why not link devices with --link-dest option?

jw schultz jw at pegasys.ws
Sun Dec 21 07:22:29 EST 2003


On Sat, Dec 20, 2003 at 03:37:40AM -0800, Russell Senior wrote:
> 
> I notice that devices are not hardlinked when using the --link-dest
> option, for instance:
> 
>   rsync -aH --link-dest=../bar/ foo/ baz/
> 
> When foo/zero is a device, baz/zero is not a hardlink to bar/zero.  How
> come?

Because rsync recreates non-regular files unconditionally.
Changing this will require restructuring some core
functionality.

I created the --link-dest option for dirvish (and anyone
else who wanted it) but i still don't see this as much of a
problem.  At some point in future i, or someone else, might
make recv_generator a bit more modular and restructure it.
For now the cost of not --link-dest not hard-linking devices,
FIFOs, sockets and symlinks is small.



-- 
________________________________________________________________
	J.W. Schultz            Pegasystems Technologies
	email address:		jw at pegasys.ws

		Remember Cernan and Schmitt



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