rm -iR

[Jan Schaumann <jschauma%netmeister.org@localhost>]

Hello,

rm(1) currently says for the '-R' flag:

"If the -i option is specified, the user is prompted
for confirmation before each directory's contents are
processed (as well as before the attempt is made to
remove the directory)."

But it's actually a bit misleading and only prompts
for _removal_ of a directory, not for processing the
contents:

$ mkdir -p dir/subdir/subsub dir/subdir2
$ touch dir/file dir/subdir/file dir/subdir/subsub/file dir/subdir2/file
$ rm -ir dir
remove 'dir'? n
$

On macOS, rm(1) behaves like this:

$ rm -ir dir
examine files in directory dir? y
examine files in directory dir/subdir2? y
remove dir/subdir2/file? n
examine files in directory dir/subdir2/subsub? n
remove dir/subdir2? 

Linux / GNU coreutils likewise:

$ rm -ir dir
rm: descend into directory 'dir'? y
rm: descend into directory 'dir/subdir'? y
rm: remove regular empty file 'dir/subdir/file'? n
rm: descend into directory 'dir/subdir/subsub'? n
rm: remove regular empty file 'dir/file'? 

That behavior seems to match what the manual page
describes much more than what we do.  Should we match
that?

-Jan