Argument list too long

[Aaron Konstam]

On Wed, 2007-08-01 at 13:56 -0600, Ashley M. Kirchner wrote:
> 
>     Question: at what point would commands such as 'ls', 'cp' and
> others 
> consider the argument list too long?  The reason I'm asking is
> because 
> I'm getting random results here.  One time 'ls' would tell it the 
> argument list is too long when the file count in the folder reached 
> around 2,000 files.  Another, like this morning, it let me go all the 
> way to 2,600+ before complaining.  And just now it reached 1,900
> files 
> and already 'ls' is complaining.  That seems random to me.  Is there
> a 
> set number that causes all of these commands to fail with 'Argument
> list 
> too long' or what convoluted algorithm is used to figure it out? 
I think it is the number od characters in the command not the number of
files. But I can't come up with the magic number of characters.
--
=======================================================================
The knowledge that makes us cherish innocence makes innocence
unattainable. -- Irving Howe
=======================================================================
Aaron Konstam telephone: (210) 656-0355 e-mail: akonstam at sbcglobal.net