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patch and the POSIX Standard

If you specify the --posix option, or set the POSIXLY_CORRECT environment variable, patch conforms more strictly to the POSIX standard, as follows:

• Take the first existing file from the list (old, new, index) when intuiting file names from diff headers. See Multiple Patches.
• Do not remove files that are removed by a diff. See Creating and Removing.
• Do not ask whether to get files from RCS, ClearCase, or SCCS. See Revision Control.
• Require that all options precede the files in the command line.
• Do not backup files, even when there is a mismatch. See Backups.