Re: mv: Moving directories to "themselves" (not the bug with incorrect error message)

[Bob Proulx]

Michal Wencl wrote:
> > As a followup, I'm pretty sure rsync already does what you are looking
> > for, so why bloat mv to do something that can be done with another tool?
> 
> I didn't study rsync deeply yet but I understand it as a copy
> utility that temporarily takes filesystem space

Rsync is a swiss-army-chainsaw tool.  It has a zillion options and
operating modes.  But it is also often simply the best tool for the
job too.  Check out the --inplace option.  It is not a perfect fit but
may be enough.

> and wears down a storage medium when moving files to another
> directory.

I think you are thinking of the work needed to compare two files
between the client and the server.  For individual runs it is unlikely
to be a problem.  It becomes a problem when a server is serving a
large number of files to a large number of clients.  The large number
of processes all grinding away can be a problem.  But in the single
threaded case it is not much different from other file copy methods.

> That is not necessary (it's unwanted) in this case. The
> "mv --merge" you proposed might still be useful.

If someone were to write a patch with a copyright assignment to the
FSF so that it could be used I am sure that it would be considered.

Bob