THIS WORKS for activestate - thanks++ ysth. thanks also to the other monks that have responded.

specifically, when i change the code to: 
use File::Find qw(find);
use Cwd;

*name = *File::Find::name;

my @dirs = @ARGV;

my @legitdirs = grep { -d } @dirs;

find( { "wanted" => \&unlinkplus, "bydepth"=>1, "no_chdir"=>1 } , @leg
+itdirs);

# danger, danger. high voltage. use at own risk.
sub unlinkplus {
    warn "current dir   :" . cwd . "\n";    
    if (!-l && -d _) { # not a link, is a directory
    warn  "rmdir attempt :" . $name . "\n";
    (rmdir($_) && warn "ok..." ) 
        or warn  "cannot rmdir $name:" . " $!";
    } else {
    warn  "file unlink   :" . $name . ">";
    (unlink($_) && warn "ok..." )
        or warn "can't unlink " . $name . "$!";
    }
}

[download]
i get the behavior i require, ie removal of directories after the files in them have been removed, no problems. in summary: if you are using activestate perl for this kind of thing, ie directory removal, make sure you have the no_chdir option on.

if you are sensible enough to use cygwin perl, you will have no problems here. both versions of the script will work.

ps: re: tachyon's question (ie: rm -r) ; the restraining bolt fitted to prevent overtly sensible behavior is due to come off soon...

...wufnik

-- in the world of the mules there are no rules --

In reply to Re^2: Yea, though i walk through the shadow of File::Find & Directory Tree Deletion... by wufnik
in thread Yea, though i walk through the shadow of File::Find & Directory Tree Deletion... by wufnik

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.