undelete in FreeBSD?

[Louis LeBlanc]

On 07/24/05 07:16 AM, Mario Hoerich sat at the `puter and typed:
> # Aaron Siegel:
> 
> 
> [ there is no un-rm ]
> >
> > One option I have seen for creating your own restore is to create a script 
> > that will move files you want to delete to a temporary directory, a "Trash 
> > Bin". Then use your shells aliases to alias the script to the rm command. 
> 
> Don't *ever* create aliases for rm(1).  rm's sole purpose in
> life is to destroy files.  If you tame it, you'll eventually
> adapt and rm with less caution.  There are lots of people who
> eventually got bitten by that when working on a machine other
> than their own.  
> 
> A better way is to use a name like "[tT]rash" or "tt" (=[move]
> to trash).  That way, when working on a machine without your
> script, you'll get a nice and friendly "command not found"
> reminding you there's no safety catch.
> 
> I'm personally none too fond of this, though.  Unixoid systems
> have quite a lot of ways to destroy files.  Trashes won't really
> protect you from that.  Instead, they just give you a false
> feeling of security, which merely encourages sloppiness.  
> 
> My own solution is actually quite simple:
> I treat dangerous commands the same way I'd carry a deadly and
> pretty annoyed snake: with my thoughts on the task at hand.
> I read the command *before* I hit enter.  Not the one I 
> *think* I've written, but the one I'm about to execute.
> I also tend to tab-expand globs to see which files are
> actually affected.
> 
> YMMV, though.

I have to second this - every bit of it.  Deleting files is not an
area you want to get sloppy in.  I've been bitten even knowing rm
would get rid of these files for good.  I once fatfingered a space
between a '*' and '.txt' and lost a weeks worth of code work in one
fell swoop.  Trust me, it's a mistake you make once and kick yourself
for indefinitely.

Trust me, I tend to use rm very carefully now, re-reading the command
each time I use it.

And no, I don't believe I'm making the case for a "trash" function.  I
think that would increase the chances of sloppiness.  After the
incident mentioned above, I considered the trash function, and eventually
came to the same conclusions Mario mentioned above.

Lou
-- 
Louis LeBlanc                          FreeBSD-at-keyslapper-DOT-net
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