mdw@git.distorted.org.uk Git - misc/blob - inplace.1

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  13 .TH inplace 1 "5 February 2005" "Edgeware tools"
  14 .SH NAME
  15 inplace \- update a file in-place
  16 .SH SYNOPSIS
  17 .B inplace
  18 .I file
  19 \&...
  20 .B \-\-
  21 .I program
  22 .RI [ arguments ...]
  23 .SH DESCRIPTION
  24 The
  25 .B inplace
  26 program rewrites files in place using filters.  For each
  27 .I file
  28 it runs
  29 .VS
  30 .IR "program arguments " ...
  31 .VE
  32 with standard input redirected from
  33 .I file
  34 and redirecting standard output to
  35 .IR file \c
  36 .BR .new .
  37 If all these programs are successful, then each
  38 .I file
  39 is copied to
  40 .IB file .old
  41 and each
  42 .IB file .new
  43 renamed to
  44 .IR file ;
  45 the
  46 .IB file .old
  47 files are then deleted.  If something went wrong, the
  48 .IB file .new
  49 files are all deleted and the original
  50 .IR file s
  51 are left unmodified.
  52 .I program
  53 exits successfully,
  54 .B inplace
  55 will rename the newly-written
  56 .IB file .new
  57 to simply
  58 .I file
  59 and exit zero; otherwise it deletes
  60 .IB file .new
  61 and exits the same as
  62 .I program
  63 did.
  64 .SH BUGS
  65 Doesn't exit correctly if subprogram was killed by a signal.  The update
  66 isn't completely perfect but it's very good; it can leave debris lying
  67 around if strange things happen during the renaming.
  68 .SH AUTHOR
  69 Mark Wooding <mdw@distorted.org.uk>