[TriLUG] cp errror "Argument list too long"

[Joel Ebel]

There is a limit in bash (and the operating system) to the number of 
arguments you can use.  Run getconf ARG_MAX to see what it is.  You'll 
have to limit the number of files you're processing to that number or go 
hacking around to increase the limit, which I don't recommend.

Joel

Greg Brown wrote:
> Ugh.  I have a Axis webcam doing motion detection to watch the dogs at
> home.  I have been creating mpg movies using the following command:
> 
> convert *.jpg -delay 10 date.mpg
> 
> But before I use the convert command I copy the files to /tmp/date.
> 
> When I try to copy the files I get a "Argument list too long" error
> and nothing is copied.  If I try to run the convert commany directly
> from the directly where my Axis camera dumps them I get the same
> error: Argument list too long.
> 
> I got crafty and did a 'for i in *jpg; cp $i /tmp/date ; done' and
> that worked - but the convert still failed.
> 
> Any ideas here?  I'm out of them.  And google is no help, at least in
> the middle of the night.
> 
> *yawn*