Hi All,

I have a script written that creates a new directory within the shell program and if a parameter isn't passed in, it creates a strange directory name by mistake. So I have a directory like "-_12" and I am unable to remove it. I tried removing it using double quote and many others. I have been faced with this before but unsure how it was done correctly to remove it.
$ rmdir -f -_12
rmdir: illegal option -- _
rmdir: illegal option -- 1
rmdir: illegal option -- 2
Usage: rmdir [-fip] dirname ...

or trying to cd into this directory...
$ cd -_12
ksh: cd: bad option(s)

try

I did try that...
$ rmdir -f \-_12
rmdir: illegal option -- _
rmdir: illegal option -- 1
rmdir: illegal option -- 2
Usage: rmdir [-fip] dirname ...

I even thought of this one as well....
$ rmdir -f \-\_12
rmdir: illegal option -- _
rmdir: illegal option -- 1
rmdir: illegal option -- 2
Usage: rmdir [-fip] dirname ...

Thanks for trying...

you can always use
rm -f *12
or
cd *12

Did those as well and didn't work either. If I recalled in the past, I had to masked the first character so as not to be interpreted by the shell.

did you try?
rmdir -f '-_12'
or
rmdir -f "-_12"

Hate to break it to you buddy:

rmdir ./-_12