quick Linux cp command question

[Guest]

Hi all,

I like to copy a file to the same directory, but with a different name. The directory where the files are in, is not my current working dir. So the command would be:

sudo cp /var/www/html/test1.php /var/www/html/test_backup.php

is there a way that I don't have to type the path twice (and without changing my working directory)

Thanks!

[JumboPackets]

I don't know how much it will save you but, if you're using BASH (not sure abut other shells), you can put a list inside curly braces ant it will "iterate" through them.

like:

sudo cp /var/www/html/{test1.php,test_backup.php}

untested, your milage may very, not responsible, etc. :)

[Guest]

Yep, that works I was looking for some sort of flag to the cp command that does that but it's not in the man pages.

But this option also works for other commands like mv.

So thanks!

Edited February 29, 2016 by Guest

[cooper]

I would've tried to cd into the folder and then do the copy. So

cd /var/www/html && sudo cp test1.php test_backup.php && cd -

[Guest]

That's also a nice one, didn't know the cd - option ;)

My point of view on this is: if you're doing something and think: hm, there should be a better way to do this, then there usually is!

[cooper]

The danger with relying on shell expansion with {} like is done in the accepted answer is that it's bash-specific and it slightly hides the fact that the name before the comma is the source and the one after is the target. If you add another comma and a file name, you're copying the first 2 files to the last file which hopefully denotes a directory or the command will fail. It's something that's quite easy to overlook and something an uninformed user might try when adapting the command to their own, personal use.