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How can I reliably rename a file?

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How can I reliably rename a file?

Well, usually you just use Perl's rename() function. But that may not work everywhere, in particular, renaming files across file systems. If your operating system supports a mv(1) program or its moral equivalent, this works:

    rename($old, $new) or system("mv", $old, $new);

It may be more compelling to use the File::Copy module instead. You just copy to the new file to the new name (checking return values), then delete the old one. This isn't really the same semantics as a real rename(), though, which preserves metainformation like permissions, timestamps, inode info, etc.

Source: Perl FAQ: Files and Formats
Copyright: Copyright (c) 1997 Tom Christiansen and Nathan Torkington.

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