Problems executing a copy command on win32

DaWolf has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Greetings, brothers and sisters.

First of all let me humbly apologize for this question. I probably hate more asking this kind of "it's-simple-why-can't-you-see-it" question than you like answering it, but sometimes I just don't get it...

I'm developing an extremely simple app for a friend.

It's suppose to just get some files on dir1 and - if they don't exist on dir2 - copy them there.

So, here's this incredible thing:

#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use strict;

my $path1 = "C:\\foo\\dir1";
my $path2 = "C:\\foo\\dir2";

opendir DIR, $path1 || die "\n\nUnable to open $path1. Error: $!\n\n";
my @files = readdir DIR;
closedir DIR;

for (my $f = 0; $f < scalar(@files); $f++)
{
    # test to see if it's a dir
    if ($files[$f] ne "." and $files[$f] ne ".." and $files[$f] !~ /\/
+/)
    {            
        unless(-e "$path2\\$files[$f]")
        {
            exec("copy $path1\\$files[$f] $path2\\") || die "\n\nUnabl
+e to copy $files[$f]. Error: $!\n\n";
        }
[download]

Well, in dir1 I have two files: abc.xls and abd.xls When I run the app it copies only the first file (abc.xls)! If I replace the exec() line for a simple print it works perfectly...

Can someone please explain this to me?

Thanks a lot for your patience,

my ($author_nickname, $author_email) = ("DaWolf","erabbott\@terra.com.br") if ($author_name eq "Er Galvão Abbott");

Comment on Problems executing a copy command on win32 Select or Download Code

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Re: Problems executing a copy command on win32 by Paladin (Vicar) on Jan 14, 2004 at 22:19 UTC
If you read the docs on the exec command, it says: The "exec" function executes a system command and never returns-- use "system" instead of "exec" if you want it to return. Basicly, `exec` replaces your process with the one you are execing, so you never make it back to your loop.	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Re: Problems executing a copy command on win32 by DaWolf (Curate) on Jan 14, 2004 at 22:26 UTC
Damn me, I'm really sorry. I've just took a glance on exec syntax and specification. Downvote me, I deserve it. Now a legitimate question: both files are empty (they were created by another app I've made that just creates an Excel document), so they are 0 Kb each. Windows refuses to copy them as if they don't exist. Is there a workaround for this? Thanks and sorry again, Thanks, Paladin. my ($author_nickname, $author_email) = ("DaWolf","erabbott\@terra.com.br") if ($author_name eq "Er Galvão Abbott");	[reply]
Re: Re: Re: Problems executing a copy command on win32 by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Jan 14, 2004 at 22:40 UTC
Now a legitimate question: both files are empty (they were created by another app I've made that just creates an Excel document), so they are 0 Kb each. Windows refuses to copy them as if they don't exist. Is there a workaround for this? `P:\test>md test P:\test>copy con test\fred ^Z 1 file(s) copied. P:\test>dir test Directory of P:\test\test 14/01/2004 22:32 0 fred 1 File(s) 0 bytes P:\test>md test2 P:\test>copy test\fred test2 1 file(s) copied. P:\test>dir test2 Directory of P:\test\test2 14/01/2004 22:32 0 fred 1 File(s) 0 bytes` [download] ? Examine what is said, not who speaks. "Efficiency is intelligent laziness." -David Dunham "Think for yourself!" - Abigail Timing (and a little luck) are everything!	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Problems executing a copy command on win32 by DaWolf (Curate) on Jan 14, 2004 at 22:43 UTC
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Problems executing a copy command on win32 by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Jan 14, 2004 at 22:48 UTC
Some notes below your chosen depth have not been shown here
Re: Problems executing a copy command on win32 by kutsu (Priest) on Jan 14, 2004 at 22:25 UTC
Since Paladin answered your question, I offer this advice Instead of doing that unreliable test for directory or file, why not use: `if(-d $files[$f]) #exist and directory #or if(-f $files[$f]) #exist and file #or if(-s $files[$f]) #exist and greater then 0` [download] Update: added first line & -s as that might help "Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum - I think that I think, therefore I think that I am." Ambrose Bierce	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Re: Problems executing a copy command on win32 by DaWolf (Curate) on Jan 14, 2004 at 22:30 UTC
Thanks a lot for this valuable tip, kutsu, ++. Best regards, my ($author_nickname, $author_email) = ("DaWolf","erabbott\@terra.com.br") if ($author_name eq "Er Galvão Abbott");	[reply]
Re: Problems executing a copy command on win32 by borisz (Canon) on Jan 14, 2004 at 22:23 UTC
Use `system` instead of `exec`. `exec` never returns. Beside that consider to use the `File::Copy` module to copy the files. Boris	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: Re: Problems executing a copy command on win32 by mce (Curate) on Jan 19, 2004 at 15:17 UTC
In the past, I had problems with File::Copy on win32 when copying large files from ntfs to fat32. I now use Win32::CopyFile, and this works always on windows.(but it is not portable) --------------------------- Dr. Mark Ceulemans Senior Consultant BMC, Belgium	[reply]
Re: Re: Re: Problems executing a copy command on win32 by Ronin (Initiate) on Jan 27, 2004 at 14:03 UTC
Where can I find Win32::CopyFile? I have looked on CPAN and I don't see it there. Thanks.	[reply]