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From: gwyn@smoke.brl.mil (Doug Gwyn)
Newsgroups: comp.std.unix
Subject: Re: Standards Update, IEEE 1003.1: System services interface
Message-ID: <783@longway.TIC.COM>
Date: 5 Jul 90 03:40:11 GMT
References: <767@longway.TIC.COM> <770@longway.TIC.COM> <781@longway.TIC.COM>
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From:  Doug Gwyn <gwyn@smoke.brl.mil>

In article <781@longway.TIC.COM> uunet!tsa.co.uk!domo@usenix.ORG writes:
>After all, tar's a format for blocked magnetic tapes, ...

No, it is not.  A "tar" archive is merely a stream of bytes, all of
whose structure is contained internally.  The designers of "tar" and
(to a lesser extent) "cpio" archive formats did, however, take into
account the blocked nature of such media, so that it would be
convenient to use such media to hold the archive.  This was entirely
appropriate and does not require that such media be used.

Volume-Number: Volume 20, Number 97