Solved Are command arguments inherent?

rm -R the R means recursive. Is -R always recursive in other commands? Is there any solidarity with meaning of arguments or can they be whatever?
 
Is -R always recursive in other commands?
No, it's not. For scp(1) for example it's -r.

Is there any solidarity with meaning of arguments or can they be whatever?
It's a hit and miss really. They do try sometimes but it just doesn't always line up. What's really annoying at times is similar commands using different options to do the exact same thing.
 
No, it's not. For scp(1) for example it's -r.


It's a hit and miss really. They do try sometimes but it just doesn't always line up. What's really annoying at times is similar commands using different options to do the exact same thing.

Or the same options in different places. It took me forever to get used to $ scp -p 22222 hostname:/home/file ~/download vs $ ssh username@hostname -P 22222
 
Don't worry too much about it. Even after 15 years I still confuse options. So I look them up when I'm in doubt. That's the primary reason for me to read a man(1) page (what combination of letters do I need to use now?)
 
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