Erase the source file open; specify a tempfile name option

[Wayne Davison]

On Sun, 20 May 2001, Theo de Raadt wrote:
> I do not see the point of the options.

The -E option should be obvious, but if it's not, there needs to be an
easy way to move files from system to system, not just copy them.  This
allows you to implement data flow, not just data replication.  When
implementing such a flow of data, you need to be able to ensure that
each file has arrived intact before you remove the original, and it is
also desirable to complete the move of a single file before starting
the copy of the next file (so that you don't end up copying a bunch of
data, lose the connection, and then end up in a nebulous state where you
don't know how many files to remove).  I think having an "smv" utility
would be ideal, but having the -E option on scp is also an acceptable
solution.

The tempfile options control how the file arrive on a system.  For
instance, if you need to copy over a running executable without crashing
the program that has the file open, using the -u option ensures that the
files arrive whole and replace the original rather than writing to the
original.

The -T option mainly assists in data flow by allowing the tempfile to
stay out of the way of the destination files.  If you have a process
that reads an input dir, you don't want to have to wait X minutes for a
file to "cool off" just to be sure that it isn't still being
transferred, and you also don't want a partial transfer to be treated
the same as a fully-successful transfer.  Yes, you can script this with
separate commands, but it is nicer to have the option to do this
directly.

..wayne..