Hacksaw wrote:
One wonders, then, why the basic utils, like cp and mv don't deal
with it
better?
Cp deals with it. Info page for mv says that mv is using same code as
"cp -a" when moving files from one file system to another. When moving
files within single file system, the file actually stays where it was on
the disk. Only pointer from directory structure is moved from one place
to another (try it, if "a" is 10GB file, than "mv a b" will be almost
instant).
--
Aleksandar Milivojevic <amilivojevic(a)pbl.ca> Pollard Banknote Limited
Systems Administrator 1499 Buffalo Place
Tel: (204) 474-2323 ext 276 Winnipeg, MB R3T 1L7