Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!sdd.hp.com!think.com!cass.ma02.bull.com!mips2!thed.uk22.bull.com!kelvin From: kelvin@thed.uk22.bull.com (Kelvin Hill) Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn Subject: Re: TAR & Disk Corruption. Message-ID: Date: 20 Jun 91 10:36:34 GMT References: Sender: news@mips2.ma30.bull.com (Usenet News Manager) Distribution: comp Organization: Bull HN Informations Systems Inc. Lines: 38 In fl@tools.uucp (Frank Lancaster) writes: >tar will remind you if called with no parameters to READ THE DOCUMENTATION FILE >and THAT I WILL TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DATA LOSS DUE TO THE USE OF THIS >PROGRAMME. I never said I *did* hold anyone responsible. I do (given the evidence) hold the program 'tar' responsible. If I'd wanted to hold anyone personally responsible, I would not have made an open mailing. I accepted the risks associated with any public domain software, but I do feel I have a duty to others using the same software to warn them that I have had a minor disaster. They can then decide if they wish to carry on using that software. [ stuff deleted ] >useful utility. But as people who have some kind of trouble using it or with >their hard disc always seem to see the fault in the programme I will now >stop supporting it. I am fed up! Some people would probably write to AT&T and >say that UNIX has a bug because if you rm -rf * it deletes all your files >without saying anything. It was a bad idea that tar was released with >submit/extract without the documentation, but I was preparing a release for If 'rm -rf *' does what it's documented to do, but is misused, thats one thing. If 'tar' on my Unix system had destroyed the hard disk I was saving *from*, I probably would write to AT&T (at the very least as a warning that there seemed to be a problem). I agree about the lack of documentation with the Submit/Extract release. Would it have told me that my disk would get corrupted by using the command line I used? This was not and was never intended to be a personal flame. I'm sorry that it seems to been have taken as such. Kelvin. -- Kelvin J. Hill - BULL HN Information System Ltd, Hounslow, England, UK. Internet - kelvin@thed.uk22.bull.com | UUCP - kelvin@cix.compulink.co.uk "" kelvin@kelvin.uk22.bull.com | AMPRnet - kelvin@g1emm.ampr.org