weird find behaviour

[Jacob Burckhardt]

If I have a directory which matches the expression *.html, then I can
reproduce the message you got.  If I add single quotes around the
expression, then it seems to work.  Add the quotes like this:

find /root/lib/docs/hwdocs -name '*.html'

Without the quotes the shell expands the *.html expression and if it
expands into a directory, then find gives the error message.  You
probably want find to look for expressions of the form *.html.  If so,
then you have to pass that expression to find without the shell
changing the expression.  The single quotes prevent the shell from
changing (expanding) the expression.

Samium Gromoff writes:
> address@hidden:~/lib/docs/hwdocs]# find --version
> GNU find version 4.1.7
> address@hidden:~/lib/docs/hwdocs]# find /root/lib/docs/hwdocs -name *.html
> find: paths must precede expression
> Usage: find [path...] [expression]
> address@hidden:~/lib/docs/hwdocs]#                         
> this happens not for each dir.
> 
> p.s. 4.1.5 also is doomed to have such bug.
> actually i had dloaded 4.1.7 in hope that`s already
>  is fixed, but...
> 
> ----
> 
> 
> cheers,
> 
> 
>    Samium Gromoff
> 
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