On 12/10/2012 10:06 AM, John Reiser wrote:
>> Yes, because a count was specified,
>> dd will operate in its default awkward but POSIX specified mode
>> of counting each read() call, even if it returned less than specified.
>> This is especially noticeable with pipes:
> 
> So this bug report is really about the execrable documentation for 'dd'.
> Despite similar complaints appearing yearly [or so],
> the text of "info dd" does not contain the string "pipe".  SHAME ON COREUTILS.
> Explaining the most common error, and how to avoid it, certainly does
> belong in the documentation.  The purpose of documentation is to *FACILITATE*
> the correct use of the tool, and not merely to erect the minimal legal defense
> of the code.

Rather than complaining, how about you submit a patch to improve the
documentation?

-- 
Eric Blake   eblake redhat com    +1-919-301-3266
Libvirt virtualization library http://libvirt.org