English Idiom in Unix: Directory Recursively

[Xah Lee]

Xah wrote:
〈English Idiom in Unix: Directory Recursively〉
http://xahlee.org/comp/idiom_directory_recursively.html

Mike Barnes <mikebar... at bluebottle.com> wrote:
> Xah Lee <xah... at gmail.com>:
>
> >For example, when you want to delete the whole dir in emacs, it
> >prompts this message: “Recursive delete of xx? (y or n) ”.
>
> AFAICS what emacs calls "recursive delete" is what the ordinary person
> would simply call "delete". Presumably the non-recursive delete is
> called simply "delete" but is actually something more complicated than
> delete, and you're supposed to know what that is.
>
> Also (I'm speculating) a recursive delete means carrying out the
> (ordinary, non-recursive) delete process on sub-directories,
> recursively. The result of which is, put simply, to delete the
> directory.
>
> I find all this somewhat arcane. Questioning the precise suitability of
> the word "recursive" seems like a quibble.

that's good point. I think what happens is that the “recursive” has
become a idiom associated with directory to such a degree that the
unix people don't know what the fuck they are talking about. They just
simply use the word to go with directory whever they mean the whole
directory.

In the emacs case: “Recursive delete of xx? (y or n) ”, what could it
possibly mean by the word “recursive” there? Like, it might delete the
directory but not delete all files in it?

also, in the rsync case: “This would recursively transfer all files
from the directory … ”, what does the word “recursively” mean there?

 Xah