[SOLVED] Why util-linux without rename?

Michael Uplawski · 07-06-2019, 12:28 AM

Good morning.

The rename tool which is normally part of the util-linux-package is not included with the Debian version that I install from the “testing” repositories.

Do you know the reason?

Searching for information on Debian.org, the words util-linux and rename produce too much information and I cannot find anything there. Usually, this kind of modification for one distribution is motivated by security considerations. Curiously, the man-page to rename is installed alright with util-linux.

TIA.

ehartman · 07-06-2019, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Uplawski

is not included with the Debian version that I install from the “testing” repositories.

Do you know the reason?

As far as I know "rename" is a separate package in Debian (but I'm not running it myself).

Code:

in Ubuntu and Debian-derived distributions you install rename like this:

sudo apt-get install rename

Note too that there are two different implementations OF the rename command, the other one being a perl script with a differing syntax:

Code:

In Fedora and RedHat-derived distributions you install prename like this. Note the initial “p,” which stands for Perl.

sudo dnf install prename

You'll have to find out yourself if either the "rename" or the "prename" package is available in your testing distro.

This is the man page for the perl version of rename www.systutorials.com/docs/linux/man/1-prename/ and as you can see it's quite different from the util-linux one.

Michael Uplawski · 07-08-2019, 05:55 AM

TY for the information.

The situation is a bit confusing to me, as I can install util-linux from sources and thus use the rename command as I had known it years ago.

Unfortunately, nothing indicates upon doing so that the new version of the “mount” tool will afterwards not correspond to the installed version of the shared library libmount which is not the latest in the Debian-repositories. This leads to a more or less broken system, as my partitions are not mounted after boot.

Having “repaired“ my mount-command, I can still use the rename-command from the compiled util-linux package. Now would I say, that this is a way to get things working..?

Coming back to this thread in a while, it might serve as a reminder, but I still am in doubt.

mrmazda · 07-09-2019, 01:42 PM

Does rename do something mv does not? I learned mv back around 1986 and didn't know about any rename command in *nix until this thread.

Timothy Miller · 07-09-2019, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrmazda

Does rename do something mv does not? I learned mv back around 1986 and didn't know about any rename command in *nix until this thread.

rename is actually a perl script (therefore being prename on some os's) that allows you to rename multiple files at a time in ways that mv doesn't (easily) allow.

freemedia2018 · 07-09-2019, 02:12 PM

Quote:

The rename command is part of the util-linux package and is available from https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/.

https://manpages.debian.org/testing/...e.ul.1.en.html

Quote:

June 2011

Quote:

Source last updated: 2019-01-10T08:30:43Z

I'm generally reluctant to file a bug report because they always prove to be a waste of my time. But if I were you I would still file one for this.

ehartman · 07-09-2019, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timothy Miller

rename is actually a perl script (therefore being prename on some os's) that allows you to rename multiple files at a time in ways that mv doesn't (easily) allow.

No, rename from the util-linux package is quite different from the perl one and is a compiled binary, i.e.

Code:

 $ file /usr/bin/rename
/usr/bin/rename: ELF 32-bit LSB executable, Intel 80386, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked, interpreter /lib/ld-linux.so.2, stripped

As I already mentioned in my previous post, it has a completely different syntax from the perl script

Code:

NAME
       rename - rename files

SYNOPSIS
       rename [options] expression replacement file...

DESCRIPTION
       rename will rename the specified files by replacing the first occurrence of
       expression in their name by replacement.
(part of manpage skipped)
AVAILABILITY
       The  rename  command  is  part  of  the  util-linux  package  and is available from
       ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/.

Which of either rename commands YOU got is dependant on your distribution (and some may even have both, with the perl one as prename).

Timothy Miller · 07-09-2019, 06:11 PM

There is no actual rename with util-linux on Debian. It's rename.ul that's included. rename is a perl script that is installed via the rename package.

evo2 · 07-09-2019, 08:32 PM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timothy Miller

There is no actual rename with util-linux on Debian. It's rename.ul that's included. rename is a perl script that is installed via the rename package.

And to just add a little more info regarding Debian, the perl rename is installed as /usr/bin/file-rename, the util-linux one is /usr/bin/rename.ul and (at least on my machine) /usr/bin/rename is a chain of symlinks to /usr/bin/file-rename as part of the "alternatives" system. Somewhat strangely, rename.ul is not included as an option in alternatives. I guess it could easily be added if desired. Eg

Code:

# update-alternatives --list rename
/usr/bin/file-rename
# update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/rename rename /usr/bin/rename.ul 50
 update-alternatives --list rename                                         
/usr/bin/file-rename
/usr/bin/rename.ul
# update-alternatives --config rename
There are 2 choices for the alternative rename (providing /usr/bin/rename).

  Selection    Path                  Priority   Status
------------------------------------------------------------
* 0            /usr/bin/file-rename   70        auto mode
  1            /usr/bin/file-rename   70        manual mode
  2            /usr/bin/rename.ul     50        manual mode

Press <enter> to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number: 2
update-alternatives: using /usr/bin/rename.ul to provide /usr/bin/rename (rename) in manual mode
# readlink -f $(which rename)        
/usr/bin/rename.ul

And there you have it, util-linux rename just as you like it!

Evo2.