[bug #30777] using "-exec {} +" syntax silently gobbles excess strings

[Mike Frysinger]

URL:
  <http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?30777>

                 Summary: using "-exec {} +" syntax silently gobbles excess
strings
                 Project: findutils
            Submitted by: vapier
            Submitted on: Sun 15 Aug 2010 05:11:56 AM GMT
                Category: find
                Severity: 3 - Normal
              Item Group: Wrong result
                  Status: None
                 Privacy: Public
             Assigned to: None
         Originator Name: 
        Originator Email: 
             Open/Closed: Open
         Discussion Lock: Any
                 Release: 4.5.9
           Fixed Release: None

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Details:

setup:
  mkdir foo
  cd foo
  touch a b c

then run:
  find -type f -exec echo /usr/{} \;
and get back:
  /usr/./a /usr/./b /usr/./c

now change the \; to a +:
  find -type f -exec echo /usr/{} +
and you get back the odd output:
  ./a ./b ./c

personally, i think treating it a bit more intelligently and getting the same
output as in the first `find` would be nice, but if you dont want to support
that, `find` at least should be issuing a warning/error here.

otherwise something innocent like:
  # use current file list to delete files in another dir
  find . -type f -exec rm /some/other/path/{} \;
can easily & silently turn foul when doing:
  find . -type f -exec rm /some/other/path/{} +
all the files in $PWD get deleted instead of /some/other/path/

tested with version 4.4.2, 4.5.8, and current git
(c530d90990ca81dfca254bbca18ab9e7273b4585) -- same behavior




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