help with a bash script

[Kurt Wall]

In a 1.9K blaze of typing glory, Joel Hammer wrote:
> xargs has always been an extra nuisance to me...
> 
> But,
> shouldn't these scripts have some provision for file names with
> blanks and other annoying characters?
> 
> So, shouldn't your script be:
> 
>      find . -type f -mtime +5 | xargs -i{} rm {}

Yup. I'm supposing that the OP has properly named files. And,
as I said, the script was (mostly) untested.

> My script has the same problem.
> 
> So:
>   dir -1 | find -atime +5 -maxdepth 1 -type f > junk
>   while read a
>   do
>   rm "$a"
>   done < junk

Just remove junk when you're done. I have no principled objection to
using a temporary file. They can make things considerably easier.
 
> On the other hand, I do not think my original script can be salvaged so
> easily:
>      rm  "$(find -atime +5 -maxdepth 1 -type f)"
> Doesn't work. It is all one long line.

Just peel the files off the list one at a time:

for file in $(find -atime +5 -maxdepth 1 -type f)
do
        rm $file
done

Kurt
-- 
... and furthermore ... I don't like your trousers.