The
rm command can be quite dangerous, with just a simple slip of the finger (please do
not try this at home!):
$ rm -rf php5 *
$ wtf i meant rm -rf php5*
-bash: wtf: command not found
What's just happened there is that the space before the
* will result in the permanent removal of everything at and below the currently active directory, including all sub-directories. Ouch. So make use of
!$ instead. This feature takes the argument to the last command and applies it to the current command. For instance:
$ ls php5*
// expected
// list of
// files here
$ rm -rf !$
rm php5*
Now if you make a mistake in the
ls command, you'll see the unexpected output before you run the
rm command:
$ ls php5 *
// unexpectedly huge
// list of many
// many files here
It will list everything, and you'll notice your mistake before it's too late.