Why does rm -rf even exist?

[NintendoTogepi]

Why would anyone want to use it?

[sisco311]

to remove files?

[jacksaff]

err, because rm alone doesn't recursively remove files (-r) and if you already know what your deleting you don't want to have rm keep prompting you to confirm (-f)...

[seppl82]

Nice phil. Question.

Why does format c: on windows still exist

[gnomeuser]

So competent people can quickly manage their files from the command line.

[Vishal Agarwal]

Nice phil. Question.

Why does format c: on windows still exist

To remove the virus from the drive at once

[Eisenwinter]

It exists because... it's useful? heh.

[billgoldberg]

Linux with the rm command would be like driving a car without brakes.

rm -fr can be dangerous if you don't know what the heck you're doing.

If you do know what you are doing, it a powerful tool.

[saulgoode]

Because it's easier to type than 'find -exec rm {} \;' (Note: only try this if you are Steve Jobs or you happen to be using his computer).

[Giant Speck]

I remember back when I was using Gutsy and Hardy, every now and then I'd try to empty the trash and it'd delete all but one or two files. When I tried to delete those leftover files, it would give me permission errors.

So I'd just restore them to the desktop, fire up the terminal and use the rm -rf command (with sudo, of course) and delete the files.

It hasn't happened to me at all in Intrepid, so I'm thinking it was a bug in Gutsy and Hardy that was initially causing the problem.