GNU bug report logs - #18681
The Linux cp command has bugs

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Message #35 received at 18681 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Norihiro Tanaka <noritnk <at> kcn.ne.jp>
To: "Polehn, Mike A" <mike.a.polehn <at> intel.com>
Cc: "18681 <at> debbugs.gnu.org" <18681 <at> debbugs.gnu.org>,
 Assaf Gordon <assafgordon <at> gmail.com>
Subject: Re: bug#18681: The Linux cp command has bugs
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 08:48:54 +0900

Hi Polehn,

The -f option isn't `suppress interactive' in cp.  It attempts to unlink
a destination not to be able to override.  It's different from the option
in mv.

As the behavior is clearly defined in POSIX as Eric says, we won't be
able to change it.

BTW, I don't like the alias `cp -i'.  So I remove it from .bashrc always
immediately after an installation of a distribution. (^_^)

If you temporarily want to cancel the the alias, you can define an another
alias as `cpf', and/or can use below instead of `cp'

  - command cp -f
  - /bin/cp -f
  - ( unalias cp; cp -f ... )

Even if add new option `-F' to supress interactive to cp, we need to use
-F for cp and -f for mv to do it.

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