Difference between revisions 507953 and 507954 on knwiki

{{other uses}}
{{lowercase|title=find}} 
In [[Unix-like]] and some other [[operating system]]s, <code>'''find'''</code> is a [[command-line utility]] that [[Search engine (computing)|searches]] through one or more [[directory tree]]s of a [[file system]], locates [[Computer file|file]]s based on some [[user (computing)|user]]-specified criteria and applies a user-specified action on each matched file. The possible search criteria include a [[pattern matching|pattern]] to match against the [[file name]] or a time range to match against the modification time or access time of the file. By default, <code>find</code> returns a list of all files below the current [[working directory]].

The related <code>'''[[GNU locate|locate]]'''</code> programs use a database of indexed files obtained through <code>find</code> (updated at regular intervals, typically by <code>'''[[cron]]'''</code> job) to provide a faster method of searching the entire filesystem for files by name.  This sacrifices overall efficiency (because filesystems are regularly interrogated even when no user needs information) and absolute accuracy (since the database is not updated in real time) for significant speed improvements (particularly on very large filesystems).  On fast systems with small drives, <code>locate</code> is noteither necessary nor desirable.

== Find syntax ==
{{expand section|date=August 2008}}

<code>'''find [-H] [-L] [-P] path... [expression]'''</code>

(contracted; show full)[[hu:Find]]
[[ja:Find]]
[[pl:Find]]
[[pt:Find]]
[[ro:Find]]
[[ru:Find]]
[[fi:Find (Unix)]]
[[uk:Find]]