find generates spurious error message

[Paul Almquist]

Here is a script that says is all:
#-------------------------   cut here   -----------------------------------
#!/bin/bash
#   Complaint:  find generating spurious error message when removings
#               empty directory.
#
#               This problem is reproducible as illustrated below.
#
#               This error message misleads the user into thinking
#               that something did not work correctly so debugging
#               was done only to discover that the messages is false.
#               Now that I have resolved this issue I vaguely remember
#               going thru this some time ago.  No doubt others have
#                as well.  Please fix so none else has to repeat this.
#
#  Using:
#       find  --version  reports:
#               GNU find version 4.1.7
#
#       rmdir --version  reports:
#               rmdir (fileutils) 4.1
#               Written by David MacKenzie.
#
#  Running on RedHat Linux 7.3
#       kernel:  2.4.18-3

clear
mkdir -p /tmp/dir/subdir1/subdir2

echo "Before - test case as reported by 'tree'"
tree /tmp/dir


echo "Note that  /tmp/dir/subdir1/subdir2  exists"
echo
echo "directories as find reports them"
find /tmp/dir  -type d


echo
echo "now removing empty directory"
find /tmp/dir  -type d  -exec rmdir --ignore-fail-on-non-empty {} \;


echo
echo "note above error message regarding 'subdir2' but the directory was found 
and removed"
echo

echo "After - test case as reported by 'tree'"
echo "Note that  /tmp/dir/subdir1/subdir2  no longer exists"
tree /tmp/dir
echo
echo "directories as find reports them"
find /tmp/dir  -type d


# -- cleanup

rmdir /tmp/dir/subdir1 /tmp/dir
echo


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paul
-- 
Paul F. Almquist
CIS/CNS Instructor
Unix/Linux specialist
Chippewa Valley Technical College
address@hidden