-This is an unofficial port of GNU `tar' 1.12 to large
-file environments like Solaris 2.6 and HP-UX 10.20 that rely on integer
-system types longer than `long'. Ordinary GNU `tar' 1.12 cannot handle
-files larger than 2 GB when compiled in such environments. This port
-addresses that problem, and fixes some other well-known bugs in GNU tar 1.12.
-Please send bug reports specific to this unofficial version of GNU `tar'
-to <eggert@twinsun.com>.
-
-This is not intended to be a forked release for GNU tar; it's
-just an interim experimental release, mostly intended for
-Large File Summit hosts like Solaris 2.6. The patches of this
-release have all been submitted via the usual channels and
-they should no longer be needed once the next official release
-of GNU tar is out.
-
-
Please glance through *all* sections of this
`README' file before starting configuration. Also make sure you read files
`ABOUT-NLS' and `INSTALL' if you are not familiar with them already.
-If you got the `tar' distribution in `shar' format, timestamps ought to be
-properly restored, do not ignore such complaints at `unshar' time.
+If you got the `tar' distribution in `shar' format, time stamps ought to be
+properly restored; do not ignore such complaints at `unshar' time.
GNU `tar' saves many files together into a single tape or disk
archive, and can restore individual files from the archive. It includes
GNU `tar' is derived from John Gilmore's public domain `tar'.
See file `ABOUT-NLS' for how to customize this program to your language.
-See file `BACKLOG' for a summary of pending mail and articles.
See file `COPYING' for copying conditions.
See file `INSTALL' for compilation and installation instructions.
See file `PORTS' for various ports of GNU tar to non-Unix systems.
See file `THANKS' for a list of contributors.
Besides those configure options documented in files `INSTALL' and
-`ABOUT-NLS', a few extra options may be accepted after `./configure':
+`ABOUT-NLS', an extra option may be accepted after `./configure':
-* `--with-dmalloc' is a debugging option for looking at memory management
-problems, it prerequires Gray Watson's package, which is available as
-`ftp://ftp.letters.com/src/dmalloc/dmalloc.tar.gz'.
+* `--disable-largefile' omits support for large files, even if the
+operating system supports large files. Typically, large files are
+those larger on 2 GB on a 32-bit host.
The default archive device is now `stdin' on read and `stdout' on write.
The installer can still override this by presetting `DEFAULT_ARCHIVE'
For comprehensive modifications to GNU tar, you might need tools beyond
those used in simple installations. Fully install GNU m4 1.4 first,
and only then, Autoconf 2.13 or later. Install Perl, then Automake
-1.4 or later. You might need Bison 1.26 or later, and GNU tar itself.
+1.4 or later. You might need Bison 1.28 or later, and GNU tar itself.
All are available on GNU archive sites, like in
ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/.
-Send bug reports to `tar-bugs@gnu.ai.mit.edu'. (Beware, old-timers: it is
+Send bug reports to `bug-tar@gnu.org'. (Beware, old-timers: it is
`@gnu', not `@prep'; and not `bug-gnu-utils' anymore.) A bug report is
an adequate description of the problem: your input, what you expected,
what you got, and why this is wrong. Diffs are welcome, but they only
Here are a few hints which might help installing `tar' on some systems.
+* gzip and bzip2.
+
+GNU tar uses the gzip and bzip2 programs to read and write compressed
+archives. If you don't have these programs already, you need to
+install them. Their sources can be found at:
+
+ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gzip/
+http://sourceware.cygnus.com/bzip2/
+
+If you see the following symptoms:
+
+ $ tar -xzf file.tar.gz
+ gzip: stdin: decompression OK, trailing garbage ignored
+ tar: Child returned status 2
+
+then you have encountered a gzip incompatibility that should be fixed
+in gzip 1.3, which is not yet available as of this writing. You can
+work around the incompatibility by using a shell command like
+`gzip -d <file.tar.gz | tar -xzf -'.
+
+* Solaris issues.
+
+If you are compiling with GCC, you may need to upgrade GCC to 2.95.2
+or later before compiling GNU tar, as GNU tar exercises many features
+that can cause problems with older GCC versions, mostly having to do
+with mutations to Solaris system include files.
+
+Recent versions of Solaris tar sport a new -E option to generate
+extended headers in an undocumented format. GNU tar does not
+understand these headers.
+
* Static linking.
Some platform will, by default, prepare a smaller `tar' executable
* Failed `incremen.sh'.
-In an NFS environment, lack of synchronisation between machine clocks
-might create difficulties to any tool comparing dates and file timestamps,
+In an NFS environment, lack of synchronization between machine clocks
+might create difficulties to any tool comparing dates and file time stamps,
like `tar' in incremental dumps. This has been a recurrent problem in
GNU Makefiles for the last few years. We would like a general solution.
* BSD compatibility matters.
Set LIBS to `-lbsd' before configuration (see `INSTALL') if the linker
-complains about undefined `valloc' (AIX) or `bsd_ioctl' (Slackware).
-Also set CPPFLAGS to `-I/usr/include/bsd/sys' before configuration to
-solve dirent problems (NeXT), or to `-I/usr/include/bsd' if <sgtty.h>
-is not found (Slackware).
-
-* `union wait' problems.
-
-Configuration of `union wait' does not always take the best decision.
-If you have this problem, edit file `config.cache' after configuration,
-find the line about `tar_cv_header_union_wait', change `yes' by `no'
-or vice-versa, execute `./config.status', then launch `make'.
-
-* `%lld' unsupported in `printf'.
-
-GNU C has `long long', but the underneath C library might not support
-the `%lld' format. If you have this problem, edit file `config.cache'
-after configuration, find the line about `ac_cv_sizeof_long_long, change
-`8' by `0', execute `./config.status', then launch `make'.
-
-* FreeBSD users -- `configure' fails.
-
-It has been reported that `configure' does not run on FreeBSD 2.1.7,
-because of a buggy `sh'. It works using `bash', however.
-
-* ISC users -- `S_*' symbols undefined.
-
-On ISC 4.1mu, POSIX environment, set CFLAGS to `-posix' and CPPFLAGS to
-`-D_SYSV3' before configuration (see `INSTALL'). This will trigger the
-definition of a few `S_' prefixed symbols from <sys/stat.h>.
+complains about `bsd_ioctl' (Slackware). Also set CPPFLAGS to
+`-I/usr/include/bsd' if <sgtty.h> is not found (Slackware).
-* Ultrix users -- broken `make'.
+* OPENStep 4.2 swap files
-It seems that Ultrix make does not correctly handle shell commands
-having logical connectives in them. Use `s5make' if you have it, try
-`PROG_ENV=SYSTEM_FIVE make' (works on Ultrix 4.4), or install GNU Make.
+Tar cannot read the file /private/vm/swapfile.front (even as root).
+This file is not a real file, but some kind of uncompressed view of
+the real compressed swap file; there is no reason to back it up, so
+the simplest workaround is to avoid tarring this file.
.------------------.
| Special topics. |
* File attributes.
About *security*, it is probable that future releases of `tar' will have
-some behaviour changed. There are many pending suggestions to choose from.
+some behavior changed. There are many pending suggestions to choose from.
Today, extracting an archive not being `root', `tar' will restore suid/sgid
bits on files but owned by the extracting user. `root' automatically gets
-a lot of special priviledges, `-p' might later become required to get them.
+a lot of special privileges, `-p' might later become required to get them.
GNU `tar' does not properly restore symlink attributes. Various systems
-implement flavours of symbolic links showing different behaviour and
+implement flavors of symbolic links showing different behavior and
properties. We did not successfully sorted all these out yet. Currently,
the `lchown' call will be used if available, but that's all.
* What's next?
-The emphasis from 1.11.2 to 1.12 has been on solving the main portability,
-execution or usability bugs. This was accompanied all over with an
-internal cleanup in the sources, and the reassembly of a `tar' manual.
-
-The `BACKLOG' file shows an approximative priorisation of the many pending
-problems and suggestions. Besides pending problems and all other matters
-listed above, the cleanup is planned to continue and extend to the general
-organisation of the code, preparing a long time in advance for a possible
-merge of the `cpio' and `tar' distributions, into some common `paxutils'.
-We also want to address some long-awaited performance issues (for example:
-double buffering) or enhancements (for example: per-file compression).
+In the future we will try to release tar-1.14 as soon as possible and
+start merging with paxutils afterwards. We'll also try to rewrite
+some parts of the documentation after paxutils has been merged.
projects / chaz / tar / blobdiff