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authorPaul Eggert <eggert@cs.ucla.edu>2003-07-05 21:06:10 +0000
committerPaul Eggert <eggert@cs.ucla.edu>2003-07-05 21:06:10 +0000
commit46f2740ff92cabb70f344677adc0836ab1897896 (patch)
tree3f3b90c654dd5bc90bd0c431515b18ce64991b54 /TODO
parent88ffc1355e95a1bbc8d1db7abf667aa3164e95e5 (diff)
downloadtar-46f2740ff92cabb70f344677adc0836ab1897896.tar.gz
Add more suggestions.
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-From: Roesinger Eric <ROESINGE@tce.com>
-Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 18:43:43 -0500
+Suggestions for improving GNU tar.
-It would be useful to be able to use '--remove-files' with '--diff',
-to remove all files that compare successfully, when verifying a backup.
+* Incorporate fixes from major distributions, e.g., Debian GNU/Linux.
+
+* Fix tar so that it can read and write POSIX.1-1990 tar archives.
+
+* Add support for POSIX 1003.1-2001 tar archives
+ (along with technical corrections to the standard since 2001).
+
+* Add support for a 'pax' command that conforms to POSIX 1003.1-2001.
+ This would unify paxutils with tar.
+
+* Remove command-line incompatibilities between GNU tar and UNIX tar
+ as specified by UNIX98. The main problems are:
+
+ l GNU tar doesn't cross filesystem boundaries.
+ UNIX98 tar warns if all links cannot be resolved.
+ (GNU tar has no similar option.)
+
+ o GNU tar says output old format.
+ UNIX98 tar says don't chown files after extracting
+ (GNU tar uses "--no-same-owner" for this).
+
+ Many people rely on GNU tar's "l" and "o" so we can't abruptly change
+ GNU tar to be compatible with UNIX98 tar.
+
+ However, "o" is relatively easy: we can extend GNU tar so that "o" is
+ a synonym for --no-same-owner when extracting, keeping "o"'s current
+ semantics when creating. This is a bit of a hack, but it shouldn't
+ break things.
+
+ "l" will be harder, since it's a clear incompatibility. Perhaps we
+ could announce a phase-in period where "l" changes in semantics.
+ However, the first step should be to support the UNIX98 semantics,
+ using a long option, without changing the meaning of "l" for now. That
+ will give people a migration strategy.
+
+* Interoperate better with Joerg Schilling's star implementation.
+
+* Add an option to remove files that compare successfully.
+
+ From: Roesinger Eric <ROESINGE@tce.com>
+ Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 18:43:43 -0500
+
+ It would be useful to be able to use '--remove-files' with '--diff',
+ to remove all files that compare successfully, when verifying a backup.
+
+* Copyright notice
+
+ Copyright (C) 2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+
+ This file is part of GNU tar.
+
+ GNU tar is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)
+ any later version.
+
+ GNU tar is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
+ GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+ You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ along with tar; see the file COPYING. If not, write to
+ the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330,
+ Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.