Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!rutgers!netsys!vector!rpp386!jfh
From: jfh@rpp386.Dallas.TX.US (John F. Haugh II)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: GNU-tar vs dump(1)
Summary: Bite the bullet, tell GNU-tar about file systems.
Message-ID: <10797@rpp386.Dallas.TX.US>
Date: 8 Jan 89 20:32:00 GMT
References: <17999@adm.BRL.MIL> <629@mks.UUCP> <11@estinc.UUCP>
Reply-To: jfh@rpp386.Dallas.TX.US (John F. Haugh II)
Organization: River Parishes Programming, Dallas TX
Lines: 17

In article <11@estinc.UUCP> fnf@estinc.UUCP (Fred Fish) writes:
>The problem with archive space consumed can be eliminated by compressing
>(LZW) sparse files during the archive process.  This can be done totally
>transparently to the user. The example 100Mb file compresses to about 200Kb.

This problem and others can be solved by telling GNU-tar about the file
system.  There is no reason a system utility shouldn't be aware of the
system layout.

How many CPU years are going to be wasted LZW'ing all those sparce blocks
when a little file system knowelege would have saved us all that grief?
Write the code once and be done with it.
-- 
John F. Haugh II                        +-Quote of the Week:-------------------
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