Using unlink to delete files

Submitted by jmarki on 16 December 2006 - 5:43am

Encountered a problem deleting a file with the name "--option=backup" (without the quotes). Don't ask me how it got there, I have no idea. It can't be deleted using rm or renamed using mv.


[user@system /]# rm '--owner=backup'
rm: unrecognized option `--owner=backup'
Try `rm --help' for more information.
[user@system /]# mv '--owner=backup' nothing
mv: unrecognized option `--owner=backup'
Try `mv --help' for more information.

Solution? Shyam Mani suggested unlink '--option=backup'. Apparently, it directly uses the Linux unlink system call to delete files, so does not encounter the same problem as rm
Update 1: Some people suggested alternatives like rm -- '--option=backup', or rm ./--option=backup. Both worked nicely.
Update 2: And yes, Konqueror can delete that file too. Why didn't I think of that? Sticking out tongue

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