Merge pull request #425 from Nirzak/patch-3

Enhanced documentation for the find command

Author: bobbyiliev

ebook/en/content/102-the-find-command.md

@@ -1,70 +1,195 @@
-# The `find` command
+# The `find` Command
 
-The `find` command lets you **search for files in a directory hierarchy** 
+The `find` command is one of the most powerful Linux utilities that lets you search for files and directories based on various conditions like name, size, modification time, permissions, and more.
 
--   Search a file with specific name.
--   Search a file with pattern
-- 	Search for empty files and directories.
+## Basic Syntax
 
+```
+find [path] [options] [expression]
+```
+
+**In simple words:**  
+> “Search starting from `[path]`, apply `[options or filters]`, and then perform an `[action]` on the result.”
 
-### Examples:
+Example:
 
-1.  Search a file with specific name:
+```
+find /home/user -name "*.log"
+```
+This searches for all `.log` files under `/home/user`.
 
-```[linux]
+## Common Use Cases
+
+### 1. Search a File by Exact Name
+
+```
 find ./directory1 -name sample.txt
 ```
 
-2. Search a file with pattern:
+Finds `sample.txt` inside `directory1` and all its subdirectories.
+
+Case-insensitive search:
+
+```
+find ./directory1 -iname "sample.txt"
+```
+
+### 2. Search Files by Pattern (Wildcard)
+
+Find all `.txt` files under `directory1`.
 
-```[linux]
-find ./directory1 -name '*.txt' 
+```
+find ./directory1 -name "*.txt"
+```
+
+More examples:
+```
+find /var/log -name "*.log"
+find /etc -name "conf*"
 ```
 
-3. To find all directories whose name is test in / directory.
+### 3. Find Directories by Name
 
-```[linux]
+```
 find / -type d -name test
 ```
+Lists all directories named `test` from the root `/`.
+
+### 4. Find Empty Files and Directories
+
+```
+find . -empty
+```
+Finds both empty files and directories in the current folder.
+
+Only empty files:
+```
+find . -type f -empty
+```
+
+### 5. Find Files by Modification or Access Time
+
+| Option | Description |
+|--------|--------------|
+| `-mtime n` | Modified *n* days ago |
+| `-atime n` | Accessed *n* days ago |
+| `-ctime n` | Changed *n* days ago |
+| `-mmin n`  | Modified *n* minutes ago |
+
+Examples:
+
+Find files modified within the last 2 days.
+```
+find /var/log -mtime -2
+```
+
+Find files modified within the last hour.
+```
+find . -mmin -60
+```
+
+### 6. Find Files by Size
+
+| Expression | Meaning |
+|-------------|----------|
+| `+n` | Greater than n |
+| `-n` | Less than n |
+| `n` | Exactly n |
+
+Examples:
+
+Find files larger than 100 MB.
+```
+find / -size +100M
+```
+
+Find files smaller than 10 KB.
+```
+find . -size -10k
+```
+
+### 7. Find Files Modified More Recently than Another File
+
+```
+find . -newer reference.txt
+```
+Lists files modified after `reference.txt`.
+
+### 8. Find Files by Type
+
+| Type | Description |
+|------|--------------|
+| `f` | Regular file |
+| `d` | Directory |
+| `l` | Symbolic link |
+| `b` | Block device |
+| `c` | Character device |
+
+Example:
+
+Find all block devices.
+```
+find /dev -type b
+```
 
-4. Searching empty files in current directory
+### 9. Find Files by Permission
+Find files with exactly 644 permissions.
+```
+find /var/www -type f -perm 644
+```
+
+Find files executable by anyone.
+```
+find /usr -type f -perm /111
+```
+
+### 10. Execute Commands on Found Files
+
+You can use the `-exec` option to run a command on each file found:
+
+```
+find . -type f -name "*.log" -exec rm -f {} \;
+```
+Deletes all `.log` files under the current directory.
+
+**Alternative (faster):**
 
-```[linux]
-find . -size 0k
+```
+find . -type f -name "*.log" | xargs rm -f
 ```
 
-### Syntax:
+### 11. Combine Multiple Conditions
+
+You can combine filters together:
 
-```[linux]          
-find [options] [paths] [expression]
 ```
-**In Simple words** 
-```[linux]
-find [where to start searching from]
- [expression determines what to find] [-options] [what to find]
+find /var/log -name "*.log" -size +50M -mtime -2
 ```
+Finds `.log` files larger than 50 MB and modified within the last 2 days.
 
-### Additional Flags and their Functionalities:
+### 12. Print Only File Names (Quiet Output)
+```
+find /etc -type f -name "*.conf" -print
+```
+The `-print` flag ensures output is displayed (it’s the default in most systems).
+
+## Quick Reference Table
 
-Commonly-used primaries include:
-- `name` pattern - tests whether the file name matches the shell-glob pattern given.
-- `type` type - tests whether the file is a given type. Unix file types accepted include:
+| Task | Command |
+|------|----------|
+| Find files with specific name | `find . -name filename.txt` |
+| Case-insensitive search | `find . -iname filename.txt` |
+| Find directories only | `find . -type d` |
+| Find empty files | `find . -type f -empty` |
+| Find files > 1 GB | `find . -size +1G` |
+| Find modified in last day | `find . -mtime -1` |
+| Delete `.tmp` files | `find . -name "*.tmp" -delete` |
+| Search and execute | `find . -name "*.log" -exec gzip {} \;` |
 
-| **options** |  **Description**                                                                                           |
-| :-------------  | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| `b`           | block device (buffered)                                                 |
-| `d`            | directory                                                                      |
-| `f`           | regular file |
-| `l`             | Symbolic link                                                                        |
-| `-print`              | always returns true; prints the name of the current file plus a newline to the stdout.  |
-| `-mtime n`              | find's all the files which are modified n days back. |
-| `-atime n`              | find's all the files which are accessed 50 days back. |
-| `-cmin n` |              find's all the files which are modified in the last 1 hour.|
-| ` -newer file` |              find's   file was modified more recently than file.|
-| `-size n` |             File uses n units of space, rounding up.|
+## Getting Help
 
-### Help Command
-Run below command to view the complete guide to `find` command or [click here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Find_(Unix)).
-```[linux]
+To view the complete guide for the `find` command, run:
+
+```
 man find
 ```