Linux/file/cmd - Revision history

Woozle at 23:04, 13 November 2022

2022-11-13T23:04:48Z

Woozle: Woozle moved page Linux file/directory command syntax to Linux/file/cmd: reorganizing command pages

2022-11-13T23:00:42Z

Woozle moved page Linux file/directory command syntax to Linux/file/cmd: reorganizing command pages

← Older revision	Revision as of 23:00, 13 November 2022
(No difference)

Woozle at 01:45, 10 April 2006

2006-04-10T01:45:54Z

New page

[[Computing]]: [[Software]]: [[Operating Systems]]: [[Linux]]: [[{{PAGENAME}}|file/directory command syntax]]
{{seed}}
==Notes==
* ''directoryname plus slash plus asterisk'' (directoryname/*) as a source means "the contents of directoryname"
* A slash after a directory name (as in directoryname/) is optional and not significant
* A slash preceding the [[filespec]] indicates the root of the filesystem
* The Linux filesystem does not have the concept of "drives"; all drives are mapped into the filesystem, either at the root or via a mount. Anything not mounted may only be accessed via a protocol (such as [[Samba|smb://]], [[FTP|ftp://]], [[HTTP|http://]], etc.), and the native Linux file commands (mv, cp, etc.) do not understand protocols.
* Some systems may have different defaults, often accomplished by {{Linuxcmd|alias}}ing the command to command-with-options
==Examples==
; To move the contents of directory A into directory B
: {{Linuxcmd|mv}} A/* B/
: {{Linuxcmd|mv}} A/* B {{faint|the terminating slash doesn't have any effect}}
; To move directory A into directory B
: {{Linuxcmd|mv}} A B
; To copy the directory A into directory B (so you end up with /B/A/''contents-of-A'')
: {{Linuxcmd|cp}} -dpR A B {{faint|don't follow symbolic links, preserve attributes, recursive}}
: {{Linuxcmd|cp}} -a A B {{faint|-a is an alias for -dpR}}
; To copy the ''contents'' of A into B (so you end up with B/''contents-of-A'')
: {{Linuxcmd|cp}} -a A/* B {{faint|this has not been tested!}}
; To remove everything, including subdirectories, from the current directory (careful!)
: {{Linuxcmd|rm}} -r * {{faint|confirms each file before deleting}}
: {{Linuxcmd|rm}} -rf * {{faint|deletes all files/directories without asking}}
==Notes for DOS refugees==
Some command utilities in DOS (e.g. xcopy) used a convention wherein a trailing backslash on a name (e.g. c:\name\) meant that the name was a directory. This helped to disambiguate in certain circumstances where a name might refer to either a directory or a file – that is, you couldn't have a file with the same name as a directory, but (a) the command might involve a search where the first item with that name could be either a file or a directory, or (b) the command might involve creating something new (a file or directory) and the actions to be taken would depend on what was being created.

For {{Linuxcmd|mv}} and {{Linuxcmd|cp}}, apparently "name" and "name/" as a ''source'' both indicate "whatever you find that has this name" (to check: can "name/" be a file?), while "name/*" means "the contents of the directory named "name". It's not yet clear if this is a general rule or only applicable with some commands.

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:04, 13 November 2022
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	[[Computing]]: [[Software]]: [[Operating Systems]]: [[Linux]]: [[{{PAGENAME}}\|file/~~directory~~ command syntax]]		[[Computing]]: [[Software]]: [[Operating Systems]]: [[Linux]]: [[{{PAGENAME}}\|file/folder command syntax]]
	{{~~seed~~}}		{{fmt/title\|Linux file/folder commands and syntax}}
	==Notes==		==Notes==
	* ''directoryname plus slash plus asterisk'' (<u>directoryname/*</u>) as a source means "the contents of <u>directoryname</u>"		* ''directoryname plus slash plus asterisk'' (<u>directoryname/*</u>) as a source means "the contents of <u>directoryname</u>"
Line 6:		Line 6:
	* A slash preceding the [[filespec]] indicates the root of the filesystem		* A slash preceding the [[filespec]] indicates the root of the filesystem
	* The Linux filesystem does not have the concept of "drives"; all drives are mapped into the filesystem, either at the root or via a mount. Anything not mounted may only be accessed via a protocol (such as [[Samba\|smb://]], [[FTP\|ftp://]], [[HTTP\|http://]], etc.), and the native Linux file commands (mv, cp, etc.) do not understand protocols.		* The Linux filesystem does not have the concept of "drives"; all drives are mapped into the filesystem, either at the root or via a mount. Anything not mounted may only be accessed via a protocol (such as [[Samba\|smb://]], [[FTP\|ftp://]], [[HTTP\|http://]], etc.), and the native Linux file commands (mv, cp, etc.) do not understand protocols.
	* Some systems may have different defaults, often accomplished by {{~~Linuxcmd~~\|alias}}ing the command to command-with-options		* Some systems may have different defaults, often accomplished by {{l/cmd\|alias}}ing the command to command-with-options
	==Examples==		==Examples==
	; To move the contents of directory <u>A</u> into directory <u>B</u>		; To move the contents of directory <u>A</u> into directory <u>B</u>
	: {{~~Linuxcmd~~\|mv}} <u>A</u>/* <u>B</u>/		: {{l/cmd\|mv}} <u>A</u>/* <u>B</u>/
	: {{~~Linuxcmd~~\|mv}} <u>A</u>/* <u>B</u> {{faint\|the terminating slash doesn't have any effect}}		: {{l/cmd\|mv}} <u>A</u>/* <u>B</u> {{faint\|the terminating slash doesn't have any effect}}
	; To move directory <u>A</u> into directory <u>B</u>		; To move directory <u>A</u> into directory <u>B</u>
	: {{~~Linuxcmd~~\|mv}} <u>A</u> <u>B</u>		: {{l/cmd\|mv}} <u>A</u> <u>B</u>
	; To copy the directory <u>A</u> into directory <u>B</u> (so you end up with <u>/B/A/''contents-of-A''</u>)		; To copy the directory <u>A</u> into directory <u>B</u> (so you end up with <u>/B/A/''contents-of-A''</u>)
	: {{~~Linuxcmd~~\|cp}} -dpR <u>A</u> <u>B</u> {{faint\|don't follow symbolic links, preserve attributes, recursive}}		: {{l/cmd\|cp}} -dpR <u>A</u> <u>B</u> {{faint\|don't follow symbolic links, preserve attributes, recursive}}
	: {{~~Linuxcmd~~\|cp}} -a <u>A</u> <u>B</u> {{faint\|-a is an alias for -dpR}}		: {{l/cmd\|cp}} -a <u>A</u> <u>B</u> {{faint\|-a is an alias for -dpR}}
	; To copy the ''contents'' of <u>A</u> into <u>B</u> (so you end up with <u>B/''contents-of-A''</u>)		; To copy the ''contents'' of <u>A</u> into <u>B</u> (so you end up with <u>B/''contents-of-A''</u>)
	: {{~~Linuxcmd~~\|cp}} -a <u>A</u>/* <u>B</u> {{faint\|this has not been tested!}}		: {{l/cmd\|cp}} -a <u>A</u>/* <u>B</u> {{faint\|this has not been tested!}}
	; To remove everything, including subdirectories, from the current directory (careful!)		; To remove everything, including subdirectories, from the current directory (careful!)
	: {{~~Linuxcmd~~\|rm}} -r * {{faint\|confirms each file before deleting}}		: {{l/cmd\|rm}} -r * {{faint\|confirms each file before deleting}}
	: {{~~Linuxcmd~~\|rm}} -rf * {{faint\|deletes all files/directories without asking}}		: {{l/cmd\|rm}} -rf * {{faint\|deletes all files/directories without asking}}
	==Notes for DOS refugees==		==Notes for DOS refugees==
	Some command utilities in DOS (e.g. xcopy) used a convention wherein a trailing backslash on a name (e.g. c:\name\) meant that the name was a directory. This helped to disambiguate in certain circumstances where a name might refer to either a directory or a file – that is, you couldn't have a file with the same name as a directory, but (a) the command might involve a search where the first item with that name could be either a file or a directory, or (b) the command might involve creating something new (a file or directory) and the actions to be taken would depend on what was being created.		Some command utilities in [[DOS]] (e.g. xcopy) used a convention wherein a trailing backslash on a name (e.g. <tt>c:\name\</tt>) meant that the name was a directory. This helped to disambiguate in certain circumstances where a name might refer to either a directory or a file – that is, you couldn't have a file with the same name as a directory, but (a) the command might involve a search where the first item with that name could be either a file or a directory, or (b) the command might involve creating something new (a file or directory) and the actions to be taken would depend on what was being created.

	For {{~~Linuxcmd~~\|mv}} and {{~~Linuxcmd~~\|cp}}, apparently "name" and "name/" as a ''source'' both indicate "whatever you find that has this name" (to check: can "name/" be a file?), while "name/*" means "the contents of the directory named "name". It's not yet clear if this is a general rule or only applicable with some commands.		For {{l/cmd\|mv}} and {{l/cmd\|cp}}, apparently "name" and "name/" as a ''source'' both indicate "whatever you find that has this name" (to check: can "name/" be a file?), while "name/*" means "the contents of the directory named "name". It's not yet clear if this is a general rule or only applicable with some commands.