CP(1) DOMAIN/IX Reference Manual (SYS5) CP(1)
NAME
cp, ln, mv - copy, link, or move files
USAGE
cp file1 [ file2 ... ] target
ln [ -f ] file1 [ file2 ... ] target
mv [ -f ] file1 [ file2 ... ] target
DESCRIPTION
Cp, ln, and mv respectively copy, link, and move files to a
specified target. Under no circumstances can any of the
files being manipulated be the same as the target, so take
care when using sh (1) metacharacters. If target is a
directory, then one or more files are copied, linked, or
moved to that directory. If target is a file, its contents
are destroyed.
If mv or ln determines that the mode of target forbids writ-
ing, it prints the mode, asks for a response, and reads the
standard input for one line. If the line begins with y, the
move or link occurs, if permissible; if not, the command
exits. It asks no questions and does the move or link when
the -f option is used, or if the standard input is not a
terminal.
Only mv allows file1 to be a directory, in which case the
directory rename occurs only if the two directories have the
same parent; file1 is renamed target. If file1 is a file and
target is a link to another file with links, the other links
remain and target becomes a new file. If target is not a
file, cp creates a new file with the same mode as file1
(except that it will not set the sticky bit unless the
super-user is executing the command). The owner and group
of target are those of the user. If target is a file, copy-
ing a file into target does not change its mode, owner, or
group. Cp sets the last modification time of target (and
last access time, if target did not exist). It also sets
the last access time of file1 to the time the copy was made.
If target is a link to a file, all links remain and the file
is changed.
CAUTIONS
The System V version of the ln command creates only hard
links, which point directly to an object (file). The AEGIS
CRL command, however, creates soft links that point to link
text or an object's pathname. For example, suppose you use
the System V version of ln to create a link to a file.
Then, you modify the file. A new version of the file now
exists. The System V link continues to point to the origi-
nal file. If, on the other hand, you use CRL to create a
link to a file, and you then modify the file, the link text
always points to the latest version of the file. Note that
Printed 6/10/85 CP-1
CP(1) DOMAIN/IX Reference Manual (SYS5) CP(1)
the BSD4.2 version can create both hard and soft links.
If file1 and target lie on different file systems, mv must
copy the file and delete the original. In this case, any
linking relationship with other files is lost.
RELATED INFORMATION
chmod (1), cpio (1), rm (1).
CP-2 Printed 6/10/85