.help wtar Oct92 softools
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NAME
wtar -- write TAR format archive file
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USAGE
wtar [-flags] [-f archive] [files]
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ARGUMENTS
.ls 12 -d
Print debug messages.
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.ls 12 -o
Omit binary files.
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.ls 12 -t
Print the name of each file as it is written or omitted.
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.ls 12 -v
Verbose mode; print more information about each file.
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.ls 12 -f archive
The tar format file to be written, i.e., "stdout", a host magtape device
name (e.g., "/dev/nrmt8" or "MSA0"), or the IRAF virtual filename of a disk
file.  The default is the standard output.
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.ls 12 files
The names of the files or root directories of directory trees to be written
to the archive file.  If no files are specified "." (the directory tree
rooted at the current directory) is assumed.
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DESCRIPTION
The named files and directories are written to the indicated
UNIX "tar" format output file.  Any directories in the file list are
recursively descended.  The named directories should be subdirectories of
the current directory when \fIwtar\fR is called.  Binary files may be
omitted if desired, e.g., when transporting software to a different host, or
when making a backup of a large system which would otherwise exceed the
capacity of a single reel of tape.  All file, directory, and magtape names
conform to the IRAF standard.

The output file is normally either a disk file (e.g., if the transport
medium is an electronic network), or a magtape file.  If the output file is
a magtape multiple files, i.e., wtar archives, may be written on the tape.
The blocking factor is fixed at 10240 bytes per record.

The TAR format file written by \fIwtar\fR conforms to the UNIX standard except
that [1] no link information is preserved, [2] the user and group numbers
may not be preserved (they are preserved in the UNIX version of \fIwtar\fR),
and [3] some versions of \fIwtar\fR (e.g., VMS) pad text files at the end
with extra blank lines.

All \fIwtar\fR filename arguments are IRAF virtual filenames (or host
filenames).  Magtape devices should be specified by their host (not IRAF)
device name, e.g., "/dev/nrmt8" or "MSA0".
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EXAMPLES
1. Make a source-only archive of the IRAF system on the UNIX device
/dev/nrmt8.

.nf
	cl> cd iraf
	cl> wtar -of /dev/nrmt8
.fi

2. Archive the "uparm" directory to the VMS logical device MSA0:.

	cl> wtar -f msa0 uparm

3. Make a disk archive of the LIB and PKG directory trees in your home
directory.

	cl> wtar -f home$archive.tar lib pkg 

4. Examine the resultant file to make sure everything worked correctly.

	cl> rtar -tvf home$archive.tar


5. Make a disk archive, using a host filename for the output file.

	cl> wtar -f /tmp2/arc lib pkg sys

IRAF magtape commands such as \fIrewind\fR may be used with \fIwtar\fR,
but switching between IRAF and host device names can be confusing.
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SEE ALSO
rtar, rmbin
