README use-case

Author: orlin

README.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # fertilize -- retry the same thing, expect different results
 
 
-# SYNOPSIS
+## SYNOPSIS
 
 Sometimes spawning a child process is not successful.
 This attempts to `fertilize` the *process* by being stubborn,
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Therefore this isn't quite the same as "crazy",
 which people like to quote.
 
 
-# MOTIVATION
+## MOTIVATION
 
 The following is just a use-case.
 Retrying stuff can be justified / useful, even with computers...
@@ -28,7 +28,9 @@ until done.  If no number is provided, it will use some hardcoded default,
 which supposedly has better chances than the otherwise usual rsync once.
 
 
-# EXAMPLE
+## EXAMPLE
+
+All about `rsync`...
 
     fertilize 3 rsync something /dev/null
 
@@ -39,6 +41,32 @@ Be careful with `fertilize 0 something` - it easily becomes an infinite loop...
 So be convinced the `something` is likely to exit with a status of `0`.
 Zero (being success) is fitting for an exit, it otherwise goes on for infinity.
 
+Back to the motivation / use-case...
+
+This was prompted by a need to move some files from HFS to NTFS.  NTFS because
+it's the most reliable file-system that I can currently mount with both Mac OS
+and Linux.  Cut & paste produced some weird errors and rsync periodically does
+the broken pipe thing.  The NTFS-3G driver, being kind of slow, made it worse.
+I wish I could just use ZFS...
+
+So here is how I tend to move files:
+
+    fertilize 999 rsync -ptr --partial --size-only --remove-source-files --stats {source} {target}/
+
+It preserves permissions (if possible) and the timespamps,
+syncs the files recursively, removes whatever is synced,
+and provides stats in the end.
+
+The stats are those of the last run and only if successful up to attempt `999`,
+so they are just indicator of overall success, especially useful if your prompt
+doesn't display exit status.  The source directories are kept around - as there
+doesn't seem to be an option for removing them as well.  I don't use `--progress`
+with this - it would print a line every second.  Maybe there is or will be
+some other way to pass on child process stdout (without doing console.log)?
+
+Of-course rsync is useful for all kinds of copying and stuff --
+like keeping files in sync, backup, etc.
+
 
 ## INSTALL