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LOCATE
!!!LOCATE
NAME
SYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
OPTIONS
ENVIRONMENT
SEE ALSO
----
!!NAME


locate - list files in databases that match a pattern
!!SYNOPSIS


__locate__ [[-d path | --database=path] [[-e | --existing]
[[-i | --ignore-case ] [[--version] [[--help]
pattern...
!!DESCRIPTION


This manual page documents the GNU version of __locate__.
For each given pattern, __locate__ searches one or more
databases of file names and displays the file names that
contain the pattern. Patterns can contain shell-style
metacharacters: `*', `?', and `[[]'. The metacharacters do
not treat `/' or `.' specially. Therefore, a pattern
`foo*bar' can match a file name that contains `foo3/bar',
and a pattern `*duck*' can match a file name that contains
`lake/.ducky'. Patterns that contain metacharacters should
be quoted to protect them from expansion by the
shell.


If a pattern is a plain string -- it contains no
metacharacters -- __locate__ displays all file names in
the database that contain that string anywhere. If a pattern
does contain metacharacters, __locate__ only displays
file names that match the pattern exactly. As a result,
patterns that contain metacharacters should usually begin
with a `*', and will most often end with one as well. The
exceptions are patterns that are intended to explicitly
match the beginning or end of a file name.


The file name databases contain lists of files that were on
the system when the databases were last updated. The system
administrator can choose the file name of the default
database, the frequency with which the databases are
updated, and the directories for which they contain entries;
see __updatedb__(1L).
!!OPTIONS


''-d path, --database=path''


Instead of searching the default file name database, search
the file name databases in ''path'', which is a
colon-separated list of database file names. You can also
use the environment variable __LOCATE_PATH__ to set the
list of database files to search. The option overrides the
environment variable if both are used.


The file name database format changed starting with GNU
__find__ and __locate__ version 4.0 to allow machines
with diffent byte orderings to share the databases. This
version of __locate__ can automatically recognize and
read databases produced for older versions of GNU
__locate__ or Unix versions of __locate__ or
__find__.


''-e, --existing''


Only print out such names that currently exist (instead of
such names that existed when the database was created). Note
that this may slow down the program a lot, if there are many
matches in the database.


''-i, --ignore-case''


Ignore case distinctions in both the pattern and the file
names.


''--help''


Print a summary of the options to __locate__ and
exit.


''--version''


Print the version number of __locate__ and
exit.
!!ENVIRONMENT


__LOCATE_PATH__


Colon-separated list of databases to search.
!!SEE ALSO


__find__(1L), __locatedb__(5L), __updatedb__(1L),
__xargs__(1L) __Finding Files__ (on-line in Info, or
printed)
----

128 pages link to locate(1):

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Last edited on Monday, June 3, 2002 6:50:26 pm by "perry"

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