Reorganization: ripped util.py to shreds, creating in the process:
  - file_util.py: operations on single files
  - dir_util.py: operations on whole directories or directory trees
  - dep_util.py: simple timestamp-based dependency analysis
  - archive_util.py: creation of archive (tar, zip, ...) files
The functions left in util.py are miscellany that don't fit in any of the
new files.
diff --git a/Lib/distutils/file_util.py b/Lib/distutils/file_util.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..91545ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Lib/distutils/file_util.py
@@ -0,0 +1,248 @@
+"""distutils.file_util
+
+Utility functions for operating on single files."""
+
+# created 2000/04/03, Greg Ward (extracted from util.py)
+
+__revision__ = "$Id$"
+
+import os
+from distutils.errors import DistutilsFileError
+
+
+# for generating verbose output in 'copy_file()'
+_copy_action = { None:   'copying',
+                 'hard': 'hard linking',
+                 'sym':  'symbolically linking' }
+
+
+def _copy_file_contents (src, dst, buffer_size=16*1024):
+    """Copy the file 'src' to 'dst'; both must be filenames.  Any error
+       opening either file, reading from 'src', or writing to 'dst',
+       raises DistutilsFileError.  Data is read/written in chunks of
+       'buffer_size' bytes (default 16k).  No attempt is made to handle
+       anything apart from regular files."""
+
+    # Stolen from shutil module in the standard library, but with
+    # custom error-handling added.
+
+    fsrc = None
+    fdst = None
+    try:
+        try:
+            fsrc = open(src, 'rb')
+        except os.error, (errno, errstr):
+            raise DistutilsFileError, \
+                  "could not open '%s': %s" % (src, errstr)
+        
+        try:
+            fdst = open(dst, 'wb')
+        except os.error, (errno, errstr):
+            raise DistutilsFileError, \
+                  "could not create '%s': %s" % (dst, errstr)
+        
+        while 1:
+            try:
+                buf = fsrc.read (buffer_size)
+            except os.error, (errno, errstr):
+                raise DistutilsFileError, \
+                      "could not read from '%s': %s" % (src, errstr)
+            
+            if not buf:
+                break
+
+            try:
+                fdst.write(buf)
+            except os.error, (errno, errstr):
+                raise DistutilsFileError, \
+                      "could not write to '%s': %s" % (dst, errstr)
+            
+    finally:
+        if fdst:
+            fdst.close()
+        if fsrc:
+            fsrc.close()
+
+# _copy_file_contents()
+
+
+def copy_file (src, dst,
+               preserve_mode=1,
+               preserve_times=1,
+               update=0,
+               link=None,
+               verbose=0,
+               dry_run=0):
+
+    """Copy a file 'src' to 'dst'.  If 'dst' is a directory, then 'src'
+       is copied there with the same name; otherwise, it must be a
+       filename.  (If the file exists, it will be ruthlessly clobbered.)
+       If 'preserve_mode' is true (the default), the file's mode (type
+       and permission bits, or whatever is analogous on the current
+       platform) is copied.  If 'preserve_times' is true (the default),
+       the last-modified and last-access times are copied as well.  If
+       'update' is true, 'src' will only be copied if 'dst' does not
+       exist, or if 'dst' does exist but is older than 'src'.  If
+       'verbose' is true, then a one-line summary of the copy will be
+       printed to stdout.
+
+       'link' allows you to make hard links (os.link) or symbolic links
+       (os.symlink) instead of copying: set it to "hard" or "sym"; if it
+       is None (the default), files are copied.  Don't set 'link' on
+       systems that don't support it: 'copy_file()' doesn't check if
+       hard or symbolic linking is availalble.
+
+       Under Mac OS, uses the native file copy function in macostools;
+       on other systems, uses '_copy_file_contents()' to copy file
+       contents.
+
+       Return true if the file was copied (or would have been copied),
+       false otherwise (ie. 'update' was true and the destination is
+       up-to-date)."""
+
+    # XXX if the destination file already exists, we clobber it if
+    # copying, but blow up if linking.  Hmmm.  And I don't know what
+    # macostools.copyfile() does.  Should definitely be consistent, and
+    # should probably blow up if destination exists and we would be
+    # changing it (ie. it's not already a hard/soft link to src OR
+    # (not update) and (src newer than dst).
+
+    from stat import *
+    from distutils.dep_util import newer
+
+    if not os.path.isfile (src):
+        raise DistutilsFileError, \
+              "can't copy '%s': doesn't exist or not a regular file" % src
+
+    if os.path.isdir (dst):
+        dir = dst
+        dst = os.path.join (dst, os.path.basename (src))
+    else:
+        dir = os.path.dirname (dst)
+
+    if update and not newer (src, dst):
+        if verbose:
+            print "not copying %s (output up-to-date)" % src
+        return 0
+
+    try:
+        action = _copy_action[link]
+    except KeyError:
+        raise ValueError, \
+              "invalid value '%s' for 'link' argument" % link
+    if verbose:
+        print "%s %s -> %s" % (action, src, dir)
+
+    if dry_run:
+        return 1
+
+    # On a Mac, use the native file copy routine
+    if os.name == 'mac':
+        import macostools
+        try:
+            macostools.copy (src, dst, 0, preserve_times)
+        except OSError, exc:
+            raise DistutilsFileError, \
+                  "could not copy '%s' to '%s': %s" % (src, dst, exc[-1])
+    
+    # If linking (hard or symbolic), use the appropriate system call
+    # (Unix only, of course, but that's the caller's responsibility)
+    elif link == 'hard':
+        if not (os.path.exists (dst) and os.path.samefile (src, dst)):
+            os.link (src, dst)
+    elif link == 'sym':
+        if not (os.path.exists (dst) and os.path.samefile (src, dst)):
+            os.symlink (src, dst)
+
+    # Otherwise (non-Mac, not linking), copy the file contents and
+    # (optionally) copy the times and mode.
+    else:
+        _copy_file_contents (src, dst)
+        if preserve_mode or preserve_times:
+            st = os.stat (src)
+
+            # According to David Ascher <da@ski.org>, utime() should be done
+            # before chmod() (at least under NT).
+            if preserve_times:
+                os.utime (dst, (st[ST_ATIME], st[ST_MTIME]))
+            if preserve_mode:
+                os.chmod (dst, S_IMODE (st[ST_MODE]))
+
+    return 1
+
+# copy_file ()
+
+
+# XXX I suspect this is Unix-specific -- need porting help!
+def move_file (src, dst,
+               verbose=0,
+               dry_run=0):
+
+    """Move a file 'src' to 'dst'.  If 'dst' is a directory, the file
+       will be moved into it with the same name; otherwise, 'src' is
+       just renamed to 'dst'.  Return the new full name of the file.
+
+       Handles cross-device moves on Unix using
+       'copy_file()'.  What about other systems???"""
+
+    from os.path import exists, isfile, isdir, basename, dirname
+
+    if verbose:
+        print "moving %s -> %s" % (src, dst)
+
+    if dry_run:
+        return dst
+
+    if not isfile (src):
+        raise DistutilsFileError, \
+              "can't move '%s': not a regular file" % src
+
+    if isdir (dst):
+        dst = os.path.join (dst, basename (src))
+    elif exists (dst):
+        raise DistutilsFileError, \
+              "can't move '%s': destination '%s' already exists" % \
+              (src, dst)
+
+    if not isdir (dirname (dst)):
+        raise DistutilsFileError, \
+              "can't move '%s': destination '%s' not a valid path" % \
+              (src, dst)
+
+    copy_it = 0
+    try:
+        os.rename (src, dst)
+    except os.error, (num, msg):
+        if num == errno.EXDEV:
+            copy_it = 1
+        else:
+            raise DistutilsFileError, \
+                  "couldn't move '%s' to '%s': %s" % (src, dst, msg)
+
+    if copy_it:
+        copy_file (src, dst)
+        try:
+            os.unlink (src)
+        except os.error, (num, msg):
+            try:
+                os.unlink (dst)
+            except os.error:
+                pass
+            raise DistutilsFileError, \
+                  ("couldn't move '%s' to '%s' by copy/delete: " + 
+                   "delete '%s' failed: %s") % \
+                  (src, dst, src, msg)
+
+    return dst
+
+# move_file ()
+
+
+def write_file (filename, contents):
+    """Create a file with the specified name and write 'contents' (a
+       sequence of strings without line terminators) to it."""
+
+    f = open (filename, "w")
+    for line in contents:
+        f.write (line + "\n")
+    f.close ()