(tar)Mnemonic Options

Short Options

Option Styles

Option Styles

Mnemonic Option Style
---------------------

   Each OPTION has at least one mnemonic option name starting with two
dashes in a row, v.g. `--list' (`-t').  The mnemonic option names are
more legible than the corresponding short or old option names, you may
prefer them if you highly praise clarity.  It sometimes happens that a
single mnemonic option has many different different names, which are
then synonymous.  In addition, mnemonic option names can be given unique
abbreviations.  For example, `--cre' can be used in place of `--create'
because there is no other mnemonic option which begins with `cre'.

   Some options require an argument.  This is the case of the
`--file=ARCHIVE-NAME' (`-f ARCHIVE-NAME') option, which tells the name
of the `tar' archive.  The argument of a mnemonic option is usually
given right after the option itself, and introduced by an equal sign.
For example, the `--file=ARCHIVE-NAME' (`-f ARCHIVE-NAME') option is
given the `archive.tar' file as argument by using the notation
`--file=archive.tar' for the mnemonic option.

   Mnemonic options are meant to be obvious and easy to remember,
possibly more so than their corresponding short options, below.  For
example:

     tar --create --verbose --block-size=20 --file=/dev/rmt0

gives a fairly good set of hints about what the command does, even for
those not fully acquainted with `tar'.