It would also be interesting to know which version of tar you are using. tar --version will tell you.
& btw, tar will print out a listing or table of the files in an archive by using this command:- tar -tvf archive.tar no need to go futzing with a gooey program like ark. On 4/11/08, Volker Kuhlmann <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Fri 11 Apr 2008 08:08:49 NZST +1200, Steve Holdoway wrote: > > > > The gzip and bzip2 (de)compressions are built into tar itself. If this > > > > Are you sure? They never used to be. You always used to have to install > > bzip2 before the j option would work. > > A decade ago when I compiled gnu stuff for slowlaris (slow to catch up with > decent shell programs) zlib o.e. was optionally needed for compression > support. bzip2 came later. Seeing that tar is a pretty low-level tool which > system operation to some extend depends on, it makes sense not to add a > reliance on being able to exec other binaries. But here's the pudding: > > touch file > strace -e trace=process tar -cjf bla.tar.bz2 file > > No exec other than for /bin/tar. > No other binary program file access with trace=file either. > > On my tar at least the compressions are built in, I guess it's possible that > other distros do it differently. > > It still doesn't explain the truncated tar output - if rudiments of a > tar directory listing exist, the compression must have gone at least that > far. > > Other thought: check whether app-armor etc kicks in from/for cron (check > syslog). > > Roger, please write a script which produces no output and does your backup. > You want to add at the top: > > exec >/tmp/stdout.$$ > exec 2>/tmp/stderr.$$ > ulimit -a > env > > Run from shell. Verify there's no output! Then run from cron. Compare files, > esp the stderr. No matter whether you found a workaround, I'd want to know > why it fails. > > Volker > > -- > Volker Kuhlmann is list0570 with the domain in header > http://volker.dnsalias.net/ Please do not CC list postings to me. > -- Sincerely etc. Christopher Sawtell
