[throwaway747271]

People like shell scripts because you have one interface: text

For example: you need to write an image to a USB stick. Python: pretty lengthy BASH: image > /dev/SDA

Both will do exactly the same, but one is a few lines of python the other just one line in bash.

[hn92726819]

Why a throwaway for this? Is this a gpt response?

Also it's not right. You need to do something like image.img <cat> /dev/sda

[throwaway362651]

Why a throwaway? I am on my phone with no access to my real password. Don't get bothered by it?!

Did this look like a proper bash command to you?! Maybe that was some runable python code?!

File ending has nothing to do with its contents. Image.img could be an mp3.

Stop hairsplitting.

[hn92726819]

Not upset but I am touchy about gpt results. The ending wasn't the key part, the <cat> was the key part. I added img because that's the only image type I can think of that makes sense to write to sda in that way.

Why would anyone write an mp3 to a block device bit by bit

[all2]

    dd if=<image> of=<output device> bs=<block size>

I use this whenever I need to bake an image to a USB stick.

[throwaway362651]

Always append status=progress and conv=fdatasync Makes sure that the buffer is flushed to disk before finishing.

[hn92726819]

Of course. That's the right way to do it. I was pointing out that what was written isn't right in any situation and the smallest change to make it make sense would be adding <cat> in the middle

Turns out my answer was wrong too :D. Should have been <image.img cat >/dev/sda. Oh well