tar command
Desmond is studying for his RHCSA Exam. He knows that he must be an absolute master of the tar command. Please give and fully explain 10 examples of the tar command on a modern RHEL server. Use the term "Free Software" vice "open source" and "GNU/Linux" vice "Linux".
10 Examples of the tar Command on a Modern RHEL Server (Free Software, GNU/Linux)
1. Creating a simple uncompressed archive:
tar -cvf my_archive.tar /path/to/directory
This command creates an uncompressed tar archive named my_archive.tar from the directory /path/to/directory.
2. Creating a compressed archive with gzip:
tar -czvf my_archive.tar.gz /path/to/directory
This command creates a compressed tar archive named my_archive.tar.gz using the gzip compression algorithm.
3. Creating a compressed archive with bzip2:
tar -cjvf my_archive.tar.bz2 /path/to/directory
This command creates a compressed tar archive named my_archive.tar.bz2 using the bzip2 compression algorithm.
4. Extracting an archive:
tar -xvf my_archive.tar
This command extracts the contents of the archive my_archive.tar to the current directory.
5. Extracting an archive with specific compression:
tar -xvjf my_archive.tar.bz2
This command extracts the contents of the archive my_archive.tar.bz2, using the appropriate decompression based on the file extension.
6. Listing the contents of an archive:
tar -tvf my_archive.tar
This command displays a list of the files and directories contained within the archive my_archive.tar.
7. Extracting a single file from an archive:
tar -xf my_archive.tar /path/to/file
This command extracts the file /path/to/file from the archive my_archive.tar.
8. Adding files to an existing archive:
tar -rvf my_archive.tar additional_file.txt
This command adds the file additional_file.txt to the existing archive my_archive.tar.
9. Verifying the integrity of an archive:
tar -tf my_archive.tar
This command checks if the contents of the archive my_archive.tar are intact and have not been corrupted.
10. Using wildcards to include/exclude files:
tar -czvf my_archive.tar.gz --exclude "*.log" /path/to/directory
This command creates a compressed tar archive named my_archive.tar.gz, including all files and directories from /path/to/directory except files ending with the .log extension.
These are just a few basic examples of the many ways to use the tar command. By understanding these fundamental operations, Desmond will be well on his way to mastering this essential Free Software tool for system administration in GNU/Linux environments.