#### Linux From Scratch - Version r13.0-6

### Chapter 8. Installing Basic System Software

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# 8.64. Findutils-4.10.0

The Findutils package contains programs to find files. Programs are provided to search through all the files in a directory tree and to create, maintain, and search a database (often faster than the recursive find, but unreliable unless the database has been updated recently). Findutils also supplies the xargs program, which can be used to run a specified command on each file selected by a search.

Approximate build time: 0.7 SBU
Required disk space: 62 MB

## 8.64.1. Installation of Findutils

Prepare Findutils for compilation:

    ./configure --prefix=/usr --localstatedir=/var/lib/locate

The meaning of the configure options:

`--localstatedir`

  This option moves the locate database to `/var/lib/locate`, which is the FHS-compliant location.

Compile the package:

    make

To test the results, issue:

    chown -R tester .
    su tester -c "PATH=$PATH make check"

Install the package:

    make install

## 8.64.2. Contents of Findutils

Installed programs: find, locate, updatedb, and xargs
Installed directory: /var/lib/locate

### Short Descriptions

find | Searches given directory trees for files matching the specified criteria
locate | Searches through a database of file names and reports the names that contain a given string or match a given pattern
updatedb | Updates the locate database; it scans the entire file system (including other file systems that are currently mounted, unless told not to) and puts every file name it finds into the database
xargs | Can be used to apply a given command to a list of files

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