Specifying Source and Target

With the rcp command in the C shell, you can specify source (the file or directory you want to copy) and target (the location into which you will copy the file or directory) with either absolute or abbreviated path names.

	Absolute Path Names	Abbreviated Path Names
From Local System	mars:/home/jones/myfile.txt	~jones/myfile.txt
After Remote Login	/home/jones/myfile.txt	~jones/myfile.txt

Absolute path names identify files or directories that are mounted on a particular system. In the previous example, the first absolute path name identifies a file (myfile.txt) on the mars system. Abbreviated path names identify files or directories relative to a user's home directory, wherever it might reside. In the previous first example, the abbreviated path name identifies the same file, myfile.txt, but uses “~” symbol to indicate the jones home directory:

~ = mars:/home/jones

The examples on the second line demonstrate the user of absolute and abbreviated path names after a remote login. No difference is evident for the abbreviated path name. However, because the remote login operation mounted the jones home directory onto the local system (parallel to the local user's home directory), the absolute path name no longer requires the system name mars. For more information about how a remote login operation mounts another user's home directory, see What Happens After You Log In Remotely.

The following table provides a sample of absolute and abbreviated path names that are recognized by the C shell. The sample uses the following terminology:

• Working directory – The directory from which the rcp command is entered. Can be remote or local.

• Current user – The user name under which the rcp command is entered.

Table 29–4 Allowed Syntaxes for Directory and File Names

Logged in to	Syntax	Description
Local system	.	The local working directory
	path/filename	The path and filename in the local working directory
	~	The current user's home directory
	~/path/filename	The path and filename beneath the current user's home directory
	~user	The home directory of user
	~user/path/filename	The path and filename beneath the home directory of user
	remote-system:path/filename	The path and filename in the remote working directory
Remote system	.	The remote working directory
	filename	The filename in the remote working directory
	path/filename	The path and filename in the remote working directory
	~	The current user's home directory
	~/path/filename	The path and filename in the current user's home directory
	~user	The home directory of user
	~/user/path/filename	The path and filename beneath the home directory of user
	local-system:path/filename	The path and filename in the local working directory