Copy a file like unix cp -a --reflink

[Anssi Saari]

Paulo da Silva <p_s_d_a_s_i_l_v_a at netcabo.pt> writes:

> Hi!
>
> Is there a way to copy a file the same as Unix command:
>
> cp -a --reflink src dest
>
> without invoking a shell command?

I vaguely remember this was asked and answered some time ago and the
answer was no, even just for -a.  In fact, the python shutil module
documentation starts with a warning to that effect. The --reflink stuff
would be another thing altogether.

More accurately, currently the only way would be to duplicate this
functionality of cp in python.