the risk of catastrophic data loss from misuse of `dd` makes my hackles rise just looking at this.
I will never forget when I mixed up `if` and `of` during a routine backup.
`cat /dev/sda > /mnt/myDisk2` is so much safer, explicit, and in unix norms. It's also faster because you don't have to tune block size parameters.
Plus you can also do `pv /dev/sda > /mnt/myDisk2` to get transfer speed details.
Friends don't let friends use `dd` where `cat` can do the same job.
I stopped getting scared of `if` and `of` about a decade ago when I started explicitly saying (in my head) "input file" and "output file" rather than "if" and "of." You still can mess up the order, but imo no more easily than you can swap `cat in > out` for `cat out > in`.
> Friends don't let friends use `dd` where `cat` can do the same job.
Technically yes... but I like being able to explicitly set block sizes and force sync writes.