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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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