What is the difference between linux commands rmdir and rm

The difference between the Linux commands rmdir and rm is: 1. The "rmdir" command is used to delete empty directories, while the "rm" command is used to delete files and directories; 2. "rmdir" only needs to delete the directory itself. logging, does not require processing the files in the directory, whereas "rm" requires using the recursive option to delete the directory and all of its contents, including the files and subdirectories within it.

The operating system of this tutorial: Linux5.18.14 system, Dell G3 computer.

In Linux, rmdir and rm are commands used to delete directories (folders), but there are some differences between them.

• rmdir: The rmdir command is used to delete empty directories. If the directory is not empty, rmdir fails to delete the directory and displays an error message. Therefore, rmdir is mainly used to delete empty directories that do not contain any files or subdirectories.

• rm: The rm command is used to delete files and directories, it is more powerful and flexible. rm can delete single files, multiple files, and non-empty directories. When using rm to delete a directory, the recursive option "-r" (or "-R") must be used, in order to delete the directory and all its contents.

The main differences are as follows:

• rmdir can only delete empty directories, while rm can delete files and non-empty directories. .

• rmdir is usually faster to delete a directory than rm because it only needs to delete the records in the directory itself without processing the files in the directory. rm can use the recursive option (-r or -R) to delete a directory and all of its contents, including files and subdirectories within it.

Be careful when using these two commands, especially when deleting directories. Since the rm command has no verification step, accidental deletion may result in unrecoverable data loss. To avoid accidentally deleting important files, make sure to double-check the command parameters when using the rm command, and preferably make a backup before executing.

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