1. How would you create a file named "--help"? I actually created a the file by doing something like touch test >>--help. But I think there is a "proper" way to create it?
Commands that interpret --help as an option should (but might not) support -- to indicate "end of options" and all arguments following are to be interpreted as "non-option". Which means if the command takes a list of files as arguments you can force it to recognize arguments beginning with - as files by preceeding them with --. For example, the following hypothetical command line:
$ somecommand --someoption --another -- --justafile --notanoption --help
should treat --someoption and --another as options, but --justafile --notanoption and --help should be treated as files (or whatever somecommand wants to use those arguments for).
If touch tries to interpret --help as an option, then "touch -- --help" should treat --help as a filename.
2. How would you remove a file named "--help"?
Likewise, "rm -- --help" should remove filename --help
You could also use a partial or absolute path to the file, e.g.:
$ touch ./--help
or
$ touch $PWD/--helpIf in doubt, sticking "./" in front of a filename in the current directory can simplify ornery cases like this.
Bonus problems: How to create and delete file names with spaces or control characters? How about slashes (not as a directory delimiter) in the filename?
--
Jeff Woods <kazrak+kernel@xxxxxxxxxxx>
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