Is it better to always copy and delete, rather than move?
- by nbolton
Generally speaking, I find myself panicking when I realise that if I cancel a file move, it could cause the target or source to be incomplete. This question applies to Windows and Unix-based platforms. I can never remember exactly how the move command works in either case. For example, if you're moving a directory; does it copy the entire directory, then delete it after, or does it copy then delete each file individually?
I always realise after typing something like, mv verybigdir dest that I really should have typed cp -R verybigdir dest && rm verybigdir (where the && operator only moves to the next command if the first was successful) -- or is this pointless? What happens exactly when I press Ctrl+C half way through a move? Likewise, what exactly happens on Windows when I press the cancel button?
I can't count the number of times I've moved something (the last time was when using svn) and had two directories, with split contents. I guess the answer is difficult, because not all applications move groups of files in the same way.
