title: mkdir's "-p" option
body: <p>So this doesn't seem like a terribly complicated question I have, but it's one I can't find the answer to.  I'm confused about what the <code>-p</code> option does in Unix.  I used it for a lab assignment while creating a subdirectory and then another subdirectory within that one.  It looked like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>mkdir -p cmps012m/lab1
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>This is in a private directory with normal rights (<code>rlidwka</code>). Oh, and would someone mind giving a little explanation of what <code>rlidwka</code> means?  I'm not a total noob to Unix, but I'm not really familiar with what this means.  Hopefully that's not too vague of a question.</p>