backup a partition table with gpart(8)

[Marcel Moolenaar]

On Nov 18, 2010, at 10:00 AM, Greg Rivers wrote:
> 
> So instead of a special dump command or complicated XML formatting, just make "gpart show" output suitable for input (it's probably already close), and add the verb to read that input ("gpart read" or "gpart apply" or such).  Add the ability to handle wildcards and run the editor, and gpart could be as friendly to use as bsdlabel is.

BTW: I don't think bsdlabel is friendly to use at all, so
I certainly hope not that gpart will become as friendly
as bsdlabel. It would be a regression :-)

I would not try and mix functionality in a single command.
Output suitable for humans is ipso facto unsuitable for
machines (and vice versa). I'm sure there are exceptions,
but I do not think gpart is one of them.

It's better to introduce gpart backup and gpart restore and
have them optimized for the purpose than it is to try and
solve two independent problems with gpart show, which already
has its own problems of providing user-friendly output.

-- 
Marcel Moolenaar
xcllnt at mac.com