[comp.std.unix] tar and cpio

eric@snark.uucp (Eric S. Raymond) (05/11/87)

I'd favor leaving in the tar specification *and* adding cpio. That way,
users of a POSIX-conforming system get the best of both. I think tar's
only real advantage is the multi-volume capability, otherwise cpio is much
superior. What would *really* win is a spec for multi-volume cpio (perhaps
P1003.2 should do this).

BTW, I contributed some stuff to one of the draft versions of Section 10
(specifically, the proposal for a multi-volume tar format with the
ability to recover from a missing volume that is also upward-compatible with
the present one), so I feel like I have something of a proprietary interest
in this stuff. Please email me with an update if you don't get enough response
to merit a posting.

---
      Eric S. Raymond
      UUCP:  {{seismo,ihnp4,rutgers}!cbmvax,sdcrdcf!burdvax}!snark!eric
      Post:  22 South Warren Avenue, Malvern, PA 19355
      Phone: (215)-296-5718

Volume-Number: Volume 11, Number 25