Alternative to Using cp
Gregg
To backup files from a source directory to a backup directory:
$ mkdir /path/to/backup/directory
$ cd $HOME/source/directory
$ tar cf - . | (cd /path/to/backup/directory && tar xBvf -)
Define the following alias:
tar cvf - . | ( cd \!* ; tar xvf - )
or as an alias:
alias cpbytar='tar cvf - . | ( cd \!* ; tar xvf - )'
(The alias definition above is for Bash)
To do a recursive copy of a directory to another location, preserving the PERMISSIONS and OWNERSHIP of the files. “cd” to the source location and invoke the following alias:
cpbytar