find: Scope

1 
1 1.1 Scope
1 =========
1 
1 For brevity, the word "file" in this manual means a regular file, a
1 directory, a symbolic link, or any other kind of node that has a
1 directory entry.  A directory entry is also called a "file name".  A
1 file name may contain some, all, or none of the directories in a path
1 that leads to the file.  These are all examples of what this manual
1 calls "file names":
1 
1      parser.c
1      README
1      ./budget/may-94.sc
1      fred/.cshrc
1      /usr/local/include/termcap.h
1 
1    A "directory tree" is a directory and the files it contains, all of
1 its subdirectories and the files they contain, etc.  It can also be a
1 single non-directory file.
1 
1    These programs enable you to find the files in one or more directory
1 trees that:
1 
1    * have names that contain certain text or match a certain pattern;
1    * are links to certain files;
1    * were last used during a certain period of time;
1    * are within a certain size range;
1    * are of a certain type (regular file, directory, symbolic link,
1      etc.);
1    * are owned by a certain user or group;
1    * have certain access permissions or special mode bits;
1    * contain text that matches a certain pattern;
1    * are within a certain depth in the directory tree;
1    * or some combination of the above.
1 
1    Once you have found the files you're looking for (or files that are
1 potentially the ones you're looking for), you can do more to them than
1 simply list their names.  You can get any combination of the files'
1 attributes, or process the files in many ways, either individually or in
1 groups of various sizes.  Actions that you might want to perform on the
1 files you have found include, but are not limited to:
1 
1    * view or edit
1    * store in an archive
1    * remove or rename
1    * change access permissions
1    * classify into groups
1 
1    This manual describes how to perform each of those tasks, and more.
1