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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.mel.connect.com.au!news.netspace.net.au!mheath From: mheath@netspace.net.au (Mark Heath) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: Tape file system Date: 24 Mar 1997 03:23:30 GMT Organization: Netspace Online Systems Lines: 33 Message-ID: <5h4s3i$mpl$1@otis.netspace.net.au> References: <5h0pfc$7vg@fu-berlin.de> NNTP-Posting-Host: netspace.net.au X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:37673 Gunther Schadow (gusw@zedat.fu-berlin.de) wrote: : Hi, : I am asking because I feel like the tar (`Tape ARchive') is not as : well tailored as it could be, if it had an index at the head and would : quickly proceed to the position of the desired files to be extracted. : Dump(8) has a nice directory feature `restore -i'is very comfortable, : however, restore does not seek quickly but reads over the whole tape. : Finally would it not be a file system like thing in the end? Im planning on writing another archiver (for tape drives) which stores a catalog at the beggining of the archive to allow quick listings and also a quick seek to the file you wish to extract. I posted a simular question to comp.sys.linux.apps (Anything better than tar?) and got the answer: use tar -R option to build a record file. then use dd to seek to the appropriate position on the tape (or something like this) One user even wrote a utility to take the record file and seek to the desired position. called dds2tar (check your favourite search engine) I have saved most of the replies I got from that post, if you want any info on using tar -R and dd together I can forward them to you. Also if you want any info on the implementation of my archiver (marchiver or markiver :-)) Mail me. -- Dos has a MOUSE command. Unix has a CAT command. Who eats Who? -- mark heath | Netspace Online Systems mark@crafti.com.au | mheath@netspace.net.au | +61(0)411 224 397