For as rare as such an event could be, I was affected by this: more
than once GNU tar couldn't extract it's own files while fortunately
pax could. I had to back up some big directories with GNU tar on
Solaris 10 and sometimes it happened that tar exited with exit status
0 doing nothing. Archives were created with the E flag. This was truss
output:
2827:   execve("/usr/sbin/tar", 0x080472BC, 0x080472CC)  argc = 3
2827:   mmap(0x00000000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANON, -1, 0) = 0xFEFB0000
2827:   resolvepath("/usr/lib/ld.so.1", "/lib/ld.so.1", 1023) = 12
2827:   resolvepath("/usr/sbin/tar", "/usr/sbin/tar", 1023) = 13
2827:   sysconfig(_CONFIG_PAGESIZE)                     = 4096
2827:   xstat(2, "/usr/sbin/tar", 0x08047078)           = 0
2827:   open("/var/ld/ld.config", O_RDONLY)             Err#2 ENOENT
2827:   xstat(2, "/lib/libsec.so.1", 0x08046838)        = 0
2827:   resolvepath("/lib/libsec.so.1", "/lib/libsec.so.1", 1023) = 16
2827:   open("/lib/libsec.so.1", O_RDONLY)              = 3
2827:   mmap(0x00010000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ALIGN, 3, 0) = 0xFEFA0000
2827:   mmap(0x00010000, 147456, PROT_NONE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_NORESERVE|MAP_ANON|MAP_ALIGN, -1, 0) = 0xFEF70000
2827:   mmap(0xFEF70000, 55015, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_TEXT, 3, 0) = 0xFEF70000
2827:   mmap(0xFEF8E000, 12157, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_INITDATA, 3, 57344) = 0xFEF8E000
2827:   mmap(0xFEF91000, 8520, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANON, -1, 0) = 0xFEF91000
2827:   munmap(0xFEF7E000, 65536)                       = 0
2827:   memcntl(0xFEF70000, 12448, MC_ADVISE, MADV_WILLNEED, 0, 0) = 0
2827:   close(3)                                        = 0
2827:   xstat(2, "/lib/libc.so.1", 0x08046838)          = 0
2827:   resolvepath("/lib/libc.so.1", "/lib/libc.so.1", 1023) = 14
2827:   open("/lib/libc.so.1", O_RDONLY)                = 3
2827:   mmap(0xFEFA0000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED, 3, 0) = 0xFEFA0000
2827:   mmap(0x00010000, 1040384, PROT_NONE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_NORESERVE|MAP_ANON|MAP_ALIGN, -1, 0) = 0xFEE70000
2827:   mmap(0xFEE70000, 936601, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_TEXT, 3, 0) = 0xFEE70000
2827:   mmap(0xFEF65000, 27822, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_INITDATA, 3, 937984) = 0xFEF65000
2827:   mmap(0xFEF6C000, 6104, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANON, -1, 0) = 0xFEF6C000
2827:   munmap(0xFEF55000, 65536)                       = 0
2827:   memcntl(0xFEE70000, 203456, MC_ADVISE, MADV_WILLNEED, 0, 0) = 0
2827:   close(3)                                        = 0
2827:   xstat(2, "/lib/libavl.so.1", 0x08046838)        = 0
2827:   resolvepath("/lib/libavl.so.1", "/lib/libavl.so.1", 1023) = 16
2827:   open("/lib/libavl.so.1", O_RDONLY)              = 3
2827:   mmap(0xFEFA0000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED, 3, 0) = 0xFEFA0000
2827:   mmap(0x00010000, 73728, PROT_NONE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_NORESERVE|MAP_ANON|MAP_ALIGN, -1, 0) = 0xFEE50000
2827:   mmap(0xFEE50000, 3820, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_TEXT, 3, 0) = 0xFEE50000
2827:   mmap(0xFEE61000, 332, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_INITDATA, 3, 4096) = 0xFEE61000
2827:   munmap(0xFEE51000, 65536)                       = 0
2827:   memcntl(0xFEE50000, 1848, MC_ADVISE, MADV_WILLNEED, 0, 0) = 0
2827:   close(3)                                        = 0
2827:   mmap(0x00000000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANON, -1, 0) = 0xFEE40000
2827:   munmap(0xFEFA0000, 4096)                        = 0
2827:   mmap(0x00010000, 24576, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANON|MAP_ALIGN, -1, 0) = 0xFEFA0000
2827:   getcontext(0x08046E30)
2827:   getrlimit(RLIMIT_STACK, 0x08046E28)             = 0
2827:   getpid()                                        = 2827 [2826]
2827:   lwp_private(0, 1, 0xFEFA2000)                   = 0x000001C3
2827:   setustack(0xFEFA2060)
2827:   sysi86(SI86FPSTART, 0xFEF6CE08, 0x0000133F, 0x00001F80) = 0x00000001
2827:   sysconfig(_CONFIG_PAGESIZE)                     = 4096
2827:   brk(0x0807C808)                                 = 0
2827:   brk(0x0807E808)                                 = 0
2827:   xstat(2, "/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8.so.3", 0x080462E8) = 0
2827:   resolvepath("/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8.so.3",
"/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8.so.3", 1023) = 44
2827:   open("/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8.so.3", O_RDONLY) = 3
2827:   mmap(0x00010000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ALIGN, 3, 0) = 0xFEE30000
2827:   mmap(0x00010000, 2297856, PROT_NONE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_NORESERVE|MAP_ANON|MAP_ALIGN, -1, 0) = 0xFEA00000
2827:   mmap(0xFEA00000, 2225262, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_TEXT, 3, 0) = 0xFEA00000
2827:   mmap(0xFEC2F000, 4218, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_INITDATA, 3, 2224128) = 0xFEC2F000
2827:   munmap(0xFEC20000, 61440)                       = 0
2827:   memcntl(0xFEA00000, 7168, MC_ADVISE, MADV_WILLNEED, 0, 0) = 0
2827:   close(3)                                        = 0
2827:   xstat(2,
"/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/methods_en_US.UTF-8.so.3", 0x080461F8) =
0
2827:   resolvepath("/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/methods_en_US.UTF-8.so.3",
"/usr/lib/locale/common/methods_unicode.so.3", 1023) = 43
2827:   open("/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/methods_en_US.UTF-8.so.3",
O_RDONLY) = 3
2827:   mmap(0xFEE30000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED, 3, 0) = 0xFEE30000
2827:   mmap(0x00010000, 122880, PROT_NONE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_NORESERVE|MAP_ANON|MAP_ALIGN, -1, 0) = 0xFEE10000
2827:   mmap(0xFEE10000, 55693, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_TEXT, 3, 0) = 0xFEE10000
2827:   mmap(0xFEE2D000, 2780, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_INITDATA, 3, 53248) = 0xFEE2D000
2827:   munmap(0xFEE1E000, 61440)                       = 0
2827:   memcntl(0xFEE10000, 2532, MC_ADVISE, MADV_WILLNEED, 0, 0) = 0
2827:   close(3)                                        = 0
2827:   xstat(2, "/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/libc.so.1", 0x080461F8)
Err#2 ENOENT
2827:   munmap(0xFEE30000, 4096)                        = 0
2827:   open("/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/LC_MESSAGES/SUNW_OST_OSCMD.mo",
O_RDONLY) Err#2 ENOENT
2827:   brk(0x0807E808)                                 = 0
2827:   brk(0x08080808)                                 = 0
2827:   brk(0x08080808)                                 = 0
2827:   brk(0x08082808)                                 = 0
2827:   getpid()                                        = 2827 [2826]
2827:   open64("backup.tar", O_RDONLY)                  = 3
2827:   read(3, "\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0".., 10240)    = 10240
2827:   unlink("/tmp/tarXXXXXX")                        Err#2 ENOENT
2827:   close(3)                                        = 0
2827:   close(1)                                        = 0
2827:   _exit(0)
r...@suncarol:/tank/backup$ tar tf backup.tar
r...@suncarol:/tank/backup$ truss -f tar tf backup.tar
2830:   execve("/usr/sbin/tar", 0x080472BC, 0x080472CC)  argc = 3
2830:   mmap(0x00000000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANON, -1, 0) = 0xFEFB0000
2830:   resolvepath("/usr/lib/ld.so.1", "/lib/ld.so.1", 1023) = 12
2830:   resolvepath("/usr/sbin/tar", "/usr/sbin/tar", 1023) = 13
2830:   sysconfig(_CONFIG_PAGESIZE)                     = 4096
2830:   xstat(2, "/usr/sbin/tar", 0x08047078)           = 0
2830:   open("/var/ld/ld.config", O_RDONLY)             Err#2 ENOENT
2830:   xstat(2, "/lib/libsec.so.1", 0x08046838)        = 0
2830:   resolvepath("/lib/libsec.so.1", "/lib/libsec.so.1", 1023) = 16
2830:   open("/lib/libsec.so.1", O_RDONLY)              = 3
2830:   mmap(0x00010000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ALIGN, 3, 0) = 0xFEFA0000
2830:   mmap(0x00010000, 147456, PROT_NONE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_NORESERVE|MAP_ANON|MAP_ALIGN, -1, 0) = 0xFEF70000
2830:   mmap(0xFEF70000, 55015, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_TEXT, 3, 0) = 0xFEF70000
2830:   mmap(0xFEF8E000, 12157, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_INITDATA, 3, 57344) = 0xFEF8E000
2830:   mmap(0xFEF91000, 8520, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANON, -1, 0) = 0xFEF91000
2830:   munmap(0xFEF7E000, 65536)                       = 0
2830:   memcntl(0xFEF70000, 12448, MC_ADVISE, MADV_WILLNEED, 0, 0) = 0
2830:   close(3)                                        = 0
2830:   xstat(2, "/lib/libc.so.1", 0x08046838)          = 0
2830:   resolvepath("/lib/libc.so.1", "/lib/libc.so.1", 1023) = 14
2830:   open("/lib/libc.so.1", O_RDONLY)                = 3
2830:   mmap(0xFEFA0000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED, 3, 0) = 0xFEFA0000
2830:   mmap(0x00010000, 1040384, PROT_NONE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_NORESERVE|MAP_ANON|MAP_ALIGN, -1, 0) = 0xFEE70000
2830:   mmap(0xFEE70000, 936601, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_TEXT, 3, 0) = 0xFEE70000
2830:   mmap(0xFEF65000, 27822, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_INITDATA, 3, 937984) = 0xFEF65000
2830:   mmap(0xFEF6C000, 6104, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANON, -1, 0) = 0xFEF6C000
2830:   munmap(0xFEF55000, 65536)                       = 0
2830:   memcntl(0xFEE70000, 203456, MC_ADVISE, MADV_WILLNEED, 0, 0) = 0
2830:   close(3)                                        = 0
2830:   xstat(2, "/lib/libavl.so.1", 0x08046838)        = 0
2830:   resolvepath("/lib/libavl.so.1", "/lib/libavl.so.1", 1023) = 16
2830:   open("/lib/libavl.so.1", O_RDONLY)              = 3
2830:   mmap(0xFEFA0000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED, 3, 0) = 0xFEFA0000
2830:   mmap(0x00010000, 73728, PROT_NONE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_NORESERVE|MAP_ANON|MAP_ALIGN, -1, 0) = 0xFEE50000
2830:   mmap(0xFEE50000, 3820, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_TEXT, 3, 0) = 0xFEE50000
2830:   mmap(0xFEE61000, 332, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_INITDATA, 3, 4096) = 0xFEE61000
2830:   munmap(0xFEE51000, 65536)                       = 0
2830:   memcntl(0xFEE50000, 1848, MC_ADVISE, MADV_WILLNEED, 0, 0) = 0
2830:   close(3)                                        = 0
2830:   mmap(0x00000000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANON, -1, 0) = 0xFEE40000
2830:   munmap(0xFEFA0000, 4096)                        = 0
2830:   mmap(0x00010000, 24576, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANON|MAP_ALIGN, -1, 0) = 0xFEFA0000
2830:   getcontext(0x08046E30)
2830:   getrlimit(RLIMIT_STACK, 0x08046E28)             = 0
2830:   getpid()                                        = 2830 [2829]
2830:   lwp_private(0, 1, 0xFEFA2000)                   = 0x000001C3
2830:   setustack(0xFEFA2060)
2830:   sysi86(SI86FPSTART, 0xFEF6CE08, 0x0000133F, 0x00001F80) = 0x00000001
2830:   sysconfig(_CONFIG_PAGESIZE)                     = 4096
2830:   brk(0x0807C808)                                 = 0
2830:   brk(0x0807E808)                                 = 0
2830:   xstat(2, "/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8.so.3", 0x080462E8) = 0
2830:   resolvepath("/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8.so.3",
"/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8.so.3", 1023) = 44
2830:   open("/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8.so.3", O_RDONLY) = 3
2830:   mmap(0x00010000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ALIGN, 3, 0) = 0xFEE30000
2830:   mmap(0x00010000, 2297856, PROT_NONE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_NORESERVE|MAP_ANON|MAP_ALIGN, -1, 0) = 0xFEA00000
2830:   mmap(0xFEA00000, 2225262, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_TEXT, 3, 0) = 0xFEA00000
2830:   mmap(0xFEC2F000, 4218, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_INITDATA, 3, 2224128) = 0xFEC2F000
2830:   munmap(0xFEC20000, 61440)                       = 0
2830:   memcntl(0xFEA00000, 7168, MC_ADVISE, MADV_WILLNEED, 0, 0) = 0
2830:   close(3)                                        = 0
2830:   xstat(2,
"/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/methods_en_US.UTF-8.so.3", 0x080461F8) =
0
2830:   resolvepath("/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/methods_en_US.UTF-8.so.3",
"/usr/lib/locale/common/methods_unicode.so.3", 1023) = 43
2830:   open("/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/methods_en_US.UTF-8.so.3",
O_RDONLY) = 3
2830:   mmap(0xFEE30000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED, 3, 0) = 0xFEE30000
2830:   mmap(0x00010000, 122880, PROT_NONE,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_NORESERVE|MAP_ANON|MAP_ALIGN, -1, 0) = 0xFEE10000
2830:   mmap(0xFEE10000, 55693, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_TEXT, 3, 0) = 0xFEE10000
2830:   mmap(0xFEE2D000, 2780, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE|PROT_EXEC,
MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_INITDATA, 3, 53248) = 0xFEE2D000
2830:   munmap(0xFEE1E000, 61440)                       = 0
2830:   memcntl(0xFEE10000, 2532, MC_ADVISE, MADV_WILLNEED, 0, 0) = 0
2830:   close(3)                                        = 0
2830:   xstat(2, "/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/libc.so.1", 0x080461F8)
Err#2 ENOENT
2830:   munmap(0xFEE30000, 4096)                        = 0
2830:   open("/usr/lib/locale/en_US.UTF-8/LC_MESSAGES/SUNW_OST_OSCMD.mo",
O_RDONLY) Err#2 ENOENT
2830:   brk(0x0807E808)                                 = 0
2830:   brk(0x08080808)                                 = 0
2830:   brk(0x08080808)                                 = 0
2830:   brk(0x08082808)                                 = 0
2830:   getpid()                                        = 2830 [2829]
2830:   open64("backup.tar", O_RDONLY)                  = 3
2830:   read(3, "\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0".., 10240)    = 10240
2830:   unlink("/tmp/tarXXXXXX")                        Err#2 ENOENT
2830:   close(3)                                        = 0
2830:   close(1)                                        = 0
2830:   _exit(0)

and this was od -c output:
0000000  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0
*
0000140  \0  \0  \0  \0   0   0   0   0   7   5   5  \0   0   0   0   0
0000160   0   0   0  \0   0   0   0   0   0   0   3  \0   0   0   0   0
0000200   0   0   0   0   0   3   6  \0   1   0   6   6   3   6   7   2
0000220   5   5   1  \0   0   0   1   4   2   5   0  \0   X  \0  \0  \0
0000240  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0
*
0000400  \0   u   s   t   a   r  \0   0   0   r   o   o   t  \0  \0  \0
0000420  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0
0000440  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0   s   y   s  \0  \0  \0  \0
0000460  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0
0000500  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0   0   0   0   0   2   6   6
0000520  \0   0   2   0   0   0   0   3  \0   /   t   m   p   /   P   a
0000540   x   H   e   a   d   e   r   s   .   2   1   8   7  \0  \0  \0
0000560  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0
*
0001000   3   0       m   t   i   m   e   =   1   1   8   8   0   0   1
0001020   1   2   9   .   0   5   5   1   2   0   8   2   5  \n  \0  \0
0001040  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0
*
0002000   /   t   a   n   k   /   b   a   c   k   u   p   /  \0  \0  \0
0002020  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0
*
0002140  \0  \0  \0  \0   0   0   0   0   7   5   5  \0   0   0   0   0
0002160   0   0   0  \0   0   0   0   0   0   0   3  \0   0   0   0   0
0002200   0   0   0   0   0   0   0  \0   1   0   6   6   3   6   7   2
0002220   5   5   1  \0   0   0   1   3   2   3   1  \0   5  \0  \0  \0
0002240  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0
*
0002400  \0   u   s   t   a   r  \0   0   0   r   o   o   t  \0  \0  \0
0002420  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0
0002440  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0   s   y   s  \0  \0  \0  \0
0002460  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0
0002500  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0   0   0   0   0   2   6   6
0002520  \0   0   2   0   0   0   0   3  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0
0002540  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0
*
0003000   a   d   m   i   n  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0  \0

Clearly there was a problem that pax could solve. Never digged more
into it but I assure that never had such a terrific problem with Sun's
shipped tar.


On Sat, Jan 17, 2009 at 11:17 PM, Joerg Schilling
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Tim Bray <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I've been using tar on linux since about 1996 and I've never had such
>> a failure, nor have I ever heard of anyone having one.  I'm not saying
>> that it can't happen, I'm just saying that the experience of the
>> community is that's an extremely reliable tool.
>
> Whether your personal experiences include problems or not depends on what you
> are doing.
>
> GNU tar did until very recently have problems with larger sparse files
> and it still rejects the read back 1-5% of all continuation volumes from a
> multi volume archive. Every time, I planned to reimplement an idea from
> GNU tar in star, I collected possible implementation problems and always
> found a related bug in GNU tar.
>
>> > Roughly at the same time as GNU tar introduced -z, star introduced
>> > auto-decompression. Why do you like to know about this detail if the
>> > tar
>> > implementation could to this for you automagically based on the
>> > compression
>> > header magic numbers?
>>
>> My fingers are used to typing "tar -xzf" and as long as I don't get
>> any stupid error messages and the data is unpacked, I'm happy. -T
>
> -z is related to the outdated gzip compression.
>
> If your archive was compressed using bzip2 or 7z, your command line fails.
>
> Star on the other side recognizes the compression method and automagically
> calls the right matching decompress program.
>
> Jörg
>
> --
>  EMail:[email protected] (home) Jörg Schilling D-13353 Berlin
>       [email protected]                (uni)
>       [email protected] (work) Blog: 
> http://schily.blogspot.com/
>  URL:  http://cdrecord.berlios.de/private/ ftp://ftp.berlios.de/pub/schily
> _______________________________________________
> indiana-discuss mailing list
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> http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/indiana-discuss
>



-- 
Ελευθερία ή θάνατος
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to
build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying
to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning."
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