What is the benefit of copy over xcopy on the command line?

Question

I know that xcopy has more options however are there any benefits to using copy rather than xcopy?

Solution 1

1. xcopy is an external program, while copy is part of the interpreter (cmd.exe, command.com). This means that xcopy might not be present on another machine or a rescue disk.

   Since we have Windows and rescue CDs, that isn't really an issue anymore.

2. copy can concatenate files.

   copy file1 + file2 file3
   

   creates a file (file3) which contains file1's and file2's contents.

3. copy can copy more than just files.

   For example,

   copy con file
   

   lets you write directly from the keyboard (console) to file.

   Likewise, you can print a file using

   copy file prn
   copy file \\computer\printer
   

   where the latter is for shared printers.

   You can even combine the above: The command

   copy con prn
   

   lets you write directly to the printer.

Solution 2

I think the main difference is (or was) that xcopy is able to copy folder hierarchies and copy was intended to work on files only.
That being said, I don't think there is anything to gain (functionality- or performance-wise) from using copy.

Please note, even xcopy is outdated by today's standards. Robocopy is the new copy utility of choice on modern Windows platforms.

Also note that all the mentioned copy utilities have Wikipedia articles that could contain further information:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy_(command)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xcopy
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robocopy

Solution 3

Anyone remember DOS on dual floppy PCs? Xcopy minimises the number of read seeks by loading multiple files into memory on a single read to speed up the copy. Probably still makes a trivial speed improvement with HDDs.

Comments

[Orangutech]

Also, it's one less character to type when invoking it. :)

[Johnny_D]

Wow, thanks for info regarding files concatenation. I've just found out it and understood why my result file was so big. You've made my day.

[Scott - Слава Україні]

At the risk of splitting hairs, this is not, strictly speaking, an answer to the question, since it asks for benefit(s) of copy over xcopy.  But, IMO, this is a valid contribution to the discussion.