My first Python script deleted my entire downloads folder

I was trying to automate file cleanup in my apartment last night and messed up the path variable. Has anyone else done something this dumb with their early code?

4 comments

4 Comments

grant41320d ago

Yikes, that's a brutal rite of passage for sure.

tarar3810d ago

Totally feel that "real disaster" part. My early script once wiped a family photo folder because I mixed up my source and target directories. It's the worst kind of wake-up call. @rivera.shane is right, you don't truly get why backups matter until you cause the problem yourself. I spent a whole weekend trying to recover those pics. Now I triple-check every path and have auto-backups running on everything.

rivera.shane20d ago

I used to think backups were overkill until my code wiped a client's database.

the_leo20d ago

Oh man, I learned that lesson the hard way too! Tbh, nothing makes you respect backups like causing a real disaster yourself.