Re: [Nolug] Re: ext3 to ReiserFS

From: -ray <ray_at_ops.selu.edu>
Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 12:54:50 -0600 (CST)
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.44.0311041241430.16679-100000@romulus.csd.selu.edu>

On Tue, 4 Nov 2003, Ron Johnson wrote:

> But what benefit does "tar |" have over
> # mv /home /home.old
> # umount /home
> # mkfs.reiserfs ...
> # vi /etc/fstab
> # mount /home
> # mv /home.old /home
>
> Those 6 steps were about as easy as could be.

Back in the day, (Linux 2.0?, SunOS 4??) you couldn't mv across
filesystems. Technically, mv in the same filesystem really just changes
inode pointers. mv across filesystems must do a cp then an rm. Back
then, using tar and pipes was the most portable way to move entire
directory trees.

Nowadays, most mv commands will detect that you're working on different
filesystems, and do the cp/rm for you. AIX/Linux/Solaris does. SCO
doesn't.

Plus, mere mortals freak out when you type a 100+ char command with lots
of pipes, dashes, and parentheses, haha.

ray

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