[comp.unix.questions] .tar and .Z extensions on files -- what are they?

06davis@ac.dal.ca (01/28/91)

sorry folks,

	I don't know if this is the correct newsgroup to ask this question,
but I've been bombing around the FTP sites and have found files with extentions
like .tar and .Z and have wondered if this is a unix-style archive format. If
it is I would be interested in getting the dearchiving program or at least some
idea where I could obtain it.

						Thanks in advance,
						Davis Bennett

Gerhard.Moeller@arbi.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de (Gerhard Moeller) (01/28/91)

06davis@ac.dal.ca writes:

>sorry folks,

>	I don't know if this is the correct newsgroup to ask this question,
>but I've been bombing around the FTP sites and have found files with extentions
	       ^^^^^^^ well, well, well...
>like .tar and .Z and have wondered if this is a unix-style archive format. If
>it is I would be interested in getting the dearchiving program or at least some
>idea where I could obtain it.

.tar files are archieved with the tar command. To extract them use
	tar xvof <file>
where tar ist the command, x means extract, v verbose (bla, bla), o owner (to
make sure you are the owner afterwards, important!) and f use file (otherwise
tar thinks you use a tape) and <file> is the filename WITH the .tar suffix.
.Z means that the file is compressed with the compress command. Use uncompress
to uncompress it. (Somehow logic)

By the way: RTFM (read the fu* manuals.. ;-) ) for *much* more info.
			Gerhard.

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