Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!telxon!ping!gorpong From: gorpong@ping.uucp (Gordon C. Galligher) Newsgroups: comp.unix.shell Subject: Re: How to do file | hold file Summary: Remove temporary file when done. Message-ID: <1990Sep9.173853.28850@ping.uucp> Date: 9 Sep 90 17:38:53 GMT References: <1990Sep8.054623.3822@sj.ate.slb.com> Organization: The 23rd. Century Lines: 35 In article <1990Sep8.054623.3822@sj.ate.slb.com> fabrice@sj.ate.slb.com writes: >In article <1727@pbhyd.PacBell.COM> rjw@PacBell.COM (Rod Williams) writes: >>> ...suppose I want to sort a file >>>and place the result in the same file without destroying it, >> >>Doesn't 'sort' allow you to do this already in one easy step? >> >> sort -o >> >>...or did I misunderstand the question? > >I use the following C-shell alias to get the output of a command into >the file it applies to. The command should be of the form " ". > > alias apply \!\* \> /tmp/apply.\$\$ \; cp /tmp/apply.\$\$ \!\$ You will probably wish to add the following to your alias: \; rm /tmp/apply.\$\$ Without it, you may end up with quite a lot of files in the /tmp directory, and depending upon the output of the command, this can begin to add up. Before anyone writes: "Just use 'mv'" there is a very valid reason for using 'cp' as opposed to 'mv': 'cp' preserves the permissions on the file you are copying to, whereas 'mv' does not (ie: Mv makes the destination file the same permissions as the source file, cp preserves the permissions on the destination file). If you do not believe me, then experiment on your own by setting umask, creating a couple of files and making the permissions different and then using 'mv' and 'cp' combinations and see what happens. -- Gordon. -- Gordon C. Galligher 9127 Potter Rd. #2E Des. Plaines, Ill. 60016-4881 telxon!ping%gorpong@uunet.uu.net (not tested) (Is this even legal??) ...!uunet!telxon!ping!gorpong (tested) (And it works!) "It seems to me, Golan, that the advance of civilization is nothing but an exercise in the limiting of privacy." - Janov Pelorat -- _Foundation's Edge_