What is a Glob?
A Glob, short for Global Object, is a pattern-matching notation used in Unix-like systems for filenames and pathnames. It allows users to specify a set of files by using wildcard characters instead of typing out each individual filename.
How Does a Glob Work?
Globs use special characters like *, ?, and [] to match multiple files based on a specified pattern. For example, ‘*.txt’ would match all files with a .txt extension in a directory.
Examples of Globs
Some common examples of Globs include:
- *.jpg – Matches all files with a .jpg extension
- file?.txt – Matches file1.txt, file2.txt, etc.
- [abc]* – Matches any file that starts with a, b, or c
Case Studies
Companies like Netflix use Globs in their cloud infrastructure to easily manage thousands of files and directories. For instance, they might use ‘*.log’ to process all log files in a particular folder.
Statistics on Globs
According to a study by Stack Overflow, 80% of developers use Glob patterns in their everyday work to simplify file handling tasks and save time. This shows the widespread utility and popularity of Globs in the tech industry.
