The explanation is:
解释是：
"-R, --recursive
“-R， - 递归
operate on files and directories recursively"
以递归方式对文件和目录进行操作“
What does "recursive" mean here?
“递归”在这里意味着什么？
3 个解决方案
#1
49
"Recursive" implies that the operation will be performed for all files and directories (and all files and directories within any directory). So
“递归”意味着将对所有文件和目录（以及任何目录中的所有文件和目录）执行操作。所以
chown -R foo /some/path
would change file owner to foo for all files and directories in /some/path
将文件所有者更改为foo中/ some / path中的所有文件和目录
p.s. You might have even seen the dictionary entry for recursive:
附：您甚至可能已经看到了递归的字典条目：
recursive, n: See recursive
递归，n：请参阅递归
#2
3
In some Linux commands, if you run the command on a folder with -R, the command will operate on all files and folders in that folder's tree. If you run the command on a file, -R has no effect.
在某些Linux命令中，如果在带-R的文件夹上运行该命令，该命令将对该文件夹树中的所有文件和文件夹进行操作。如果在文件上运行该命令，则-R无效。
The command will operate on given folder, and recursively operates on files and folders within it. It is based on recursion.
该命令将在给定文件夹上运行，并以递归方式对其中的文件和文件夹进行操作。它基于递归。
For example, you can remove a folder and its contents with
例如，您可以使用删除文件夹及其内容
rm -R folder-name
Or you can find all occurrences of a specific string in all files within current folder tree with
或者，您可以在当前文件夹树中的所有文件中找到所有出现的特定字符串
grep -R -n the-string .
In this example -n is for displaying line numbers.
在此示例中，-n用于显示行号。
#3
2
It means apply it to sub-directories and their contents, that is, recurse chown() when a directory is encountered.
这意味着将它应用于子目录及其内容，即在遇到目录时递归chown（）。
#1
49
"Recursive" implies that the operation will be performed for all files and directories (and all files and directories within any directory). So
“递归”意味着将对所有文件和目录（以及任何目录中的所有文件和目录）执行操作。所以
chown -R foo /some/path
would change file owner to foo for all files and directories in /some/path
将文件所有者更改为foo中/ some / path中的所有文件和目录
p.s. You might have even seen the dictionary entry for recursive:
附：您甚至可能已经看到了递归的字典条目：
recursive, n: See recursive
递归，n：请参阅递归
#2
3
In some Linux commands, if you run the command on a folder with -R, the command will operate on all files and folders in that folder's tree. If you run the command on a file, -R has no effect.
在某些Linux命令中，如果在带-R的文件夹上运行该命令，该命令将对该文件夹树中的所有文件和文件夹进行操作。如果在文件上运行该命令，则-R无效。
The command will operate on given folder, and recursively operates on files and folders within it. It is based on recursion.
该命令将在给定文件夹上运行，并以递归方式对其中的文件和文件夹进行操作。它基于递归。
For example, you can remove a folder and its contents with
例如，您可以使用删除文件夹及其内容
rm -R folder-name
Or you can find all occurrences of a specific string in all files within current folder tree with
或者，您可以在当前文件夹树中的所有文件中找到所有出现的特定字符串
grep -R -n the-string .
In this example -n is for displaying line numbers.
在此示例中，-n用于显示行号。
#3
2
It means apply it to sub-directories and their contents, that is, recurse chown() when a directory is encountered.
这意味着将它应用于子目录及其内容，即在遇到目录时递归chown（）。