Re: prefer local files to network connections

[Sam James]

Karl Berry <karl@freefriends.org> writes:

> I suggest that tar check if a file exists before trying to make a
> network connection. This would eliminate the need for --force-local in
> (I expect) most cases. As in:
>
> $ touch foo:bar
> $ tar xf foo:bar
> tar: Cannot connect to foo: resolve failed
>
> whereas I'd prefer/expect the usual error:
> tar: This does not look like a tar archive
>
>
> Also, since the whole idea of tar making network connections is highly
> non-traditional, I also suggest making an environment variable that
> turns off the network stuff completely.  TAR_NO_NETWORK or some
> such. Since --force-local eliminates the possibility of using
> traditional no-dash options, an alias does not suffice. It is not
> desirable to make wrapper scripts for something as basic as tar.  Just
> an idea/wish ... --thanks, karl.

The whole thing is bizarre and continues to catch people by surprise:
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-tar/2017-05/msg00002.html.