Before you hit me with the obvious, I know, the backup option makes a backup of a file.

But the thing is, the `cp` command in general backs up a file. One could argue a copy of a file is a backup.

So more precisely, my question is this: what does the `-b` option do that the `cp` command doesn't do already?

The cp(1) man page gives the following description of the `--backup` option:

> 
> make a backup of each existing destination file
> 
> 
> 

This definition isnt very useful, basically saying "the backup option makes a backup". This gives no indication as to what `-b` adds to the `cp`

I know `-b` puts some suffix at the end of the name of the new file. But is there anything else it does? Or is that it? Is a `-b` backup just a `cp` command that adds something to the end of the filename? Thank you

P.S. Do you typically use `-b` when making backups in your daily work? Or do you just stick to `-a`?