Re: [Bug-tar] --format=oldgnu not working in GNU tar 1.16

[Sebastian Kaps]

Hi Paul!

[I resent this message without the attachments it originally had because
it bounced at gnu.org]

On Wed, 25 Apr 2007 16:26:06 -0700 you wrote:

> Sebastian Kaps <address@hidden> writes:
>> So, to my understanding, there must have been a change in the code that
>> creates archives in oldgnu-format before the 1.16 version of tar.

> Yes, that sounds right.  Can you isolate the problem and send details
> about it to address@hidden  It sounds like an important regression,
> but if we don't know what it is then we can't fix it.  Thanks.

Ok, what exactly do you want to know?

The tar version I'm using is:

$ tar --version
tar (GNU tar) 1.16
[...]

The tar version on the embedded device is included in BusyBox:
BusyBox v1.2.1 (2006.08.06-16:28+0000) multi-call binary

I have put some files on my webspace:
<http://www.sebastian-kaps.de/misc/>

tar11325.tar:
  tar archive created with GNU tar 1.13.25, taken from a Knoppix 3.4
  Linux Live CD (see http://www.knopper.net). Since this version doesn't
  understand the --format parameter, I used "tar cf tar11325.tar var/"
  to create the archive.
  This archive is readable by the tar implementation on the embedded
  device.

tar116_gnu.tar
  tar archive created with GNU tar 1.16 on AMD64 Linux with
  --format=gnu. That tar binary is taken from:
,----
| Package: tar
| Essential: yes
| State: installed
| Automatically installed: no
| Version: 1.16-2
| Priority: required
| Section: base
| Maintainer: Ubuntu Core Developers <address@hidden>
| Uncompressed Size: 2060k
| PreDepends: libc6 (>= 2.5-0ubuntu1)
| Suggests: bzip2
| Conflicts: cpio (<= 2.4.2-38)
| Replaces: cpio
| Description: GNU tar
|  Tar is a program for packaging a set of files as a single archive in tar 
format.  The function it performs is conceptually similar to cpio,
|  and to things like PKZIP in the DOS world.  It is heavily used by the Debian 
package management system, and is useful for performing system
|  backups and exchanging sets of files with others.
`----

tar116_oldgnu.tar
  tar archive created with the same GNU tar 1.16 on AMD64 Linux with
  --format=oldgnu.

tarppc116ppc_gnu.tar
tarppc116_oldgnu.tar
  I've also tested tar 1.16 on an old Apple iBook running Xubuntu 7.04
  PPC. There is also no difference between the gnu- and oldgnu-archives
  created, but both archives differ from the three archives above.
  These files are also readable by the BusyBox binary.

So I guess that means a bug in the AMD64 version of tar...

-- 
Ciao, Sebastian