Java™ Application Development on Linux - Dator

12Chapter 1An Embarrassment of Riches: The Linux Environment1.3.5 File CopyingDo you know these commands?• mv• cp• lnThe mv command (short for “move”) lets you move a file from one placein the hierarchy of files to another—that is, from one directory to another.When you move the file, you can give it a new name. If you move it withoutputting it in a different directory, well, that’s just renaming the file.• mv Classy.java Nouveau.java• mv Classy.java /tmp/outamy.way• mv Classx.java Classz.java ..• mv /usr/oldproject/*.java .The first example moves Classy.java to a new name, Nouveau.java,while leaving the file in the same directory.The second example moves the file named Classy.java from the currentdirectory over to the /tmp directory and renames it outamy.way—unless thefile outamy.way is an already existing directory. In that case, the fileClassy.java will end up (still named Classy.java) inside the directoryoutamy.way.The next example just moves the two Java source files up one level, to theparent directory. The “..” is a feature of every Linux directory. Whenever youcreate a directory, it gets created with two links already built in: “..” points toits parent (the directory that contains it), and “.” points to the directory itself.A common question at this point is, “Why does a directory need a referenceto itself?” Whatever other reasons there may be, it certainly is a handyshorthand to refer to the current directory. If you need to move a whole lot offiles from one directory to another, you can use the “.” as your destination.That’s the fourth example.The cp command is much like the mv command, but the original file isleft right where it is. In other words, it copies files instead of moving them. So:cp Classy.java Nouveau.java