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  • Thanks for the detailed explanation. Appreciated! Commented Jul 16, 2024 at 8:55
  • With (4.), if x doesn't exist in the current directory (either as a directory or file), and /tmp/a is a file, then the file x will be created in the current directory. This can be confusing if there isn't a directory x and (4.) was meant to copy the file /tmp/a to a directory x - it will instead create a file x with the contents of /tmp/a. The command (3.) is unambiguous - if there isn't a directory x, and (3.) is attempted, the command will fail with Not a directory. I believe this is one of the reasons why autocomplete with Tab adds / to directories. Commented Jul 16, 2024 at 12:38
  • @Vilinkameni I've extended the answer a little, but I don't think it is materially different. Yet I'm not sure what you're adding with your concerns. It's possible to specify that the destination must be a directory, but it's not possible to specify that the destination must not be a directory, and so there is unavoidable ambiguity in my option (4) Commented Jul 16, 2024 at 13:46
  • My comment was mostly about the case when there is neither a file nor a directory named x. Commented Jul 16, 2024 at 14:55