cpkf

cpkf file1  file2 {key1 .. keyn}

cpkf copies the sections and/or variables key1 .. keyn from file1 to file2.

If a referenced section or variable already exists on file2 it is overwritten, else it is created. Sections and variables which are already present on file2 but which are not referenced in the command are not affected.

If no sections and/or variables are explicitly mentioned at all the copy is carried out for all sections and variables on file1.

A side effect of the copy is that any 'holes' that may be present on the first file are not copied to the second file so that they no longer take up any space. The data copied to the second file is rearranged for optimum storage efficiency. 'Holes' may be due to sections and variables that have existed in the past but that have formally been deleted later; one of the KF functionalities is to delete variables or sections. Such activity does not actually rearrange the KF file, but simply deletes the corresponding entries in index tables.