use of period in cp command

[anshul001]

hello everyone
im a beginner in ubuntu , so to get some idea in command line i've started reading "The Linux Command Line"
while reading i was not able to understand the meaning of period at the end in this command:
[me@linuxbox playground]$ cp /etc/passwd .
without using period it gives :
ansh@ansh-Lenovo-G580:~/playground$ cp /etc/passwd
cp: missing destination file operand after ‘/etc/passwd’
Try 'cp --help' for more information.

can someone tell me the meaning of period at the end and its importance , in simple terms if possible

[kevdog]

. means current working directory
.. (two periods) means one directory higher in the directory tree. (for example if you were in /home/user, typing cd .. would move you to /home)

[Bucky Ball]

What are you actually trying to do? If you want to copy the /etc/passwd directory/file to somewhere else, then:

sudo cp /etc/passwd /etc/passwd.backup

... would create a copy of 'passwd', file or directory, called 'passwd.backup' in the /etc directory.

No idea about the '.'. Please use code tags for clarity when posting code. You can use the [code] tags or 'Go Advanced', highlight the code and click the hash '#'.

[Bucky Ball]

The end tag would naturally be [/code].

[anshul001]

im sorry for not clarifying this properly
as stated earlier im a beginner in this and this is actually my first post

in the book using this command :

[me@linuxbox playground]$ cp /etc/passwd .

he is trying to copy /etc/passwd file in a new directory named "playground"

so i wanted to ask the meaning of period symbol at the end of the command and why it is imp

and when i tried doing the same thing without using period it gave me this reply in my terminal :

ansh@ansh-Lenovo-G580:~/playground$ cp /etc/passwd

cp: missing destination file operand after ‘/etc/passwd’
Try 'cp --help' for more information.

now am i using the code tags properly ?

[anshul001]

* mistake again
last command was:

ansh@ansh-Lenovo-G580:~/playground$ cp /etc/passwd
cp: missing destination file operand after ‘/etc/passwd’
Try 'cp --help' for more information.

[anshul001]

thanks for replying
but is it imp to use . at the end of cp command for copying?

[Bucky Ball]

Have no idea about the period in this command, or much about the command, if it is intended to copy /etc/passwd file/directory into a new directory named "playground". What happens when you run the command with the period?

sudo mkdir/etc/playground
sudo cp /etc/passwd /etc/playground

The first command creates the directory 'playground', the second copies 'passwd' to the directory '/etc/playground'.

[deadflowr]

thanks for replying
but is it imp to use . at the end of cp command for copying?

Only if you want to copy it into the directory your are currently in.
The period stands for the current directory or place you're at.
With each additional period moving up the ladder, as it were, until you reach root /.

But when copying, you need to have a place to copy to.
Thus the missing destination.

[anshul001]

thanks for your help
using period at the end also copies the file
i just want to know the meaning and importance of period at the end of the command