Remove directory tree without following symlinks

[Albert-Jan Roskam]

> From: steve at pearwood.info
> Subject: Re: Remove directory tree without following symlinks
> Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2016 03:14:12 +1000
> To: python-list at python.org
> 
> On Sat, 23 Apr 2016 01:09 am, Random832 wrote:
> 
> > On Fri, Apr 22, 2016, at 10:56, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
> >> What should I use for "remove_tree"? Do I have to write my own, or does a
> >> solution already exist?
> > 
> > In the os.walk documentation it provides a simple recipe and also
> > mentions shutil.rmtree
> 
> Thanks for that.

FYI, Just today I found out that shutil.rmtree raises a WindowsError if the dir is read-only (or its contents). Using 'ignore_errors', won't help. Sure, no error is raised, but the dir is not deleted either! A 'force' option would be a nice improvement.



> The os.walk recipe is described as a simple version of shutil.rmtree. The
> documentation for rmtree seems lacking to me, but after testing it, it
> appears to work as I want it: it removes symbolic links, it does not follow
> them.
>
> Is anyone else able to confirm that my understanding is correct? If so, the
> documentation should probably be a bit clearer.
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Steven
> 
> -- 
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list