Does the 'cp' command copy the slack space of the copied file to the new location(e.g. CDROM, TAPE)?
I've read that slack space is only copied in a bitstream copy/backup. Is the 'cp' utility a bitstream copy?
This is a good question, actually, each filesystem has its own rules for slack space. Let's consider UFS or ext3, as they act the same in this meaning :
where sparse files are a type of computer files that attempt to use file system space more efficiently; so, "cp" by default doesn't use slack space, means , it's optimized for work.