Re: gnu tar

[Hans-Bernhard Broeker]

Neal Weissman <address@hidden> wrote:
> to wit: i don't understand what tar accomplishes. why would i want to tar
> a directory before i store it, rather than just store it, assuming i DO
> NOT USE COMPRESS.

In a nutshell: because you *can't* store a directory (and all it's
subdirectories, and all their contents) without the help of a tool
like tar.  Basically, "tar" is a book-keeping tool for usage with tape
drives.  

Traditionally, a tape drive keeps no information whatsoever about the
names of files you copy to it. There are no filenames, no timestamps,
no access rights --- nothing but the raw content.  tar lets you store
all this information about the stored file as part of the data written
to tape, so you can later check to see what's on that unmarked tape
you found deep in the back the bottom drawer of your desk.

The other task of tar is to store lots of files into a single tape
record.

-- 
Hans-Bernhard Broeker (address@hidden)
Even if all the snow were burnt, ashes would remain.