tar

n 1: any of various dark heavy viscid substances obtained as a

residue [syn: {pitch}]

2: a man who serves as a sailor [syn: {mariner}, {seaman}, {Jack-tar},

{old salt}, {seafarer}, {gob}, {sea dog}]

v 1: coat with tar, as of roofs

2: cover with tar or asphalt, of roads [syn: {asphalt}]

tar

("Tape ARchive", following {ar}) {Unix}'s

general purpose {archive} utility and the file format it uses.

Tar was originally intended for use with {magnetic tape} but,

though it has several {command line options} related to tape,

it is now used more often for packaging files together on

other media, e.g. for distribution via the {Internet}.

The resulting archive, a "tar file" (humourously, "tarball")

is often compressed, using {gzip} or some other form of

compression (see {tar and feather}).

There is a {GNU} version of tar called {gnutar} with several

improvements over the standard versions.

{Filename extension}: .tar

{MIME type}: unregistered, but commonly application/x-tar

{Unix manual page}: tar(1).

Compare {shar}, {zip}.

(1998-05-02)