disable interpretation of trailing slash

[John J Foerch]

My request is not to change the default behavior, but to add a new
command-line option that would effect new behavior.  When one wants the
default behavior, one simply does not use the option.

Kevin Korb <kmk at sanitarium.net> writes:
> I don't speak for anyone else but I would be opposed to this.
> Primarily because there isn't an alternate syntax that performs the
> exact same function /path/* doesn't work as expected if using --delete
> (and for good reason).
>
> On 01/07/12 21:40, John J Foerch wrote:
>> Hello,
>> 
>> This is a feature request for a command-line option to disable
>> special interpretation of trailing slashes on source directories.
>> I have been using rsync for a couple of years now (what an awesome
>> program!) and the meaning of the trailing slash on a source is
>> always the one aspect of its syntax that slows me down and makes me
>> check and re-check the manual to ensure that I have remembered its
>> behavior correctly.  The likelihood of making a mistake with a
>> trailing slash is compounded by the fact that shell completion
>> (e.g. in bash) puts it there by default, and it was this very
>> behavior that caused me to be a little too carefree last week and
>> mess up a large backup.  While the trailing slash is a powerful
>> and useful feature, it also strikes me as risky to have so much
>> power built into a single character of syntax, especially a
>> character which usually has no special meaning in other programs.
>> Others I have chatted with on this topic shared the same view.  My
>> feature request then, is for a command line switch to disable the
>> special interpretation of the trailing slash on sources.  A short
>> option would be preferred.  My reasoning is that it is easier to
>> remember to always use a particular option, except in situations
>> requiring more nuance, than it is to remember the special rule and
>> to always check the syntax of the sources.
>> 
>> Thank you for your time.
>> 
>
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