Re: tar help

From: Doug Freyburger (dfreybur_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 11/25/03 

Date: 25 Nov 2003 08:46:59 -0800

Hinet_news wrote:
>
> How to use tar to limit some kinds of file ?
...
> tar the dir and it;s sub dir /home/user/ll
> but not include all *.ff files or
> not include directory aa ?

"Help, I'm using the wrong tool for the job and it is not
doing what I want. I only know tar, and when the only tool
you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."

Your solution isn't to keep beating on tar until it sort
of behaves like what you want. Remember the Unix philosophy.
Lots of small tools that do one thing well. Link them
together with pipes.

You have two separate problems you're trying to merge into
one. Don't. Let them be separate.

Use find to generate the list of files you want backed up.
It specializes in that, so use it for that.

Use cpio, pax or similar to produce backups. Find produces
standard output and they use standard input, very convenient
that. If pax is available you can even have it produce tar
formatted outout.

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