NAME
mkdirhier - create a directory hierarchy
SYNOPSIS
mkdirhier
directory
...
DESCRIPTION
mkdirhier
creates the specified directories.
Unlike some versions of
R mkdir ,
if any of the parent directories of the specified directory do not exist,
mkdirhier
creates them as well.
mkdirhier
is a wrapper for
R mkdir ;
systems with
R mkdir (__osmansuffix__)
implementations conformant with the Single Unix Specification may simply
use
mkdir -p
instead this includes all systems using the GNU Core Utilities'
version of
R mkdir .
DIAGNOSTICS
If
mkdirhier
is not supplied with any arguments, a usage message is printed.
mkdirhier
prefixes its diagnostic messages with the name under which it was invoked,
followed by a colon (:) so that its messages can be distinguished
from others.
could not create directory directory
indicates that there was a failure while creating
R directory .
This message will likely be preceded by a diagnostic message from
R mkdir .
EXIT STATUS
64
mkdirhier
was not given any directory names to create.
mkdirhier
otherwise exits with the exit status of the last
mkdir
command that failed.
BUGS
mkdirhier
does not create all the requested directories as an atomic operation;
therefore, it is is susceptible to race conditions.
For example, if
mkdirhier
is directed to create a hierarchy
a/b/c/d
and any of
R a/ ,
R b/ ,
or
c/
do not yet exist, any of the newly-created directories can be removed
and/or replaced by a symbolic link to another location in the window of
time after
mkdirhier
creates a directory and the directory immediately below it.
This means that failures can be provoked (since
mkdir
will fail to create a directory in a directory that does not already
exist),
or directories may be created in unexpected locations.
The same limitation holds for multiple directory arguments to
R mkdirhier ;
given two arguments
a/b/c/d
and
R a/b/c/f ,
it is possible for the directory hierarchy
a/b/c
to be disrupted in the time between the processing of the two arguments.
To avoid these problems, use
mkdir -p
instead, or do not use
mkdirhier
to create directories in parts of the filesystem where untrusted users can
manipulate them.
SEE ALSO
R mkdir (__osmansuffix__)
