question: copy command

[Bob McClure Jr]

On Thu, Dec 09, 2004 at 05:14:17PM -0500, GoijI P wrote:
> please, what's best and least risky command to copy contents of directory 
> /dir to /Mydir?.

This assumes you want a recursive copy.

  mkdir /Mydir # if it doesn't exist already
  cd /dir
  find . -depth -mount | cpio -pdmv /Mydir

That will not overwrite any files of the same name in /Mydir if their
timestamps are newer than the corresponding files in /dir.  If you
want to force it, add the "u" (unconditional overwrite) option to the
cpio command.

If executed as root, ownership of the copied files in /Mydir will
be the same as they were in /dir.  If executed as your mere mortal
self, the new files in /Mydir will be owned by you.

Cheers,
-- 
Bob McClure, Jr.             Bobcat Open Systems, Inc.
robertmcclure at earthlink.net  http://www.bobcatos.com
Grace happens.