To copy a file, use the command
cp file1 file2
This will make a copy of file1, giving it the name
file2. There is no concept of version numbers in Unix, and if
file2 already exists, its contents will be OVERWRITTEN with the contents
of file1, thus destroying what was originally in file2.
The option -i may be used to cause the machine to prompt for
confirmation before overwriting the output file.
Examples
% cp plantslist plantsback
will make a copy of the file plantslist, calling the copy
plantsback.
% cp -i try1 try2
Overwrite try2?
will copy the file try1 to try2, confirming
that the file should be overwritten.
The cp command leaves the original file (file1)
intact. If you simply wish to change the name of a file, use the mv
command.
To change the name of a file (move it) use the command
mv file1 file2
This renames file1 to be called file2. As with
cp, if file2 already exists, its contents will be OVERWRITTEN
and lost. Again, there is an option -i to cause the machine
to confirm that the second file should be overwritten if it already exists.
Example
% mv newdata olddata
To delete a file (or files), use the rm command
rm file1 [...]
The rm command can take a number of filenames as parameters, with each
file being deleted in turn. By default the files will simply be deleted
with no confirmation; the option -i may be used to cause the
machine to ask for each file whether it should be deleted or not.
Example
% rm -i data*
This will cause any file beginning with the characters data to
be deleted, with confirmation being sought for each file.
These three commands, cp, mv, rm have all been implemented
on the OUCS linux.ox.ac.uk with the -i option set by default.