>> On Sun, May 16, 2021 at 01:31:49PM -0500, Richard Owlett wrote:
>> > I'll bite ;}
>> > When is it the right tool?
>>
>> When you're using it to convert ebcdic to ascii, while swapping bytes and
>> reblocking an ancient file from a barely readable archival tape.
>>
>> > When is it not?
>>
>> When copying a file.
>>
> When copying a file and writing it to another medium, perhaps eg when writing
> a DVD .iso file directly to a USB stick, it's ideal.
Not sure about ideal:
cat <foo.iso >/dev/sdb
is one char longer than
dd <foo.iso >/dev/sdb
but it's often faster (you can speed up `dd` by providing a larger
`bs=` argument, but then you've lost the length advantage ;-)
Stefan
