(tar)How to Add Files to Existing Archives

How to Delete Members from Archives

How to Extract Members from an Archive

Tutorial

How to Add Files to Existing Archives
=====================================

     *(This message will disappear, once this node revised.)*

   If you want to add files to an existing archive, then don't use
`--create' (`-c').  That will erase the archive and create a new one in
its place.  Instead, use `--append' (`-r').  The command `tar --append
--file=afiles.tar arbalest' would add the file `arbalest' to the
existing archive `afiles.tar'.  The archive must already exist in order
to use `--append' (`-r').

   As with `--create' (`-c'), the member names of the newly added files
will be the exact same as their names given on the command line.  The
`--verbose' (`-v') option will print out the names of the files as they
are written into the archive.

   If you add a file to an archive using `--append' (`-r') with the
same name as an archive member already present in the archive, then the
old member is not deleted.  What does happen, however, is somewhat
complex.
FIXME: xref Multiple Members with the Same Name.
   If you want to replace an archive member, use `--delete' first, and
then use `--append' (`-r').

FIXME: we want people to use the script for backups, so I an not going
FIXME: to use backups as an explanation in the tutorial.  (people can still
FIXME: do it if they really want to)

   While you can use `tar' to create a new archive every time you want
to store a file, it is more sometimes efficient to add files to an
existing archive.

   To add new files to an existing archive, use the `--append' (`-r')
operation.  To add newer versions of archive members to an archive, use
the `--update' (`-u') operation.

   While you can use `tar' to create an archive of an entire directory
or directory tree, it is more efficient when performing backups to only
archive those files which have been newly created or changed since the
last backup.

   To add new files to an existing archive, or to add newer versions of
old files, you can use the `--append' (`-r') operation, or the
`--update' (`-u') operation.

Append bis

Update bis

Concatenate bis