Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!apple!well!nlane
From: nlane@well.sf.ca.us (Nathan D. Lane)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: corrupt tar files ?
Keywords: tar
Message-ID: <25051@well.sf.ca.us>
Date: 26 May 91 19:24:16 GMT
References: <LLRw22w164w@bluemoon.uucp> <1991May17.164114.24703@mcs.anl.gov> <5069@lib.tmc.edu>
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA
Lines: 28

In article <5069@lib.tmc.edu> dfenyes@thesis1.med.uth.tmc.edu (David Fenyes) writes:
>[problems with tar]
>
>Any modern tar will probably produce tars that will bomb Coherent tar.
>The fault is /bin/tar's and not the GNU tar or ustar.  (Using GNU tar
>with the -o option writes old-format tars for Coherent's /bin/tar).
>
>The solution is to use ustar provided with Coherent, or GNU tar from piggy,
>which is tarred with the -o option, to bootstrap you up to the 
>modern tar format :-)
>
>David.


On the story of tars that break Coherent's - do Coherent tar files break
more "modern" tars too?  I've found that "broken" tars will untar with
lots of "bad checksums", HOWEVER, the files generally look OK and if they
are compiled, the produce binaries with no troubles.  (From an Esix tar
to Coherent - bad checksums, but ok compile, from a Coherent tar to
an Esix machine - bad checksums, but ok compile.)  Anyone else 
experience this behavior?

btw - ustar works just fine with NO bad checksums.

-Nathan Lane
Digital Technology Service
Santa Barbara, CA
Authorized Esix Resellers