OPS102 - File Globbing, Common Commands, Text Editors

File Globbing / Ambiguous Filenames / Filename Patterns

Linux and Windows systems both allow ambiguous filenames, which use wildcard symbols to enable filename matching. The process of converting an ambiguous filename, or filename pattern, into a list of matchine filenames is called globbing or filename expansion.

On a Linux system, globbing is performed by the shell. This means that all arguments are subject to globbing, whether they're intended to be a filename argument or not.

On a Windows system, ambiguous filenames are converted into a list of filenames by the command or application. This means that arguments that are not filenames are not subject to filename expansion. However, it also means that applications must contain additional code to perform globbing.

Wildcard Symbols

Symbol	Meaning in Linux	Meaning in Windows
*	Matches zero or more characters	Matches zero or more characters
?	Matches one character	Matches one character, unless at the end of the filename or immediately before the dot preceeding the extension or at the end of the name
[list]	Matches any one of the characters within the brackets	Not applicable

Examples

Pattern	Matches on Linux	Does not match on Linux	Matches on Windows	Does not match on Windows
a*	a aa aaa alpha argonaut	Alpha banana	a aa aaa alpha Alpha	banana
b*e	blue bite	red green blot	blue bite	red green blot
c[oa]t	cat cot	coat		cat cot coat (Not applicable)
d?e	due doe	duo Doe date	due doe Doe	duo date
a??	aaa abc	aa abcd	aaa abc aa	abcd