From owner-freebsd-current  Mon Apr 23 11:33:26 2001
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	id 66A3237B423; Mon, 23 Apr 2001 11:33:24 -0700 (PDT)
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 11:33:24 -0700
From: "John W. De Boskey" <jwd@FreeBSD.org>
To: Current List <freebsd-current@FreeBSD.org>
Subject: Updated: cp -t  patch (w/ commentary)
Message-ID: <20010423113324.A70387@FreeBSD.org>
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Hello,

   After some feedback, I have changed the patch slightly. Rename
-d to -t and remove the requirement for the option to have a
value.

   -t  aquire the target from *argv++ instead of argv[argc--]

   The patch can be found at:

http://people.freebsd.org/~jwd/cp-t.patch


   Some comments:

   -t  was chosen to help match the existing (and be co-existant
       with) gnu cp option    --target-directory=DIRECTORY


   I have seen many proposals posted with respect to "why don't
you do it this way?"  Bascally,  they don't do the same thing.

   cat BigFileList | xargs cp -t targetdir

   where "cat BigFileList" is actually a seperate and complex
process that I do not own/support.

   The list of files given to the process spans many subtrees
and mount points. The goal is to bring a copy of those files 
into a single directory.

   Tar, cpio, and other file copy processes copy hierarchies. Cp
is the only program which allows for a simple yet elegant way
of transferring files from disparate locations to a single location.

   cp -s  allows for a very simple yet highly effective method of
doing what needs to be done.  Yes, I am also willing to update
mv to work the same way.

-John

ps: As a humorous aside with respect to standards. I thought
    FreeBSD set the standard! :-)

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