18
5
Generally speaking, I find myself panicking when I realise that if I cancel a file move, it could cause the target or source to be incomplete. This question applies to Windows and Unix-based platforms. I can never remember exactly how the move command works in either case. For example, if you're moving a directory; does it copy the entire directory, and then delete it after, or does it copy and then delete each file individually?
I always realise, after typing something like mv verybigdir dest
, that I perhaps should have typed cp -R verybigdir dest && rm -R verybigdir
(where the &&
operator proceeds to the next command only if the first was successful) -- or is this pointless? What happens, exactly, when I press Ctrl+C half way through a move? Likewise, what exactly happens on Windows when I press the cancel button?
I can't count the number of times I've moved something (the last time was when using svn
) and had two directories, with split contents. I guess the answer is difficult, because not all applications move groups of files in the same way.
16Whatever you do, just don't delete first. – mtone – 2010-01-12T20:29:43.747
@monotone Hilarious +1 – Nick Bolton – 2010-01-12T20:34:47.497