Just FYI, a passage from the "info" file that offers cold comfort:
> Traditionally, old `tar's have a limit of 100 characters. GNU `tar'
> attempted two different approaches to overcome this limit, using and
> extending a format specified by a draft of some P1003.1. The first
> way was not that successful, and involved `@MaNgLeD@' file names, or
> such; while a second approach used `././@LongLink' and other tricks,
> yielding better success. In theory, GNU `tar' should be able to handle
> file names of practically unlimited length. So, if GNU `tar' fails to
> dump and retrieve files having more than 100 characters, then there is
> a bug in GNU `tar', indeed.
>
> But, being strictly POSIX, the limit was still 100 characters.
> For various other purposes, GNU `tar' used areas left unassigned in the
> POSIX draft. POSIX later revised P1003.1 `ustar' format by assigning
> previously unused header fields, in such a way that the upper limit for
> file name length was raised to 256 characters. However, the actual POSIX
> limit oscillates between 100 and 256, depending on the precise location
> of slashes in full file name (this is rather ugly). Since GNU `tar'
> use the same fields for quite other purposes, it became incompatible
> with the latest POSIX standards.
>
> For longer or non-fitting file names, we plan to use yet another set
> of GNU extensions, but this time, complying with the provisions POSIX
> offers for extending the format, rather than conflicting with it.
> Whenever an archive uses old GNU `tar' extension format or POSIX
> extensions, would it be for very long file names or other specialities,
> this archive becomes non-portable to other `tar' implementations.
> In fact, anything can happen. The most forgiving `tar's will merely
> unpack the file using a wrong name, and maybe create another file
> named something like `@LongName', with the true file name in it.
> `tar's not protecting themselves may segment violate!
>
> Compatibility concerns make all this thing more difficult, as we will
> have to support _all_ these things together, for a while. GNU `tar'
> should be able to produce and read true POSIX format files, while
> being able to detect old GNU `tar' formats, besides old V7 format,
> and process them conveniently. It would take years before this whole
> area stabilizes...
>
> There are plans to raise this 100 limit to 256, and yet produce POSIX
> conforming archives. Past 256, I do not know yet if GNU `tar' will go
> non-POSIX again, or merely refuse to archive the file.
*****************************************************************
To unsubscribe from this list, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
with the text 'unsubscribe gnhlug' in the message body.
*****************************************************************
