Dogcows Code - chaz/tar/blob - TODO

   1 Suggestions for improving GNU tar.
   2
   3 * Incorporate fixes from major distributions, e.g., Debian GNU/Linux.
   4
   5 * Fix tar so that it can read and write POSIX.1-1990 tar archives.
   6
   7 * Add support for POSIX 1003.1-2001 tar archives
   8   (along with technical corrections to the standard since 2001).
   9
  10 * Add support for a 'pax' command that conforms to POSIX 1003.1-2001.
  11   This would unify paxutils with tar.
  12
  13 * Remove command-line incompatibilities between GNU tar and UNIX tar
  14   as specified by UNIX98.  The main problems are:
  15
  16      l   GNU tar doesn't cross filesystem boundaries.
  17          UNIX98 tar warns if all links cannot be resolved.
  18            (GNU tar has no similar option.)
  19
  20      o   GNU tar says output old format.
  21          UNIX98 tar says don't chown files after extracting
  22            (GNU tar uses "--no-same-owner" for this).
  23
  24   Many people rely on GNU tar's "l" and "o" so we can't abruptly change
  25   GNU tar to be compatible with UNIX98 tar.
  26
  27   However, "o" is relatively easy: we can extend GNU tar so that "o" is
  28   a synonym for --no-same-owner when extracting, keeping "o"'s current
  29   semantics when creating.  This is a bit of a hack, but it shouldn't
  30   break things.
  31
  32   "l" will be harder, since it's a clear incompatibility.  Perhaps we
  33   could announce a phase-in period where "l" changes in semantics.
  34   However, the first step should be to support the UNIX98 semantics,
  35   using a long option, without changing the meaning of "l" for now.  That
  36   will give people a migration strategy.
  37
  38 * Interoperate better with Joerg Schilling's star implementation.
  39
  40 * Add an option to remove files that compare successfully.
  41
  42   From: Roesinger Eric <ROESINGE@tce.com>
  43   Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 18:43:43 -0500
  44
  45   It would be useful to be able to use '--remove-files' with '--diff',
  46   to remove all files that compare successfully, when verifying a backup.
  47
  48 * Copyright notice
  49
  50   Copyright (C) 2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
  51
  52   This file is part of GNU tar.
  53
  54   GNU tar is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
  55   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
  56   the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)
  57   any later version.
  58
  59   GNU tar is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
  60   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
  61   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
  62   GNU General Public License for more details.
  63
  64   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
  65   along with tar; see the file COPYING.  If not, write to
  66   the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330,
  67   Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.