Need precisions on --detect-rename

[Bruno Pelletier]

Hi all,
 
I am reading everything I can find (including this mailling list archives) for 
the last 2 weeks, on how to handle moved and/or renamed files with rsync.  I 
would have preferred to use an unmodified rsync, and I think I could make it for 
the “moved files” with a 3 steps process like this :
 
1-  rsync -avz --delete --backup --backup-dir=$TEMP_BACKUP --existing 
--ignore-existing $SOURCE $DESTINATION
2-  find .$TEMP_BACKUP -type f -exec mv '{}' $TEMP_BACKUP/ \;     ### “flatten” 
the hierarchy moving all files to top dir
3-  rsync -avz --compare-dest=./temp_backup $SOURCE $DESTINATION
 
but it looks like the only way for "renamed files" is the --detect-rename 
patch.  When I first found about the patch, I was feeling it not safe, but with 
further reading, I am now comfortable to give it a try.
 
My setup :
1.     Ubuntu 9.04 with rsync 3.0.5 on a “SheevaPlug computer” with a usb drive 
attached.
2.     Unknown distro with rsync 3.0.2 on a “MyBook World Edition (white bar)”.
3.     Don’t know yet witch one will be local and remote.
 
My questions :
1>> Is the "detect-renamed.diff" in the "rsync-patches-3.0.7.tar.gz" backward 
compatible or is it a "must do" for me to use the patch from the respective “.5” 
and “.2” version of the "rsync-patches-3.0.?.tar.gz" on the respective device.
2.     >>  If not backward compatible, is there significant behaviour, algorithm 
or performance differences between each patch version listed above, or were they 
just repackaged to match the new rsync version.  I found no specific information 
about improvement in the patch file “introduction” and really few further down 
in what looked like the code itself.
3.     >>  Is it possible to install the patch only on one side?  If yes, is 
there a preferred choice for local or remote ?  And would that make any options 
(i.e. pull or push) mandatory?
4.     >>  Based on installation commands explained in the patch “introduction”, 
I tried the following, logged in as root, with the diff file saved directly in 
root directory, with both .5 and .7 version of the patch, with “<”  and “</”, 
with –p1 and –p0  :
 
patch -p1 <detect-renamed.diff
 
and all attempts terminated with the following message :
 
|diff --git a/compat.c b/compat.c
|--- a/compat.c
|+++ b/compat.c
--------------------------
File to patch:
 
appart from trying “–p0” instead of “-p1” all my research did not help me to 
answer the “file to patch:” prompt...  Any suggestion?
 
Sorry for the long post, I thought asking all my “installation related” 
questions together was better for potential future readers.
 
Any help will be appreciated, thanks a lot in advance for your attention,
 
Bruno

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.samba.org/pipermail/rsync/attachments/20100823/4fed57c1/attachment.html>