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From: scotty@l5comp.UUCP (Scott Turner)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Cp: A replacement for AmigaDos Copy
Message-ID: <280@l5comp.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 3-Jun-87 19:39:47 EDT
Article-I.D.: l5comp.280
Posted: Wed Jun  3 19:39:47 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 9-Jun-87 01:55:23 EDT
References: <741@van-bc.UUCP> <121@gtss.UUCP> <156@l5comp.UUCP> <3762@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Reply-To: scotty@l5comp.UUCP (Scott Turner)
Organization: L5 Computing, Edmonds, WA
Lines: 47
Keywords: AmigaDos Copy Regular Expressions
Summary: Rename has small legs at times.

In article <3762@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> mwm@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Mike (My watch has windows) Meyer) writes:
>You use copy to move a file? That's odd - I use rename. Copy makes a
>new copy, rename moves the current one to a new name (or directory).
I often move files in ways that rename can't handle. For example: I have a dual
hard disk system. I often "Load Manage" it by shifting things from one drive
to the other as they move from "active" to "not so active". Or from not so
active back to active. And yes when they go "stone cold" I kick 'em off to
floppy.

>I've already posted a couple; I'm not going to post them again.
Great. I got them soon after my posting. This net bounce takes a bit of getting
used to.

>A reasonable solution has already been proposed: have two programs,
>one called copy creates new copies, and one called cp that creates
>copies with preserved dates. "Copy" needs to have behavior identical
>to the original DOS copy for script-writers, so the date-mangling one
>winds up as "cp" (or "mv", or "backup", or whatever you want to call
>it).
A better solution I think is to use a shell 'alias' command to deal with this.
Even before this whole topic came up I had alias'd copy as cp on my system. I
have since re-alias'd cp as xcopy.

An issue that this raises is what to call the two copy programs so that shell
scripts can address both. By using aliases I have allowed myself to use the
copy program I find most useful without interfering with shell scripts or make.
But while copy is standardized the other copy isn't. I'm all for calling it
'xcopy', :) but I'm sure there's got to be a better name out there. I'm NOT in
favor of calling it cp.

>While I'm talking to you, let me add to requests that you tone the
>excess verbiage (read: flames) in your postings. No matter how good a
>tecnical point is, most people will ignore it (or just not bother
>reading it) if it's 5% of an article that's 95% flameage.
I really appreciate all the time that countless netlanders have taken on my
account on this subject. I just hope that some of it will rub off on the
countless OTHER netlanders out there with similar problems. I think I've been
a lightning rod on this subject, but I am by no means the ONLY sinner amongst
those here on the net. I seem to be a natural when it comes to drawing down
attention on topics that need it. But we also have to be careful not to focus
on me to the exclusion of all else.

Scott Turner
-- 
L5 Computing, the home of Merlin, Arthur, Excalibur and the CRAM.
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If Motorola had wanted us to use BPTR's they'd have built in shifts on A regs
[ BCPL? Just say *NO*! ] (I don't smoke, send flames to /dev/null)