GNU bug report logs - #15173
[cp] --link overrides dereference settings

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From: Gian Piero Carrubba <gpiero <at> rm-rf.it>
To: Pádraig Brady <P <at> draigBrady.com>
Cc: Bernhard Voelker <mail <at> bernhard-voelker.de>, Eric Blake <eblake <at> redhat.com>, 15173 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#15173: [cp] --link overrides dereference settings
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 15:03:00 +0100

* [Thu, Oct 31, 2013 at 02:54:59PM +0100] Gian Piero Carrubba:
>>I've just now read POSIX for cp, and it states:
>>
>>"If the -R option was not specified, cp shall take actions based on the type
>> and contents of the file referenced by the symbolic link, and not by the
>> symbolic link itself, unless the -P option was specified."
>>
>>This suggests that -HL should only be significant with -R ?
>>That is a bit surprising TBH. What do you think Eric?
>
>Oh well, didn't read it like this. My opinion was, and still is even 
>if not strong as before, that explicitly using -H/L/preserve=links 
>would override that _default_ behaviour.

Sorry, fast reading got me confused.
Yes, my opinion is that the default behaviour (i.e.: when not using -P 
or --preserve=links) should be to dereference the symlink. This does not 
mean that -HL are not significant without -R, as for what I remember 
about parameters order:

cp -P -L

should dereference the symlinks.

Ciao,
Gian Piero.

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