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46. Copy (A Guide)
$ cp file file2
The following does the same as the above, but if file2 exists, you'll be prompted before overwriting:
$ cp -i file file2
cp: overwrite `file2'? n
$
So it's a good idea to use the -i option whenever you're dealing with important files you don't want to lose!
If you want to copy file into directory dir1:
$ cp file dir1
The following would do the same as the above, copy file into dir1, but under a different name:
$ cp file dir1/file2
You can also copy multiple files into one directory with a single command:
$ cp file1 file2 file3 dir1
Note that if the last argument isn't a directory name, you'll get an error message complaining about it.
47. Moving and RENAMING (A Guide)
The mv command can be used for moving or renaming files. To rename a file, you can use it like this:
$ mv file file2
If file2 doesn't exist, it'll be created, but if it exists, it'll be overwritten. If you want to be prompted before overwriting files, you can use the -i option the same way as with cp:
$ mv -i file file2
mv: overwrite `file2'? y
$
To move the file into another directory:
$ mv file dir1
If you want to rename the file to file2 and move it into another directory, you probably already figured out the command:
$ mv file dir1/file2
48. Renaming Files (A GUIDE)
The rm command is used for removing files and directories. To remove a file:
$ rm file
If you use the -i option, you'll be prompted before removing the file:
$ rm -i file
You can also delete more files at once:
rm file1 file2
Be careful with the rm command! As I already told you, Linux doesn't have any undo commands, and it doesn't put files into Trash where you can save them later. Once you've deleted a file, it's bye-bye!
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