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1993-08-26
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!tar - Franz Philipps' front end to Frank Lancaster's tar
=========================================================
On the command line, you say
tar [-]Commands[Options] ARCHIVE [LIST] [BLKS] [LEN] [-C DIR] object1 object2...
In the desktop, you control tar from 2 windows, in which
you specify any Options and select the Command to be executed
There are 2 'modes' of operation
1 Command line like: you type in the names of the objects
2 drag'n'drop
Commands and options can't be typed in, they are un/set in the 'tar' and
'tar options' window respectively
That's basically all
But 'basically' implies a 'but' so here it is
- I tested the prog mostly in the drag'n'drop mode with only a few options
set (those I use regularly)
- !tar maintains a scrap directory which will be wiped out on quit.
It is called tar`scrap and that name can only be changed by hacking
!tar.!RunImage. Its parent though is set in !tar.!Run to <Wimp$ScrapDir>
if defined and <tar$dir> otherwise, and so can easily be adapted.
On termination !tar.!RunImage executes "wipe <parent>.tar`scrap ~c~vrf" -
if someone has in/advertently set (the sys variable) 'parent' to 'adfs::$',
the effect wouldn't be as unpleasant as in "wipe <dir`name> ~c~vrf"
- In the drag/op mode !tar listens for DataLoad messages and collects the
incoming object names in the tar`scrap.tar`list file. When the DataLoad
chain breaks, "tar l tar`list" is executed. The options get written
into tar`list on the 1st DataLoad msg in the chain and when the 'l' option
is set, it will be ignored. If you want a "tar l my`own`list", name the
list and 'go'
- When creating a new archive/appending objects to an existing one by the
drag/op method, all objects come from come from the same filer window, ie.
they are in the same directory. !tar selects that dir and executes
something like 'tar cf archive *', that is the archived objects don't
have their absolute path names anymore, so you can 'untar' such an archive
into a dir of your choice. If you WANT to keep pathnames, list the full
object names in the 'Objects' writable and 'go'
- As I do not know how to restore the Currently Selected Directory (@)
to the Previously SD when the change was to another filing system
(*back won't do in this case), you shouln't rely on the @ being unchanged
when !tar runs
- When untar'ing a TARchive (tar archive) with nude objects, the extracted
objects go into the tar`scrap directory. This is wiped beforehand, so you
can be sure it only contains objects belonging to the archive you're just
extracting from. Of course, full pathnamed objects will go to where they
came from
- !tar starts Frank's tar via a Wimp_StartTask. A command window will pop
up and some info be displayed. Usual cmnd window controls: ⇧Shift+Ctrl to
stop scrolling, Ctrl alone to slow it down. When tar finishes the window
disappears. If you want to it keep it for some reason, hold ⇧Shift down
- !Help is supported, but on tar options you'd better read the doc file
tar`help is started by !tar when !tar gets a HelpRequest message from !Help
but tar`help isn't running yet. It dies with both !tar and !Help and can
also be terminated from the Tasks window
- When using compression, some sys vars must be set up - again, read the
documentation as I've only defined tar$scrap (must be set if compressing)
The compress prog came with the tar package so I throw it in, though
I don't see any advantages in using tar this way, inasmuch as there is the
arc/!Spark/!ArcFS troika which does it better anyway. But the tar/gzip
dvoika is unbeatable in terms of attainable compression factors. In fact,
I wrote !tar to speed up the 100=150 process:
unarc an arc/!Spark/!ArcFS archive
collect extracted objects into a TARchive
gzip it
whom I fed with 100 'Bytes free &00000 = 0' disks and it spat out
50 'Bytes free &00000 = 0' disks and
50 'Bytes free &c7000 = 815104' disks (800 kg A310 drives)
(well, it's probably a 100=130 process, but this isn't bad either)
- !tar uses Interface' pointer changing feature; as this requires calling
an Interface SWI every 0-event, a PollIdle with a 0-event distance of
20/100 s is used - you can see the delay. Change dt% in !RunImage if annoyed
There are other ... eh ... peculiarities with the pointer changing
its shape - well, you can't have everything
- !tar has no icon bar icon, but you can 'iconize' it and put anywhere on
screen
- A set of saved options can be loaded and the currently selected options
can be saved and will be used when you run !tar. If an 'Options' file
does not exist !RunImage generates a default set of options which is:
verbose listing of what's going on and nothing else
- !tar is a lone wolf - it won't let a second incarnation start up
- Put tar into !tar application directory or into a location on the Run$Path
(for example, a library)
- Usual WimpSlot note: with a 4 Mt machine, I can't go below a 32k WimpSlot
The uncrunched !RunImage is 17.5k big, so it won't run in a 24k slot either
Crunching with BasCrunch 1.02 not 'Building multiple-statement lines'
reduced this to ~10k, but I had first to conver all SICK-style & in assembler
chunks to the more civilized dcd (=equd). !RunImage still coulnd't find
a file called `_'` , I too, so I gave up (don't need it anyway)
- Some stuff I do not like and you won't too - so I will try to improve it
and not mention further. Perhaps one thing: when no command is selected
and you drop an object onto the 'tar' window, its full name is inserted
into the 'Objects' writable. Can't see any useful application of this
and also can't remember now why I coded it in, but I could one day and
will regret then having it deleted
If there's something that really annoys you e-mail to
ig06@rz.uni-karlsruhe.de
(but say that it's for franz, better franz philipps, as there are currently
several people parasiting on my account) and I will see w.i.c.d.
The @-flaw I can't extinct, as on Aug 26th 1993, the number of arrived
old-ro2-(RISC OS 2)-PRMs-people-don't-need-anymore is still 0.0
This, surely, is because the postal indices in Germany have changed a couple
of weeks ago and you wasn't sure whether your parcel will reach me. Now
you know it will but don't have the index, so here at last is the alleviation
Franz Philipps
Koeslinerstr. 71 A
76139 Karlsruhe
Germany
(immer gerade aus, an der zweiten ampel rechts)