Re: Proposal for cp -a

[uwe%stderr.spb.ru@localhost (Valeriy E. Ushakov)]

Christos Zoulas <christos%astron.com@localhost> wrote:
> In article <4D10846C.5030405%osunix.org@localhost>,
> C. Bergstr?m <codestr0m%osunix.org@localhost> wrote:
>>Aleksey Cheusov wrote:
>>>> When you say you think it is very useful, do you mean that it's useful
>>>> for NetBSD to mimic other systems, or do you mean that it's useful in
>>>> some other sense?
>>>>     
>>>
>>> Copying directories recursively preserving file attributes is one of
>>> the file operation I do regulary. So, -a option seems to me a little bit
>>> more convenient to type than -Rp (-P is not mandatory as it is the default)
>>> and easier to remember (<A>rchive). Also -a may be helpful for those
>>> who come to NetBSD from other systems, notably FreeBSD and Linux.
>>> So, yes, mimicing other systems may be a benefit too taking into account
>>> that 'cp -a' is accepted in Linux and some other platforms
>>> for very long time.
>>>   
>>Why not just alias -Rp to -a on your local system then?
> 
> And conditionally alias -a to something else if I am on a linux box because
> -P there is -d? I'd rather have a consistent "archive flag".

Yeah, so we solve that by adding more non-standard flags...

Are you going to add -s, -symbolic-link flag next, since ln(1) is just
too damn incovenient to use?

Looking at linux manual page for cp(1) I've got a feeling it tries to
grow all the options of pax -rw or cpio -p and I think it's pure
madness.

Why did you commit this when the feedback in the thread was for the
most part negative?

-uwe