Tar is a computer software utility for collecting many files into one archive file, often referred to as a tarball, for distribution or backup purposes. The name is derived from (t)ape (arch)ive, as it originally was developed to write data to sequential I/O devices with no file system of their own. The archive data sets created by tar contain various file system parameters, such as ownership, permissions, time stamps, and directory structures. The tar utility provides a number of features for manipulating these archive files and their contents, such as adding files to an archive, extracting files from an archive, listing the files in an archive, and comparing the contents of files in an archive with their originals.
What is tape archive in Linux?
A tape archive, commonly called a tarball, is a collection of files that are bundled together into a single archive file. The name "tarball" comes from the tar command, which is used to create and extract tar archive files.
Tarballs are often used to distribute software packages, as they allow all of the files in the package to be bundled together into a single file. This makes it easy to transfer the entire package to another computer, or to simply store it in a single place.
To create a tarball, the tar command is used with a few different options. For example, the following command would create a tarball named myfiles.tar that contains all of the files in the current directory:
tar cvf myfiles.tar *
Extracting a tarball is just as easy. The following command would extract all of the files from myfiles.tar into the current directory:
tar xvf myfiles.tar
How do I archive with tar?
You can use the tar command to create an archive of files. The syntax for this command is:
tar -cf archive.tar file1 file2 file3
This will create an archive called archive.tar that contains the files file1, file2, and file3. Where are tar files stored? On most Unix-like systems, tar archives are stored in the home directory of the user who created them. The name of the tar archive typically includes the date on which it was created, and may also include a brief description of the contents. For example, a tar archive created on May 1, 2014, might be named "20140501-backup.tar".
What is tar vs ZIP?
The two most popular archiving formats are ZIP and tar. They both have their own advantages and disadvantages.
ZIP is the most common archiving format. It is supported by most operating systems and is very easy to use. ZIP files can be password protected, which is a great security feature. However, ZIP files are not as efficient as tar files when it comes to compressing data.
Tar is a less popular archiving format. It is not as widely supported as ZIP, but it is more efficient at compressing data. Tar files cannot be password protected.
How do tar files work?
A tar file is a collection of files that are bundled together into a single archive file. The name "tar" comes from the fact that this type of file was originally used to store data on magnetic tape drives. Tar files are often used for distributing software or other collections of files.
To create a tar file, the tar command is used with a few different options. The most common options are:
-c: create a new tar file
-f: specify the name of the tar file to create
-v: verbose mode, print out the names of the files as they are added to the tar file
For example, to create a tar file named myfiles.tar that contains the files file1.txt and file2.txt, you would use the following command:
tar -cf myfiles.tar file1.txt file2.txt
To extract the files from a tar file, the tar command is used with the -x option. For example, to extract the files from myfiles.tar, you would use the following command:
tar -xf myfiles.tar