GNU bug report logs - #30907
mv return value.

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Message #23 received at 30907 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Jorgen Harmse <Jorgen.Harmse <at> samsclub.com>
To: Eric Blake <eblake <at> redhat.com>, Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu>
Cc: "30907 <at> debbugs.gnu.org" <30907 <at> debbugs.gnu.org>
Subject: Re: bug#30907: mv return value.
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2018 13:41:10 +0000

renameat2 looks like what I need. (The TOCTTOU problem did not apply to my most recent use case (and would have been annoying rather than severe), but I see your point.) Given your objection to having mv -i fail in my case, I guess exposing those semantics means adding to the interface:

--interactive-fail
  like --interactive, but return non-zero status if the user chooses not to overwrite a file

--no-clobber-fail
  like --no-clobber, but return non-zero status if the target exists

Regards,
Jorgen Harmse
 
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jorgen.harmse <at> samsclub.com
 
 
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On 3/23/18, 08:00, "Eric Blake" <eblake <at> redhat.com> wrote:

    On 03/22/2018 05:47 PM, Jorgen Harmse wrote:
    > I see Eric's point, but it seems to me that my use case is not unusual. (Rename a file unless the target exists, in which case check that they are the same before removing one.) Perhaps the documentation of mv could suggest a solution, e.g.
    > 
    > (ls b &> /dev/null && diff a b > /dev/null && rm a) || mv -n a b
    
    That's a TOCTTOU race.
    
    It sounds like what you want is close to the kernel's 
    renameat2(,RENAME_NOREPLACE) semantics, which atomically renames a file 
    or fails if the destination already exists, then on failure check if the 
    two files are identical before removing the source.
    
    I don't know if mv exposes RENAME_NOREPLACE semantics yet, but it should 
    be taught to do so, where such semantics are available.
    
    > This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely
    
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