Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 23:24:35 -0500 From: Scott Bennett <bennett@sdf.org> To: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de>, freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Preserving target file's creation date Message-ID: <202010010424.0914OZ9Y029194@sdf.org>
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On Tue, 29 Sep 2020 13:40:51 +0200 Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> wrote: >On Tue, 29 Sep 2020 06:42:18 -0400, Jerry wrote: >> I am trying to copy/move one file onto another. I need to preserve the >> creation date of the target file. I see options to preserve the >> creation date of the source file, but not the target file. Is it >> possible? > >THis is possible - it's important you do not unlink (remove) >the original file whose creation time you want to preserve. >I'm not sure if cp does this while overwriting, but you can >use shell redirection: > > $ cat /path/to/souce/file > /path/to/target/file > >Only the modification date will be altered. You can verify >that using "stat filename". > >Note that creation time refers to the inode. Even if you >re-create a file (remove, then create with the same name), >you'll probably get a different inode, and therefore a >different creation time. > >If you want to preserve modification and access time, you >can do so using "cp -p"; to alter them after creation, >use "touch -m" and "touch -a" respectively. > There exists another way that allows one to set the ctime. Offhand, I don't have any idea how to do it, but restore(8) certainly does. A "restore -rf /some/backupmadebydump/file" will restore an entire filesystem with each file's full set of timestamps intact. Recall that restore(8) rebuilds the filesystem by engaging the filesystem code, not by writing to a raw device. Any ideas what restore does to accomplish that? Scott Bennett, Comm. ASMELG, CFIAG ********************************************************************** * Internet: bennett at sdf.org *xor* bennett at freeshell.org * *--------------------------------------------------------------------* * "A well regulated and disciplined militia, is at all times a good * * objection to the introduction of that bane of all free governments * * -- a standing army." * * -- Gov. John Hancock, New York Journal, 28 January 1790 * **********************************************************************
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