : > the word "recursive" seems like a quibble. : : that's good point. I think what happens is that the “recursive” has : become a idiom associated with directory to such a degree that the : unix people don't know what the fuck they are talking about. They just : simply use the word to go with directory whever they mean the whole : directory. I totally agree that the motivation for the use of the word is arcane. We are many who understand and /need/ to understand arcane aspects of the system. However, the word «recursive» is not automatically associated with discussion of directories. Listing a directory, and listing a directory recursively, are two different operations. Both are useful and important, and the distinction is necessary. : In the emacs case: “Recursive delete of xx? (y or n) ”, what could it : possibly mean by the word “recursive” there? Like, it might delete the : directory but not delete all files in it? Yes you /might/ do exactly that. You just probably don't want to. I agree that the question could be rephrased in a more userfriendly manner, but OTOH, if you find the usage arcane, you probably don't have any benefit from using emacs over less arcane editors either. : also, in the rsync case: “This would recursively transfer all files : from the directory … ”, what does the word “recursively” mean there? Exactly the same as it does in «listing the directory recursively» or «deleting the directory recursively». Again the distinction could be useful. A non-recursive «rsync dir1 dir2» probably isn't useful, but «rsync * dir2» might be. -- :-- Hans Georg