Using iteration to copy multiple unrelated files
I love Unix/Linux. Even after all these years, I still learn new tricks.
Using iteration, one can copy multiple files from one place to another
in a single command. You might say that's easy with wildcards, but what
if the filenames have nothing in common? That's where iteration, using
{this,that,other} comes in.
cp /etc/{passwd,group,hosts} /tmp/junk/
This will copy all three files, which are all in the same place but have
names with nothing in common, to the same destination. Yes, you could
cd to the directory first or do a for-loop. But it's always good to have
multiple ways to solve a problem because sometimes only one way will work
in the way needed.
12/13/2008