X-Git-Url: https://git.dogcows.com/gitweb?a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Ftar.texi;h=4a49282c60e7f609eb3f475a302cacabab9c6e08;hb=cd7bdd4076ca154575bbef85eb2157e59befcfe2;hp=983e47a3994ef79724ddda7038a86388b2a8d278;hpb=c743301494cf038412a89de6aabea16c04facf2a;p=chaz%2Ftar

diff --git a/doc/tar.texi b/doc/tar.texi
index 983e47a..4a49282 100644
--- a/doc/tar.texi
+++ b/doc/tar.texi
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@
 @c Maintenance notes:
 @c  1. Pay attention to @FIXME{}s and @UNREVISED{}s
 @c  2. Before creating final variant:
-@c    2.1. Run `make check-options' to make sure all options are properly
+@c    2.1. Run 'make check-options' to make sure all options are properly
 @c         documented;
-@c    2.2. Run `make master-menu' (see comment before the master menu).
+@c    2.2. Run 'make master-menu' (see comment before the master menu).
 
 @include rendition.texi
 @include value.texi
@@ -36,21 +36,20 @@ This manual is for @acronym{GNU} @command{tar} (version
 @value{VERSION}, @value{UPDATED}), which creates and extracts files
 from archives.
 
-Copyright @copyright{} 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001,
-2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+Copyright @copyright{} 1992, 1994--1997, 1999--2001, 2003--2013 Free
+Software Foundation, Inc.
 
 @quotation
 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
-any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
-Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual'',
-and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.  A copy of the license
-is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
-License''.
+any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
+Invariant Sections being ``GNU General Public License'', with the
+Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts
+as in (a) below.  A copy of the license is included in the section
+entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
 
 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to
-copy and modify this GNU manual.  Buying copies from the FSF
-supports it in developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
+copy and modify this GNU manual.''
 @end quotation
 @end copying
 
@@ -318,7 +317,7 @@ Date input formats
 * Pure numbers in date strings::   19931219, 1440.
 * Seconds since the Epoch::        @@1078100502.
 * Specifying time zone rules::     TZ="America/New_York", TZ="UTC0".
-* Authors of get_date::            Bellovin, Eggert, Salz, Berets, et al.
+* Authors of parse_datetime::      Bellovin, Eggert, Salz, Berets, et al.
 
 Controlling the Archive Format
 
@@ -1022,13 +1021,12 @@ suffixes explained above:
 
 @smallexample
 @group
-V--------- 0/0          1536 2006-06-09 13:07 MyVolume--Volume Header--
--rw-r--r-- gray/staff 456783 2006-06-09 12:06 aspic--Continued at
-byte 32456--
--rw-r--r-- gray/staff  62373 2006-06-09 12:06 apple
-lrwxrwxrwx gray/staff      0 2006-06-09 13:01 angst -> apple
--rw-r--r-- gray/staff  35793 2006-06-09 12:06 blues
-hrw-r--r-- gray/staff      0 2006-06-09 12:06 music link to blues
+V--------- 0/0            1536 2006-06-09 13:07 MyVolume--Volume Header--
+-rw-r--r-- gray/staff   456783 2006-06-09 12:06 aspic--Continued at byte 32456--
+-rw-r--r-- gray/staff    62373 2006-06-09 12:06 apple
+lrwxrwxrwx gray/staff        0 2006-06-09 13:01 angst -> apple
+-rw-r--r-- gray/staff    35793 2006-06-09 12:06 blues
+hrw-r--r-- gray/staff        0 2006-06-09 12:06 music link to blues
 @end group
 @end smallexample
 
@@ -1421,7 +1419,7 @@ above would look like:
 
 @smallexample
 $ @kbd{tar --list --verbose --file=collection.tar folk}
--rw-r--r-- myself user 62 1990-05-23 10:55 folk
+-rw-r--r-- myself/user      62 1990-05-23 10:55 folk
 @end smallexample
 
 @cindex listing member and file names
@@ -1439,7 +1437,7 @@ example:
 @smallexample
 @group
 $ @kbd{tar --create --verbose --file archive /etc/mail}
-tar: Removing leading `/' from member names
+tar: Removing leading '/' from member names
 /etc/mail/
 /etc/mail/sendmail.cf
 /etc/mail/aliases
@@ -1513,11 +1511,11 @@ $ @kbd{tar --list --verbose --file=music.tar practice}
 @command{tar} responds:
 
 @smallexample
-drwxrwxrwx myself user 0 1990-05-31 21:49 practice/
--rw-r--r-- myself user 42 1990-05-21 13:29 practice/blues
--rw-r--r-- myself user 62 1990-05-23 10:55 practice/folk
--rw-r--r-- myself user 40 1990-05-21 13:30 practice/jazz
--rw-r--r-- myself user 10240 1990-05-31 21:49 practice/collection.tar
+drwxrwxrwx myself/user       0 1990-05-31 21:49 practice/
+-rw-r--r-- myself/user      42 1990-05-21 13:29 practice/blues
+-rw-r--r-- myself/user      62 1990-05-23 10:55 practice/folk
+-rw-r--r-- myself/user      40 1990-05-21 13:30 practice/jazz
+-rw-r--r-- myself/user   10240 1990-05-31 21:49 practice/collection.tar
 @end smallexample
 
 When you use a directory name as a file name argument, @command{tar} acts on
@@ -1567,9 +1565,9 @@ $ @kbd{tar -xvf collection.tar}
 produces this:
 
 @smallexample
--rw-r--r-- me user     28 1996-10-18 16:31 jazz
--rw-r--r-- me user     21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
--rw-r--r-- me user     20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          28 1996-10-18 16:31 jazz
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
 @end smallexample
 
 @node extracting files
@@ -1683,8 +1681,8 @@ in the example below:
 
 @smallexample
 $ @kbd{tar -xvvf music.tar practice/folk practice/jazz}
--rw-r--r-- me user     28 1996-10-18 16:31 practice/jazz
--rw-r--r-- me user     20 1996-09-23 16:44 practice/folk
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          28 1996-10-18 16:31 practice/jazz
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          20 1996-09-23 16:44 practice/folk
 @end smallexample
 
 @noindent
@@ -1882,6 +1880,7 @@ The other operations of @command{tar} (@option{--list},
 @option{--extract}, @option{--compare}, and @option{--update})
 will act on the entire contents of the archive.
 
+@anchor{exit status}
 @cindex exit status
 @cindex return status
 Besides successful exits, @GNUTAR{} may fail for
@@ -2118,12 +2117,20 @@ end up overwriting files.
 @subsection Old Option Style
 @cindex options, old style
 @cindex old option style
+@cindex option syntax, traditional
 
-Like short options, @dfn{old options} are single letters.  However, old options
+As far as we know, all @command{tar} programs, @acronym{GNU} and
+non-@acronym{GNU}, support @dfn{old options}: that is, if the first
+argument does not start with @samp{-}, it is assumed to specify option
+letters.  @GNUTAR{} supports old options not only for historical
+reasons, but also because many people are used to them.  If the first
+argument does not start with a dash, you are announcing the old option
+style instead of the short option style; old options are decoded
+differently.
+
+Like short options, old options are single letters.  However, old options
 must be written together as a single clumped set, without spaces separating
-them or dashes preceding them@footnote{Beware that if you precede options
-with a dash, you are announcing the short option style instead of the
-old option style; short options are decoded differently.}.  This set
+them or dashes preceding them.  This set
 of letters must be the first to appear on the command line, after the
 @command{tar} program name and some white space; old options cannot appear
 anywhere else.  The letter of an old option is exactly the same letter as
@@ -2147,7 +2154,7 @@ $ @kbd{tar cvbf 20 /dev/rmt0}
 Here, @samp{20} is the argument of @option{-b} and @samp{/dev/rmt0} is
 the argument of @option{-f}.
 
-On the other hand, this old style syntax makes it difficult to match
+The old style syntax can make it difficult to match
 option letters with their corresponding arguments, and is often
 confusing.  In the command @w{@samp{tar cvbf 20 /dev/rmt0}}, for example,
 @samp{20} is the argument for @option{-b}, @samp{/dev/rmt0} is the
@@ -2173,8 +2180,6 @@ the value for option @samp{f} and recognizes the option @samp{z}.  The
 second example, however, uses @file{z} as the value for option
 @samp{f} --- probably not what was intended.
 
-Old options are kept for compatibility with old versions of @command{tar}.
-
 This second example could be corrected in many ways, among which the
 following are equivalent:
 
@@ -2184,16 +2189,6 @@ following are equivalent:
 @kbd{tar cf archive.tar.gz -z file}
 @end smallexample
 
-@cindex option syntax, traditional
-As far as we know, all @command{tar} programs, @acronym{GNU} and
-non-@acronym{GNU}, support old options.  @GNUTAR{}
-supports them not only for historical reasons, but also because many
-people are used to them.  For compatibility with Unix @command{tar},
-the first argument is always treated as containing command and option
-letters even if it doesn't start with @samp{-}.  Thus, @samp{tar c} is
-equivalent to @w{@samp{tar -c}:} both of them specify the
-@option{--create} (@option{-c}) command to create an archive.
-
 @node Mixing
 @subsection Mixing Option Styles
 
@@ -2367,8 +2362,9 @@ exist in the archive. @xref{update}.
 @itemx -P
 
 Normally when creating an archive, @command{tar} strips an initial
-@samp{/} from member names.  This option disables that behavior.
-@xref{absolute}.
+@samp{/} from member names, and when extracting from an archive @command{tar}
+treats names specially if they have initial @samp{/} or internal
+@samp{..}.  This option disables that behavior.  @xref{absolute}.
 
 @opsummary{after-date}
 @item --after-date
@@ -2559,9 +2555,9 @@ directories until the end of extraction. @xref{Directory Modification Times and
 @item --dereference
 @itemx -h
 
-When creating a @command{tar} archive, @command{tar} will archive the
-file that a symbolic link points to, rather than archiving the
-symlink.  @xref{dereference}.
+When reading or writing a file to be archived, @command{tar} accesses
+the file that a symbolic link points to, rather than the symlink
+itself.  @xref{dereference}.
 
 @opsummary{directory}
 @item --directory=@var{dir}
@@ -2718,9 +2714,9 @@ tutorial}).
 @item --group=@var{group}
 
 Files added to the @command{tar} archive will have a group @acronym{ID} of @var{group},
-rather than the group from the source file.  @var{group} is first decoded
-as a group symbolic name, but if this interpretation fails, it has to be
-a decimal numeric group @acronym{ID}.  @xref{override}.
+rather than the group from the source file.  @var{group} can specify a
+symbolic name, or a numeric @acronym{ID}, or both as
+@var{name}:@var{id}.  @xref{override}.
 
 Also see the comments for the @option{--owner=@var{user}} option.
 
@@ -2763,7 +2759,7 @@ Ignore exit codes of subprocesses. @xref{Writing to an External Program}.
 @item --ignore-failed-read
 
 Do not exit unsuccessfully merely because an unreadable file was encountered.
-@xref{Reading}.
+@xref{Ignore Failed Read}.
 
 @opsummary{ignore-zeros}
 @item --ignore-zeros
@@ -2816,7 +2812,10 @@ when extracting files from an archive.
 @item --keep-old-files
 @itemx -k
 
-Do not overwrite existing files when extracting files from an archive.
+Do not overwrite existing files when extracting files from an
+archive.  Return error if such files exist.  See also
+@ref{--skip-old-files}.
+
 @xref{Keep Old Files}.
 
 @opsummary{label}
@@ -3087,8 +3086,8 @@ from an archive.  @xref{Overwrite Old Files}.
 
 Specifies that @command{tar} should use @var{user} as the owner of members
 when creating archives, instead of the user associated with the source
-file.  @var{user} is first decoded as a user symbolic name, but if
-this interpretation fails, it has to be a decimal numeric user @acronym{ID}.
+file.  @var{user} can specify a symbolic name, or a numeric
+@acronym{ID}, or both as @var{name}:@var{id}.
 @xref{override}.
 
 This option does not affect extraction from archives.
@@ -3269,6 +3268,20 @@ the archive creation operations it instructs @command{tar} to list the
 member names stored in the archive, as opposed to the actual file
 names.  @xref{listing member and file names}.
 
+@opsummary{skip-old-files}
+@item --skip-old-files
+
+Do not overwrite existing files when extracting files from an
+archive.  @xref{Keep Old Files}.
+
+This option differs from @option{--keep-old-files} in that it does not
+treat such files as an error, instead it just silently avoids
+overwriting them.
+
+The @option{--warning=existing-file} option can be used together with
+this option to produce warning messages about existing old files
+(@pxref{warnings}).
+
 @opsummary{sparse}
 @item --sparse
 @itemx -S
@@ -3577,8 +3590,7 @@ successfully.  For example, @w{@samp{tar --version}} might print:
 
 @smallexample
 tar (GNU tar) @value{VERSION}
-Copyright (C) 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
-Copyright (C) 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+Copyright (C) 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
 License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
 This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
 There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
@@ -3733,7 +3745,7 @@ $ @kbd{tar xvvf archive.tar}
 
 Verbose output appears on the standard output except when an archive is
 being written to the standard output, as with @samp{tar --create
---file=- --verbose} (@samp{tar cfv -}, or even @samp{tar cv}---if the
+--file=- --verbose} (@samp{tar cvf -}, or even @samp{tar cv}---if the
 installer let standard output be the default archive).  In that case
 @command{tar} writes verbose output to the standard error stream.
 
@@ -4155,17 +4167,34 @@ Disable all warning messages.
 @item symlink-cast
 @samp{Attempting extraction of symbolic links as hard links}
 @kwindex unknown-cast
-@cindex @samp{Unknown file type `%c', extracted as normal file}, warning message
+@cindex @samp{Unknown file type '%c', extracted as normal file}, warning message
 @item unknown-cast
-@samp{%s: Unknown file type `%c', extracted as normal file}
+@samp{%s: Unknown file type '%c', extracted as normal file}
 @kwindex ignore-newer
 @cindex @samp{Current %s is newer or same age}, warning message
 @item ignore-newer
 @samp{Current %s is newer or same age}
 @kwindex unknown-keyword
-@cindex @samp{Ignoring unknown extended header keyword `%s'}, warning message
+@cindex @samp{Ignoring unknown extended header keyword '%s'}, warning message
 @item unknown-keyword
-@samp{Ignoring unknown extended header keyword `%s'}
+@samp{Ignoring unknown extended header keyword '%s'}
+@kwindex decompress-program
+@item decompress-program
+Controls verbose description of failures occurring when trying to run
+alternative decompressor programs (@pxref{alternative decompression
+programs}).  This warning is disabled by default (unless
+@option{--verbose} is used).  A common example of what you can get
+when using this warning is:
+
+@smallexample
+$ @kbd{tar --warning=decompress-program -x -f archive.Z}
+tar (child): cannot run compress: No such file or directory
+tar (child): trying gzip
+@end smallexample
+
+This means that @command{tar} first tried to decompress
+@file{archive.Z} using @command{compress}, and, when that
+failed, switched to @command{gzip}.
 @end table
 
 @subheading Keywords controlling incremental extraction:
@@ -4296,7 +4325,7 @@ the following commands:
 
 @smallexample
 @kbd{tar --create --file=empty-archive.tar --files-from=/dev/null}
-@kbd{tar cfT empty-archive.tar /dev/null}
+@kbd{tar -cf empty-archive.tar -T /dev/null}
 @end smallexample
 
 @xopindex{extract, complementary notes}
@@ -4427,11 +4456,11 @@ in the archive; the most recently archived members will be extracted
 last.  Additionally, an extracted member will @emph{replace} a file of
 the same name which existed in the directory already, and @command{tar}
 will not prompt you about this@footnote{Unless you give it
-@option{--keep-old-files} option, or the disk copy is newer than
-the one in the archive and you invoke @command{tar} with
-@option{--keep-newer-files} option.}.  Thus, only the most recently archived
-member will end up being extracted, as it will replace the one
-extracted before it, and so on.
+@option{--keep-old-files} (or @option{--skip-old-files}) option, or
+the disk copy is newer than the one in the archive and you invoke
+@command{tar} with @option{--keep-newer-files} option.}.  Thus, only
+the most recently archived member will end up being extracted, as it
+will replace the one extracted before it, and so on.
 
 @cindex extracting @var{n}th copy of the file
 @xopindex{occurrence, described}
@@ -4517,10 +4546,10 @@ If you now use the @option{--list} (@option{-t}) operation, you will see that
 
 @smallexample
 $ @kbd{tar --list --file=collection.tar}
--rw-r--r-- me user     28 1996-10-18 16:31 jazz
--rw-r--r-- me user     21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
--rw-r--r-- me user     20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
--rw-r--r-- me user     20 1996-09-23 16:44 rock
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          28 1996-10-18 16:31 jazz
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          20 1996-09-23 16:44 rock
 @end smallexample
 
 @node multiple
@@ -4564,11 +4593,11 @@ list the contents of the archive:
 
 @smallexample
 $ @kbd{tar --list --verbose --file=collection.tar}
--rw-r--r-- me user     28 1996-10-18 16:31 jazz
--rw-r--r-- me user     21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
--rw-r--r-- me user     20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
--rw-r--r-- me user     20 1996-09-23 16:44 rock
--rw-r--r-- me user     58 1996-10-24 18:30 blues
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          28 1996-10-18 16:31 jazz
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          20 1996-09-23 16:44 rock
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          58 1996-10-24 18:30 blues
 @end smallexample
 
 @noindent
@@ -4584,7 +4613,7 @@ the following example:
 
 @smallexample
 $ @kbd{tar --extract -vv --occurrence --file=collection.tar blues}
--rw-r--r-- me user     21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
+-rw-r--r-- me/user          21 1996-09-23 16:44 blues
 @end smallexample
 
 @xref{Writing}, for more information on @option{--extract} and
@@ -4711,11 +4740,11 @@ contain what they are supposed to:
 
 @smallexample
 $ @kbd{tar -tvf bluesrock.tar}
--rw-r--r-- melissa user    105 1997-01-21 19:42 blues
--rw-r--r-- melissa user     33 1997-01-20 15:34 rock
+-rw-r--r-- melissa/user    105 1997-01-21 19:42 blues
+-rw-r--r-- melissa/user     33 1997-01-20 15:34 rock
 $ @kbd{tar -tvf jazzfolk.tar}
--rw-r--r-- melissa user     20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
--rw-r--r-- melissa user     65 1997-01-30 14:15 jazz
+-rw-r--r-- melissa/user     20 1996-09-23 16:44 folk
+-rw-r--r-- melissa/user     65 1997-01-30 14:15 jazz
 @end smallexample
 
 We can concatenate these two archives with @command{tar}:
@@ -4925,7 +4954,7 @@ For example:
 
 @smallexample
 $ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar -v --mtime=yesterday .}
-tar: Option --mtime: Treating date `yesterday' as 2006-06-20
+tar: Option --mtime: Treating date 'yesterday' as 2006-06-20
 13:06:29.152478
 @dots{}
 @end smallexample
@@ -4935,8 +4964,22 @@ tar: Option --mtime: Treating date `yesterday' as 2006-06-20
 
 Specifies that @command{tar} should use @var{user} as the owner of members
 when creating archives, instead of the user associated with the source
-file.  The argument @var{user} can be either an existing user symbolic
-name, or a decimal numeric user @acronym{ID}.
+file.
+
+If @var{user} contains a colon, it is taken to be of the form
+@var{name}:@var{id} where a nonempty @var{name} specifies the user
+name and a nonempty @var{id} specifies the decimal numeric user
+@acronym{ID}.  If @var{user} does not contain a colon, it is taken to
+be a user number if it is one or more decimal digits; otherwise it is
+taken to be a user name.
+
+If a name is given but no number, the number is inferred from the
+current host's user database if possible, and the file's user number
+is used otherwise.  If a number is given but no name, the name is
+inferred from the number if possible, and an empty name is used
+otherwise.  If both name and number are given, the user database is
+not consulted, and the name and number need not be valid on the
+current host.
 
 There is no value indicating a missing number, and @samp{0} usually means
 @code{root}.  Some people like to force @samp{0} as the value to offer in
@@ -4959,8 +5002,9 @@ $ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --owner=root .}
 @opindex group
 
 Files added to the @command{tar} archive will have a group @acronym{ID} of @var{group},
-rather than the group from the source file.  The argument @var{group}
-can be either an existing group symbolic name, or a decimal numeric group @acronym{ID}.
+rather than the group from the source file.  As with @option{--owner},
+the argument @var{group} can be an existing group symbolic name, or a
+decimal numeric group @acronym{ID}, or @var{name}:@var{id}.
 @end table
 
 @node Ignore Failed Read
@@ -5107,10 +5151,25 @@ such a directory, use the @option{--no-overwrite-dir} option.
 @cindex Overwriting old files, prevention
 @xopindex{keep-old-files, introduced}
 To be even more cautious and prevent existing files from being replaced, use
-the @option{--keep-old-files} (@option{-k}) option.  It causes @command{tar} to refuse
-to replace or update a file that already exists, i.e., a file with the
-same name as an archive member prevents extraction of that archive
-member.  Instead, it reports an error.
+the @option{--keep-old-files} (@option{-k}) option.  It causes
+@command{tar} to refuse to replace or update a file that already
+exists, i.e., a file with the same name as an archive member prevents
+extraction of that archive member.  Instead, it reports an error.  For
+example:
+
+@example
+$ @kbd{ls}
+blues
+$ @kbd{tar -x -k -f archive.tar}
+tar: blues: Cannot open: File exists
+tar: Exiting with failure status due to previous errors
+@end example
+
+@xopindex{skip-old-files, introduced}
+If you wish to preserve old files untouched, but don't want
+@command{tar} to treat them as errors, use the
+@option{--skip-old-files} option.  This option causes @command{tar} to
+silently skip extracting over existing files.
 
 @xopindex{overwrite, introduced}
 To be more aggressive about altering existing files, use the
@@ -5176,16 +5235,24 @@ archive, but remove other files before extracting.
 @node Keep Old Files
 @unnumberedsubsubsec Keep Old Files
 
+@GNUTAR{} provides two options to control its actions in a situation
+when it is about to extract a file which already exists on disk.
+
 @table @option
 @opindex keep-old-files
 @item --keep-old-files
 @itemx -k
-Do not replace existing files from archive.  The
-@option{--keep-old-files} (@option{-k}) option prevents @command{tar}
-from replacing existing files with files with the same name from the
-archive. The @option{--keep-old-files} option is meaningless with
-@option{--list} (@option{-t}).  Prevents @command{tar} from replacing
-files in the file system during extraction.
+Do not replace existing files from archive.  When such a file is
+encountered, @command{tar} issues an error message.  Upon end of
+extraction, @command{tar} exits with code 2 (@pxref{exit status}).
+
+@item --skip-old-files
+Do not replace existing files from archive, but do not treat that
+as error.  Such files are silently skipped and do not affect
+@command{tar} exit status.
+
+Additional verbosity can be obtained using @option{--warning=existing-file}
+together with that option (@pxref{warnings}).
 @end table
 
 @node Keep Newer Files
@@ -6880,7 +6947,7 @@ When @command{tar} is invoked with @option{--create} (@option{-c}),
 @group
 $ @kbd{tar cf a.tar}
 tar: Cowardly refusing to create an empty archive
-Try `tar --help' or `tar --usage' for more information.
+Try 'tar --help' or 'tar --usage' for more information.
 @end group
 @end smallexample
 
@@ -7771,7 +7838,7 @@ $ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=escape}
 Control characters, single quote and backslash are printed using
 backslash notation.  All names are quoted using left and right
 quotation marks, appropriate to the current locale.  If it does not
-define quotation marks, use @samp{`} as left and @samp{'} as right
+define quotation marks, use @samp{'} as left and as right
 quotation marks.  Any occurrences of the right quotation mark in a
 name are escaped with @samp{\}, for example:
 
@@ -7780,13 +7847,13 @@ For example:
 @smallexample
 @group
 $ @kbd{tar tf arch.tar --quoting-style=locale}
-`./'
-`./a space'
-`./a\'single\'quote'
-`./a"double"quote'
-`./a\\backslash'
-`./a\ttab'
-`./a\nnewline'
+'./'
+'./a space'
+'./a\'single\'quote'
+'./a"double"quote'
+'./a\\backslash'
+'./a\ttab'
+'./a\nnewline'
 @end group
 @end smallexample
 
@@ -8233,7 +8300,7 @@ ensure he is using the right date.  For example:
 @smallexample
 @group
 $ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar --after-date='10 days ago' .}
-tar: Option --after-date: Treating date `10 days ago' as 2006-06-11
+tar: Option --after-date: Treating date '10 days ago' as 2006-06-11
 13:19:37.232434
 @end group
 @end smallexample
@@ -8508,6 +8575,10 @@ is not, generally speaking, the same as the one you'd get running
 scripts for comparing both outputs.  @xref{listing member and file names},
 for the information on how to handle this case.}.
 
+Symbolic links containing @file{..} or leading @samp{/} can also cause
+problems when extracting, so @command{tar} normally extracts them last;
+it may create empty files as placeholders during extraction.
+
 If you use the @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}) option,
 @command{tar} will do none of these transformations.
 
@@ -8531,7 +8602,7 @@ to transfer files between systems.}
 @table @option
 @item --absolute-names
 Preserves full file names (including superior directory names) when
-archiving files.  Preserves leading slash when extracting files.
+archiving and extracting files.
 
 @end table
 
@@ -8560,7 +8631,7 @@ $ @kbd{tar -c -f archive.tar -C / home}
 @xref{Integrity}, for some of the security-related implications
 of using this option.
 
-@include getdate.texi
+@include parse-datetime.texi
 
 @node Formats
 @chapter Controlling the Archive Format
@@ -8714,7 +8785,7 @@ archive, @option{--lzop} to create an @asis{LSOP} archive, and
 For example:
 
 @smallexample
-$ @kbd{tar cfz archive.tar.gz .}
+$ @kbd{tar czf archive.tar.gz .}
 @end smallexample
 
 You can also let @GNUTAR{} select the compression program based on
@@ -8724,14 +8795,14 @@ example, the following invocation will use @command{bzip2} for
 compression:
 
 @smallexample
-$ @kbd{tar cfa archive.tar.bz2 .}
+$ @kbd{tar caf archive.tar.bz2 .}
 @end smallexample
 
 @noindent
 whereas the following one will use @command{lzma}:
 
 @smallexample
-$ @kbd{tar cfa archive.tar.lzma .}
+$ @kbd{tar caf archive.tar.lzma .}
 @end smallexample
 
 For a complete list of file name suffixes recognized by @GNUTAR{},
@@ -8755,6 +8826,24 @@ certain compression formats.  If this approach fails, @command{tar}
 falls back to using archive name suffix to determine its format
 (@pxref{auto-compress}, for a list of recognized suffixes).
 
+@anchor{alternative decompression programs}
+@cindex alternative decompression programs
+Some compression programs are able to handle different compression
+formats.  @GNUTAR{} uses this, if the principal decompressor for the
+given format is not available.  For example, if @command{compress} is
+not installed, @command{tar} will try to use @command{gzip}.  As of
+version @value{VERSION} the following alternatives are
+tried@footnote{To verbosely trace the decompressor selection, use the
+@option{--warning=decompress-program} option
+(@pxref{warnings,decompress-program}).}:
+
+@multitable @columnfractions 0.3 0.3 0.3
+@headitem Format @tab Main decompressor @tab Alternatives
+@item compress @tab compress @tab gzip
+@item lzma     @tab lzma     @tab xz
+@item bzip2    @tab bzip2    @tab lbzip2
+@end multitable
+
 The only case when you have to specify a decompression option while
 reading the archive is when reading from a pipe or from a tape drive
 that does not support random access.  However, in this case @GNUTAR{}
@@ -8770,7 +8859,7 @@ If you see such diagnostics, just add the suggested option to the
 invocation of @GNUTAR{}:
 
 @smallexample
-$ @kbd{cat archive.tar.gz | tar tfz -}
+$ @kbd{cat archive.tar.gz | tar tzf -}
 @end smallexample
 
 Notice also, that there are several restrictions on operations on
@@ -8836,39 +8925,30 @@ etc.) and remote files as well as on normal files; data to or from
 such devices or remote files is reblocked by another copy of the
 @command{tar} program to enforce the specified (or default) record
 size.  The default compression parameters are used.  Most compression
-programs allow to override these by setting a program-specific
-environment variable.  For example, when using @command{gzip} you can
-use @env{GZIP} as in the example below:
+programs let you override these by setting a program-specific
+environment variable.  For example, with @command{gzip} you can set
+@env{GZIP}:
 
 @smallexample
-$ @kbd{GZIP=--best tar cfz archive.tar.gz subdir}
+$ @kbd{GZIP='-9 -n' tar czf archive.tar.gz subdir}
 @end smallexample
 
 @noindent
-Another way would be to use the @option{-I} option instead (see
-below), e.g.:
+The traditional way to do this is to use a pipe:
 
 @smallexample
-$ @kbd{tar -cf archive.tar.gz -I 'gzip --best' subdir}
-@end smallexample
-
-@noindent
-Finally, the third, traditional, way to achieve the same result is to
-use pipe:
-
-@smallexample
-$ @kbd{tar cf - subdir | gzip --best -c - > archive.tar.gz}
+$ @kbd{tar cf - subdir | gzip -9 -n > archive.tar.gz}
 @end smallexample
 
 @cindex corrupted archives
-About corrupted compressed archives: compressed files have no
-redundancy, for maximum compression.  The adaptive nature of the
+Compressed archives are easily corrupted, because compressed files
+have little redundancy.  The adaptive nature of the
 compression scheme means that the compression tables are implicitly
 spread all over the archive.  If you lose a few blocks, the dynamic
 construction of the compression tables becomes unsynchronized, and there
 is little chance that you could recover later in the archive.
 
-Another compression options provide a better control over creating
+Other compression options provide better control over creating
 compressed archives.  These are:
 
 @table @option
@@ -8903,13 +8983,12 @@ suffix.  The following suffixes are recognized:
 Use external compression program @var{prog}.  Use this option if you
 are not happy with the compression program associated with the suffix
 at compile time or if you have a compression program that @GNUTAR{}
-does not support.  There are two requirements to which @var{prog}
-should comply:
+does not support.  The program should follow two conventions:
 
-First, when called without options, it should read data from standard
+First, when invoked without options, it should read data from standard
 input, compress it and output it on standard output.
 
-Secondly, if called with @option{-d} argument, it should do exactly
+Secondly, if invoked with the @option{-d} option, it should do exactly
 the opposite, i.e., read the compressed data from the standard input
 and produce uncompressed data on the standard output.
 @end table
@@ -9319,30 +9398,25 @@ than System V's.
 Normally, when @command{tar} archives a symbolic link, it writes a
 block to the archive naming the target of the link.  In that way, the
 @command{tar} archive is a faithful record of the file system contents.
-@option{--dereference} (@option{-h}) is used with @option{--create} (@option{-c}), and causes
-@command{tar} to archive the files symbolic links point to, instead of
-the links themselves.  When this option is used, when @command{tar}
-encounters a symbolic link, it will archive the linked-to file,
-instead of simply recording the presence of a symbolic link.
-
-The name under which the file is stored in the file system is not
-recorded in the archive.  To record both the symbolic link name and
-the file name in the system, archive the file under both names.  If
-all links were recorded automatically by @command{tar}, an extracted file
-might be linked to a file name that no longer exists in the file
-system.
+When @option{--dereference} (@option{-h}) is used with
+@option{--create} (@option{-c}), @command{tar} archives the files
+symbolic links point to, instead of
+the links themselves.
 
-If a linked-to file is encountered again by @command{tar} while creating
-the same archive, an entire second copy of it will be stored.  (This
-@emph{might} be considered a bug.)
-
-So, for portable archives, do not archive symbolic links as such,
-and use @option{--dereference} (@option{-h}): many systems do not support
+When creating portable archives, use @option{--dereference}
+(@option{-h}): some systems do not support
 symbolic links, and moreover, your distribution might be unusable if
 it contains unresolved symbolic links.
 
-The @option{--dereference} option is not secure if an untrusted user
-can modify files during creation or extraction.  @xref{Security}.
+When reading from an archive, the @option{--dereference} (@option{-h})
+option causes @command{tar} to follow an already-existing symbolic
+link when @command{tar} writes or reads a file named in the archive.
+Ordinarily, @command{tar} does not follow such a link, though it may
+remove the link before writing a new file.  @xref{Dealing with Old
+Files}.
+
+The @option{--dereference} option is unsafe if an untrusted user can
+modify directories while @command{tar} is running.  @xref{Security}.
 
 @node hard links
 @subsection Hard Links
@@ -9357,9 +9431,9 @@ once.  For example, consider the following two files:
 
 @smallexample
 @group
-$ ls
--rw-r--r--   2 gray staff       4 2007-10-30 15:11 one
--rw-r--r--   2 gray staff       4 2007-10-30 15:11 jeden
+$ ls -l
+-rw-r--r-- 2 gray staff 4 2007-10-30 15:11 one
+-rw-r--r-- 2 gray staff 4 2007-10-30 15:11 jeden
 @end group
 @end smallexample
 
@@ -9368,7 +9442,7 @@ directory with a verbose level 2, you will get an output similar to
 the following:
 
 @smallexample
-$ tar cfvv ../archive.tar .
+$ tar cvvf ../archive.tar .
 drwxr-xr-x gray/staff        0 2007-10-30 15:13 ./
 -rw-r--r-- gray/staff        4 2007-10-30 15:11 ./jeden
 hrw-r--r-- gray/staff        0 2007-10-30 15:11 ./one link to ./jeden
@@ -9396,7 +9470,7 @@ produces the following diagnostics:
 
 @smallexample
 $ tar -c -f ../archive.tar -l jeden
-tar: Missing links to `jeden'.
+tar: Missing links to 'jeden'.
 @end smallexample
 
 Although creating special records for hard links helps keep a faithful
@@ -9408,7 +9482,7 @@ archive created in previous examples produces, in the absense of file
 
 @smallexample
 $ tar xf archive.tar ./one
-tar: ./one: Cannot hard link to `./jeden': No such file or directory
+tar: ./one: Cannot hard link to './jeden': No such file or directory
 tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors
 @end smallexample
 
@@ -9948,8 +10022,8 @@ run mode is enabled by @option{-n} command line argument:
 @group
 $ @kbd{xsparse -n /home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile}
 Reading v.1.0 sparse map
-Expanding file `/home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile' to
-`/home/gray/sparsefile'
+Expanding file '/home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile' to
+'/home/gray/sparsefile'
 Finished dry run
 @end group
 @end smallexample
@@ -9970,8 +10044,8 @@ similar to that from the dry run mode, use @option{-v} option:
 @group
 $ @kbd{xsparse -v /home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile}
 Reading v.1.0 sparse map
-Expanding file `/home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile' to
-`/home/gray/sparsefile'
+Expanding file '/home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile' to
+'/home/gray/sparsefile'
 Done
 @end group
 @end smallexample
@@ -9992,8 +10066,8 @@ Found variable GNU.sparse.minor = 0
 Found variable GNU.sparse.name = sparsefile
 Found variable GNU.sparse.realsize = 217481216
 Reading v.1.0 sparse map
-Expanding file `/home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile' to
-`/home/gray/sparsefile'
+Expanding file '/home/gray/GNUSparseFile.6058/sparsefile' to
+'/home/gray/sparsefile'
 Done
 @end group
 @end smallexample
@@ -10095,7 +10169,7 @@ Found variable GNU.sparse.size = 217481216
 Found variable GNU.sparse.numblocks = 208
 Found variable GNU.sparse.name = sparsefile
 Found variable GNU.sparse.map = 0,2048,1050624,2048,@dots{}
-Expanding file `GNUSparseFile.28124/sparsefile' to `sparsefile'
+Expanding file 'GNUSparseFile.28124/sparsefile' to 'sparsefile'
 Done
 @end group
 @end smallexample
@@ -10409,9 +10483,8 @@ want to use.  @command{tar} calls @command{rmt} by running an
 @command{rsh} or @command{remsh} to the remote machine, optionally
 using a different login name if one is supplied.
 
-A copy of the source for the remote tape server is provided.  It is
-Copyright @copyright{} 1983 by the Regents of the University of
-California, but can be freely distributed.  It is compiled and
+A copy of the source for the remote tape server is provided.  Its
+source code can be freely distributed.  It is compiled and
 installed by default.
 
 @cindex absolute file names
@@ -11217,7 +11290,7 @@ is@footnote{If you run @GNUTAR{} under a different locale, the
 translation to the locale's language will be used.}:
 
 @smallexample
-Prepare volume #@var{n} for `@var{archive}' and hit return:
+Prepare volume #@var{n} for '@var{archive}' and hit return:
 @end smallexample
 
 @noindent
@@ -11338,7 +11411,7 @@ second tape, and then back to the first tape, etc., just do either of:
 
 @smallexample
 $ @kbd{tar --create --multi-volume --file=/dev/tape0 --file=/dev/tape1 @var{files}}
-$ @kbd{tar cMff /dev/tape0 /dev/tape1 @var{files}}
+$ @kbd{tar -cM -f /dev/tape0 -f /dev/tape1 @var{files}}
 @end smallexample
 
 The second method is to use the @samp{n} response to the tape-change
@@ -11353,7 +11426,10 @@ archive being created (as given by @option{--file} option) and
 
 @smallexample
 @group
-#! /bin/sh
+#! /bin/bash
+# For this script it's advisable to use a shell, such as Bash,
+# that supports a TAR_FD value greater than 9.
+
 echo Preparing volume $TAR_VOLUME of $TAR_ARCHIVE.
 
 name=`expr $TAR_ARCHIVE : '\(.*\)-.*'`
@@ -11521,8 +11597,8 @@ explicitly marked as in the example below:
 @smallexample
 @group
 $ @kbd{tar --verbose --list --file=iamanarchive}
-V--------- 0 0        0 1992-03-07 12:01 iamalabel--Volume Header--
--rw-r--r-- ringo user 40 1990-05-21 13:30 iamafilename
+V--------- 0/0               0 1992-03-07 12:01 iamalabel--Volume Header--
+-rw-r--r-- ringo/user       40 1990-05-21 13:30 iamafilename
 @end group
 @end smallexample
 
@@ -11586,7 +11662,7 @@ you will get:
 @smallexample
 @group
 $ @kbd{tar -rf archive --label 'My volume' .}
-tar: Archive not labeled to match `My volume'
+tar: Archive not labeled to match 'My volume'
 @end group
 @end smallexample
 
@@ -11617,7 +11693,7 @@ manage to get some date string as part of the label.  For example:
 
 @smallexample
 @group
-$ @kbd{tar cfMV /dev/tape "Daily backup for `date +%Y-%m-%d`"}
+$ @kbd{tar -cM -f /dev/tape -V "Daily backup for `date +%Y-%m-%d`"}
 $ @kbd{tar --create --file=/dev/tape --multi-volume \
      --label="Daily backup for `date +%Y-%m-%d`"}
 @end group
@@ -11896,11 +11972,16 @@ lets the archive overwrite any file in your system that you can write,
 the @option{--absolute-names} (@option{-P}) option should be used only
 for trusted archives.
 
-Conversely, with the @option{--keep-old-files} (@option{-k}) option,
-@command{tar} refuses to replace existing files when extracting; and
-with the @option{--no-overwrite-dir} option, @command{tar} refuses to
-replace the permissions or ownership of already-existing directories.
-These options may help when extracting from untrusted archives.
+Conversely, with the @option{--keep-old-files} (@option{-k}) and
+@option{--skip-old-files} options, @command{tar} refuses to replace
+existing files when extracting.  The difference between the two
+options is that the former treats existing files as errors whereas the
+latter just silently ignores them.
+
+Finally, with the @option{--no-overwrite-dir} option, @command{tar}
+refuses to replace the permissions or ownership of already-existing
+directories.  These options may help when extracting from untrusted
+archives.
 
 @node Live untrusted data
 @subsection Dealing with Live Untrusted Data