🚀 go-pugleaf

Dear people from GNU,

if I have a file containing a backslash your tar
behaves strange. Normally one has to escape the
backslash by doubling it, but GNU's tar requires 4
backslashes and displays two but restores with one.

Here an example:

touch a\\b         # creates a file a\b
tar cf test a\\b   # does not work
tar cf test a\\\\b # o.k.
tar tf test        # displays a\\b
tar xf test        # creates a file a\b

The escaping of other special characters as blank
or astrisk seems to be treated correctly. Only the
behaviour for the backslash itself is different from
standard tar or UNIX, so I consider it to be a bug,
and not a feature.

If the backslash is in the name of the file to be
created like in 'tar cf a\\b .' the doubling of
the backslash works correctly. 

The behaviour is the same on CONVEX-C2, IBM-RS6000
and IRIS-4D.

Finally a question concerning sys/mtio.h. We have a
DAT-tape installed in an IRIS-4D. There an sys/mtio.h
exists. We want to use this tape remotely from the
RS6000, where no sys/mtio.h is available. For which
features is it necessary to have the sys/mtio.h and
is it a good or bad advice to copy the relevant part
of sys/mtio.h from the IRIS to the RS6000.

Andreas Schott