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From: silver@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Andy Silverman)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: Re: SHAR files
Message-ID: <8282@netnews.upenn.edu>
Date: 22 Feb 89 18:36:49 GMT
References: <5827@bsu-cs.UUCP> <1131@marlin.NOSC.MIL>
Sender: news@netnews.upenn.edu
Reply-To: silver@eniac.seas.upenn.edu.UUCP (Andy Silverman)
Organization: University of Pennsylvania
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In article <1131@marlin.NOSC.MIL> jbjones@marlin.nosc.mil.UUCP (John B. Jones) writes:
>
>I've learned metric tons from watching everybody talk to each other on
>this news group.  Thanks to all.
>In conversation from time to time, I've seen the expression "SHAR file",
>and also phrases like "I unshared it" and "most of the archive consisted
>of shar files".
>Pray tell, what is a SHAR file?
>How do you find one?
>How do you unshar one?
>I couldn't find a man page on this. I'll be grateful for attention.
A SHAR file is a sh archive.  sh is the Bourne Shell, which is a UNIX
shell.  SHAR archives are often found in the UNIX sections of databases
like Simtel-20.  What it really is is a self-extracting batch file.  When
you type "sh filename" in UNIX, it reads the shar file which unextracts
itself into component files.  Sort of like an uncompressed .ARC file.
As far as I know they are limited to the UNIX world.



Andy Silverman
Internet: silver@eniac.seas.upenn.edu
CompuServe: 72261,531