title: wildcard in linux cp
body: <p>when I use * in cp, I think it follows the same rule as regex.
  so <code>"cp temp/* test/"</code> should copies everything over, however, when temp folder is empty it throws exception saying it cannot find file or directory, which indicte * cannot match "nothing".</p>
  
  <p>Then I create a file test.txt under temp and do:</p>
  
  <pre><code>cp temp/test.txt* test/
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>It works, which indicate * indeed match "nothing".</p>
  
  <p>I get confused about the behavior. Can anyone explain a little bit?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks</p>