Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!cunews!spock!woody
From: woody@spock (Woody Suwalski)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.programmer
Subject: Re: "file cannot be copied onto itself"
Message-ID: <4450@tools>
Date: 17 Sep 90 14:20:05 GMT
References: <2091@nyx.UUCP>
Reply-To: woody@tools (Woody Suwalski)
Organization: Mitel. Kanata (Ontario). Canada.
Lines: 13

In article <2091@nyx.UUCP> cla@nyx.UUCP () writes:
>Qvestion:
>
>How does the DOS "copy" command know when the source and destination file are
>one in the same (i.e., "file cannot be copied onto itself")?  I can't believe
>that it's just a string compare. The logistics of that are pretty awkward.

The trick is to change attribute of a "source" file, and then get attribute
of the "destination". If "destination" is changed - you speak about the same
file....
Of course, you should later restore old attribute...

Woody