tar -tvf is truncating anything more than 100 characters

[oraytektips]

Hi - When I do a tar -tvf filename.tar, it is only showing path names upto 100 characters.Is there anyway around this.
Thx

 

[khalidaaa]

I think this is due to a limitation in tar command!

The tar command looks for archives on the default device (usually tape), unless you specify another device with the -f Archive flag. When specifying path names that are greater than 100 characters for the United States Tape Archiver (USTAR) format, remember that the path name is composed of a prefix buffer, a / (slash), and a name buffer.

The prefix buffer can be a maximum of 155 bytes and the name buffer can hold a maximum of 100 bytes. If the path name cannot be split into these two parts by a slash, it cannot be archived. This limitation is due to the structure of the tar archive headers, and must be maintained for compliance with standards and backwards compatibility. In addition, the length of a destination for a hard or symbolic link ( the 'link name') cannot exceed 100 bytes.

Why don't you try to compress files using backup and restore commands?

find ./source_path -print | backup -iqvpf backup_file.arc
restore -tqvf backup_file.arc

Regards,
Khalid

 

[rzs0502]

If you are really stuck with tar, use GNU tar instead. (at least you can compress as well)
It's on the Linux toolbox site/CD or you can download a package here:

http://pware.hvcc.edu/download/aix53/pware53.tar.1.22.0.0.bff.gz

"If you always do what you've always done, you will always be where you've always been."