cp (coreutils) 5.2.1 -v option says nothing with -i --reply

[Jerry Peek]

Hi.  Maybe there's somewhere to check to see whether this bug has
already been answered.  I'm sorry that I'm not checking, but I
have just a minute before I have to leave -- and after that I'll
probably forget!  So I'm mentioning this.

I'm using Debian GNU/Linux with:

   $ cp --version
   cp (coreutils) 5.2.1
   Written by Torbjorn Granlund, David MacKenzie, and Jim Meyering.

   Copyright (C) 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

I ran this command:

    $ cp -i --reply=no -v /home/jpeek/.bashrc ideas

The destination file "ideas" exists.  Because the -v switch
(according to "man cp") will "explain what is being done", I
expected that "cp" would tell me that it was about to copy
the file.  But it doesn't.  It silently fails to copy.

This is a real pain in situations like the following:

    $ cp -i --reply=no -v `locate somefile` backup-dir

where I would *really* like to know which file wasn't copied.
But here, "cp -v" only tells me which files *were* copied.
The only way I can tell that a copy failed is to compare the
output of "locate somefile" with the copied files... somehow.
Or I can use a loop, or xargs -t, to copy the files.  A pain.

Typing "info cp" tells me that the -v switch will "Print the
name of each file before copying it."  That's a little more
accurate -- and, I'd argue, still misleading -- because it
only prints the names of files *after* copying (or so it
seems).

I wish that you would please either:

- make the man and info pages have a better explanation, or

- make 'cp -v' tell that a file *wasn't* copied, or

- add another verbose option that gives complete information
  about, as the manpage says, " what is being done".

I hope that's complete enough.  I've gotta run.  Thanks...

Jerry Peek
address@hidden