Copy Script append timestamp to files preserve modified date

solidbulk · 06-15-2021, 04:53 PM

Hi I need to put something together that copies the contents of this directory, and appends the current timestamp to the filename(s) but the modified date in the destination directory should be the same as the original.

If anyone would like to share some pointers it would be greatly appreciated .

Thank you have a great day.

scasey · 06-15-2021, 04:58 PM

Code:

cp -p sourcefilename sourcefilenamedate

solidbulk · 06-15-2021, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scasey

Code:

cp -p sourcefilename sourcefilenamedate

Hi scasey, I tried this but the destination file just has the word date appended the end ,I would like to have the have the timestamp of the copy operation, appended in the filename? Thank you,

scasey · 06-15-2021, 05:12 PM

That’s pseudocode…you need to replace the string date with the date you want to append.
man date

solidbulk · 06-15-2021, 06:32 PM

I did this,

cp -p fullpathandnameofsourcefile fullpathandnameofdestinationfile-`date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S`

Do you approve?

Thank you,

scasey · 06-15-2021, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solidbulk

I did this,

cp -p fullpathandnameofsourcefile fullpathandnameofdestinationfile-`date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S`

Do you approve?

Thank you,

It’s not up to me to approve. Does it give you what you want?

boughtonp · 06-16-2021, 08:16 AM

The "`...`" is the older form of command substitution - you may prefer to use "$(...)" instead. (It'll work the same way here, but can make things more readable with more complex commands.)

If "fullpathandnameofsourcefile" is actually the same as "fullpathandnameofdestinationfile", consider brace expansion as a way to avoid writing the same thing twice:

Code:

cp -p "filename"{,-$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)}

AnanthaP · 06-16-2021, 10:26 AM

Quote:

but the modified date in the destination directory should be the same as the original.

As opposed to cp, mv will retain the original date and time.

Something perhaps like
mv * newDir
for i in newDir/*
cp $i $i-`date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S`

boughtonp · 06-16-2021, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnanthaP

As opposed to cp, mv will retain the original date and time.

That's probably because mv moves the original file; it does not create a copy nor leave the original intact.

Every (previous) reference to cp in this thread includes the -p (preserve) parameter.
See: man cp | less --pattern '--preserve'

(Also, filename variables should be quoted!)

solidbulk · 06-16-2021, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boughtonp

The "`...`" is the older form of command substitution - you may prefer to use "$(...)" instead. (It'll work the same way here, but can make things more readable with more complex commands.)

If "fullpathandnameofsourcefile" is actually the same as "fullpathandnameofdestinationfile", consider brace expansion as a way to avoid writing the same thing twice:

Code:

cp -p "filename"{,-$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)}

I appreciate your responses folks. The destination where the copies will be stored is not the same as the source location.

Thank you

solidbulk · 06-16-2021, 12:54 PM

Can these commands be added to a .sh file and added to the crontab. I seem to be unable to do that.

solidbulk · 06-16-2021, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solidbulk

Can these commands be added to a .sh file and added to the crontab. I seem to be unable to do that.

Disregard that, I was able to add these to a .sh file and schedule with crontab.

Thanks!