Tar C Reference Documentation
Tar
Current Version: 10.0.0
API for creating and extracting TAR archives. Also supports creating and extracting .tar.gz (.tgz), .tar.bz2, and .tar.Z (compressed TAR archives, also known as compressed tarball archives). Can read/write the following TAR formats: (1) GNU tar 1.13.x format, (2) PAX -- POSIX 1003.1-2001 format, (3) USTAR -- POSIX 1003.1-1988 format.
Create/Dispose
HCkTar instance = CkTar_Create(); // ... CkTar_Dispose(instance);
Creates an instance of the HCkTar object and returns a handle ("void *" pointer). The handle is passed in the 1st argument for the functions listed on this page.
Objects created by calling CkTar_Create must be freed by calling this method. A memory leak occurs if a handle is not disposed by calling this function. Also, any handle returned by a Chilkat "C" function must also be freed by the application by calling the appropriate Dispose method, such as CkTar_Dispose.
Callback Functions
Provides the opportunity for a method call to be aborted. If TRUE is returned, the operation in progress is aborted. Return FALSE to allow the current method call to continue. This callback function is called periodically based on the value of the HeartbeatMs property. (If HeartbeatMs is 0, then no callbacks are made.) As an example, to make 5 AbortCheck callbacks per second, set the HeartbeatMs property equal to 200.
See Also:C Example using Callback Functions
Provides the percentage completed for any method that involves network communications or time-consuming processing (assuming it is a method where a percentage completion can be measured). This callback is only called when it is possible to know a percentage completion, and when it makes sense to express the operation as a percentage completed. The pctDone argument will have a value from 1 to 100. For methods that complete very quickly, the number of PercentDone callbacks will vary, but the final callback should have a value of 100. For long running operations, no more than one callback per percentage point will occur (for example: 1, 2, 3, ... 98, 99, 100).
This callback counts as an AbortCheck callback, and takes the place of the AbortCheck event when it fires.
The return value indicates whether the method call should be aborted, or whether it should proceed. Return TRUE to abort, and FALSE to proceed.
This is a general callback that provides name/value information about what is happening at certain points during a method call. To see the information provided in ProgressInfo callbacks, if any, write code to handle this event and log the name/value pairs. Most are self-explanatory.
Called in the background thread when an asynchronous task completes. (Note: When an async method is running, all callbacks are in the background thread.)
Properties
CaptureXmlListing
void CkTar_putCaptureXmlListing(HCkTar cHandle, BOOL newVal);
If TRUE, then untar methods, such as Untar, UntarGz, UntarBz2, and UntarZ, will also capture an XML listing of the contents in the XmlListing property. The format of the XML contained in XmlListing is identical to what is returned by the ListXml method. The default value is FALSE.
topCharset
void CkTar_putCharset(HCkTar cHandle, const char *newVal);
const char *CkTar_charset(HCkTar cHandle);
Character encoding to be used when interpreting filenames within .tar archives for untar operations. The default is "utf-8", and this is typically not changed. (The WriteTar methods always uses utf-8 to store filenames within the TAR archive.)
topDebugLogFilePath
void CkTar_putDebugLogFilePath(HCkTar cHandle, const char *newVal);
const char *CkTar_debugLogFilePath(HCkTar cHandle);
If set to a file path, causes each Chilkat method or property call to automatically append it's LastErrorText to the specified log file. The information is appended such that if a hang or crash occurs, it is possible to see the context in which the problem occurred, as well as a history of all Chilkat calls up to the point of the problem. The VerboseLogging property can be set to provide more detailed information.
This property is typically used for debugging the rare cases where a Chilkat method call hangs or generates an exception that halts program execution (i.e. crashes). A hang or crash should generally never happen. The typical causes of a hang are:
- a timeout related property was set to 0 to explicitly indicate that an infinite timeout is desired,
- the hang is actually a hang within an event callback (i.e. it is a hang within the application code), or
- there is an internal problem (bug) in the Chilkat code that causes the hang.
DirMode
void CkTar_putDirMode(HCkTar cHandle, int newVal);
The directory permissions to used in WriteTar* methods. The default is octal 0755. This is the value to be stored in the "mode" field of each TAR header for a directory entries.
topDirPrefix
void CkTar_putDirPrefix(HCkTar cHandle, const char *newVal);
const char *CkTar_dirPrefix(HCkTar cHandle);
A prefix to be added to each file's path within the TAR archive as it is being created. For example, if this property is set to the string "subdir1", then "subdir1/" will be prepended to each file's path within the TAR.
Note: This property does not apply to files added using the AddFile2 method, which directly specifies the path-in-tar.
topFileMode
void CkTar_putFileMode(HCkTar cHandle, int newVal);
The file permissions to used in WriteTar* methods. The default is octal 0644. This is the value to be stored in the "mode" field of each TAR header for a file entries.
topGroupId
void CkTar_putGroupId(HCkTar cHandle, int newVal);
The default numerical GID to be stored in each TAR header when writing TAR archives. The default value is 1000.
topGroupName
void CkTar_putGroupName(HCkTar cHandle, const char *newVal);
const char *CkTar_groupName(HCkTar cHandle);
The default group name to be stored in each TAR header when writing TAR archives. The default value is the logged-on username of the application's process.
topHeartbeatMs
void CkTar_putHeartbeatMs(HCkTar cHandle, int newVal);
This is the number of milliseconds between each AbortCheck event callback. The AbortCheck callback allows an application to abort any TAR operation prior to completion. If HeartbeatMs is 0, no AbortCheck event callbacks will occur.
topLastErrorHtml
const char *CkTar_lastErrorHtml(HCkTar cHandle);
Provides information in HTML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.
topLastErrorText
const char *CkTar_lastErrorText(HCkTar cHandle);
Provides information in plain-text format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.
LastErrorXml
const char *CkTar_lastErrorXml(HCkTar cHandle);
Provides information in XML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.
topLastMethodSuccess
void CkTar_putLastMethodSuccess(HCkTar cHandle, BOOL newVal);
Indicate whether the last method call succeeded or failed. A value of TRUE indicates success, a value of FALSE indicates failure. This property is automatically set for method calls. It is not modified by property accesses. The property is automatically set to indicate success for the following types of method calls:
- Any method that returns a string.
- Any method returning a Chilkat object, binary bytes, or a date/time.
- Any method returning a standard boolean status value where success = TRUE and failure = FALSE.
- Any method returning an integer where failure is defined by a return value less than zero.
Note: Methods that do not fit the above requirements will always set this property equal to TRUE. For example, a method that returns no value (such as a "void" in C++) will technically always succeed.
topMatchCaseSensitive
void CkTar_putMatchCaseSensitive(HCkTar cHandle, BOOL newVal);
Determines whether pattern matching for the MustMatch and MustNotMatch properties is case-sensitive or not. The default value is FALSE.
topMustMatch
void CkTar_putMustMatch(HCkTar cHandle, const char *newVal);
const char *CkTar_mustMatch(HCkTar cHandle);
If set, then file paths must match this pattern when creating TAR archives, or when extracting from TAR archives. If a file does not match, it will not be included when creating a TAR, or it will not be extracted when extracting from a TAR. This property also applies to methods that create or extract from compressed TAR archives.
The must-match pattern may include 0 or more asterisk characters, each of which represents 0 or more of any character. For example, the pattern "*.txt" causes only .txt files to be included or extracted. The default value is an empty string, indicating that all files are implicitly matched.
topMustNotMatch
void CkTar_putMustNotMatch(HCkTar cHandle, const char *newVal);
const char *CkTar_mustNotMatch(HCkTar cHandle);
If set, then file paths must NOT match this pattern when creating TAR archives, or when extracting from TAR archives. If a file path matches, it will not be included when creating a TAR, or it will not be extracted when extracting from a TAR. This property also applies to methods that create or extract from compressed TAR archives.
The must-not-match pattern may include 0 or more asterisk characters, each of which represents 0 or more of any character. For example, the pattern "*.obj" causes all .obj files to be skipped. The default value is an empty string, indicating that no files are skipped.
topNoAbsolutePaths
void CkTar_putNoAbsolutePaths(HCkTar cHandle, BOOL newVal);
If TRUE, then absolute paths are converted to relative paths by removing the leading "/" or "\" character when untarring. This protects your system from unknowingly untarring files into important system directories, such as C:\Windows\system32. The default value is TRUE.
topNumDirRoots
The total number of directory roots set by calling AddDirRoot (i.e. the number of times AddDirRoot was called by the application). A TAR archive is created by calling AddDirRoot for one or more directory tree roots, followed by a single call to WriteTar (or WriteTarBz2, WriteTarGz, WriteTarZ). This allows for TAR archives containing multiple directory trees to be created.
topPercentDoneScale
void CkTar_putPercentDoneScale(HCkTar cHandle, int newVal);
This property is only valid in programming environment and languages that allow for event callbacks.
Sets the value to be defined as 100% complete for the purpose of PercentDone event callbacks. The defaut value of 100 means that at most 100 event PercentDone callbacks will occur in a method that (1) is event enabled and (2) is such that it is possible to measure progress as a percentage completed. This property may be set to larger numbers to get more fine-grained PercentDone callbacks. For example, setting this property equal to 1000 will provide callbacks with .1 percent granularity. For example, a value of 453 would indicate 45.3% competed. This property is clamped to a minimum value of 10, and a maximum value of 100000.
topScriptFileMode
void CkTar_putScriptFileMode(HCkTar cHandle, int newVal);
The file permissions to used in WriteTar* methods for shell script files (.sh, .csh, .bash, .bsh). The default is octal 0755. This is the value to be stored in the "mode" field of each TAR header for a file entries.
topSuppressOutput
void CkTar_putSuppressOutput(HCkTar cHandle, BOOL newVal);
If TRUE, then untar methods, such as Untar, UntarGz, UntarBz2, and UntarZ, do not produce any output. Setting this value equal to TRUE is useful when the CaptureXmlListing is also set to TRUE, which enables an application to get the contents of a TAR archive without extracting. The default value is FALSE.
topUntarCaseSensitive
void CkTar_putUntarCaseSensitive(HCkTar cHandle, BOOL newVal);
This property is deprecated. Applications should instead use the MatchCaseSensitive property. Until this property is officially removed, it will behave the same as the MatchCaseSensitive property.
topUntarDebugLog
void CkTar_putUntarDebugLog(HCkTar cHandle, BOOL newVal);
Similar to the VerboseLogging property. If set to TRUE, then information about each file/directory extracted in an untar method call is logged to LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml / LastErrorHtml). The default value is FALSE.
topUntarDiscardPaths
void CkTar_putUntarDiscardPaths(HCkTar cHandle, BOOL newVal);
If TRUE, then discard all path information when untarring. This causes all files to be untarred into a single directory. The default value is FALSE.
topUntarFromDir
void CkTar_putUntarFromDir(HCkTar cHandle, const char *newVal);
const char *CkTar_untarFromDir(HCkTar cHandle);
The directory path where files are extracted when untarring. The default value is ".", meaning that the current working directory of the calling process is used. If UntarDiscardPaths is set, then all files are untarred into this directory. Otherwise, the untar operation will re-create a directory tree rooted in this directory.
topUntarMaxCount
void CkTar_putUntarMaxCount(HCkTar cHandle, int newVal);
Limits the number of files extracted during an untar to this count. The default value is 0 to indicate no maximum. To untar a single file, one might set the UntarMatchPattern such that it will match only the file to be extracted, and also set UntarMaxCount equal to 1. This causes an untar to scan the TAR archive until it finds the matching file, extract it, and then return.
topUserId
void CkTar_putUserId(HCkTar cHandle, int newVal);
The default numerical UID to be stored in each TAR header when writing TAR archives. The default value is 1000.
topUserName
void CkTar_putUserName(HCkTar cHandle, const char *newVal);
const char *CkTar_userName(HCkTar cHandle);
The default user name to be stored in each TAR header when writing TAR archives. The default value is the logged-on username of the application's process.
topUtf8
void CkTar_putUtf8(HCkTar cHandle, BOOL newVal);
When set to TRUE, all "const char *" arguments are interpreted as utf-8 strings. If set to FALSE (the default), then "const char *" arguments are interpreted as ANSI strings. Also, when set to TRUE, and Chilkat method returning a "const char *" is returning the utf-8 representation. If set to FALSE, all "const char *" return values are ANSI strings.
topVerboseLogging
void CkTar_putVerboseLogging(HCkTar cHandle, BOOL newVal);
If set to TRUE, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is FALSE. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.
topVersion
WriteFormat
void CkTar_putWriteFormat(HCkTar cHandle, const char *newVal);
const char *CkTar_writeFormat(HCkTar cHandle);
The TAR format to use when writing a TAR archive. Valid values are "gnu", "pax", and "ustar". The default value is "gnu".
topXmlListing
void CkTar_putXmlListing(HCkTar cHandle, const char *newVal);
const char *CkTar_xmlListing(HCkTar cHandle);
Contains the XML listing of the contents of the TAR archive for the last untar method call (such as Untar, UntarGz, etc.) where the CaptureXmlListing property was set to TRUE.
topMethods
AddDirRoot
Adds a directory tree to be included in the next call to one of the WriteTar* methods. To include multiple directory trees in a .tar, call AddDirRoot multiple times followed by a single call to WriteTar.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
topAddDirRoot2
Adds a directory tree to be included in the next call to one of the WriteTar* methods. To include multiple directory trees in a .tar, call AddDirRoot2 (and/or AddDirRoot) multiple times followed by a single call to WriteTar.
The rootPrefix adds a prefix to the path in the TAR for all files added under this root. The rootPrefix should not end with a forward-slash char. For example: This is good: "abc/123", but this is not good: "abc/123/". If the DirPrefix property is also set, its prefix will added first.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
AddFile
Adds a local file to be included in the next call to one of the WriteTar* methods. To include multiple files or directory trees in a .tar, call AddFile/AddDirRoot multiple times followed by a single call to WriteTar (or WriteTarGz, or WriteTarBz2).
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
topAddFile2
Adds a local file to be included in the next call to one of the WriteTar* methods. Allows for the path within the TAR to be specified. To include multiple files or directory trees in a .tar, call AddFile/AddFile2/AddDirRoot multiple times followed by a single call to WriteTar (or WriteTarGz, or WriteTarBz2).
Note: The DirPrefix property does not apply to files added via this method because this method explicilty specifies the path-in-tar.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
topClearDirRootsAndFiles
Clears all directory roots and files previously added by calls to AddDirRoot, AddDirRoot2, AddFile, and AddFile2.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
topCreateDeb
Creates a .deb Debian binary package archive from a control.tar.gz and data.tar.gz. The controlPath is the path to the control.tar.gz file (or equivalent), and the dataPath is the path to the data.tar.gz file. The output file path (.deb) is specified in debPath.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
topGetDirRoot
const char *CkTar_getDirRoot(HCkTar cHandle, int index);
Returns the value of the Nth directory root. For example, if an application calls AddDirRoot twice, then the NumDirRoots property would have a value of 2, and GetDirRoot(0) would return the path passed to AddDirRoot in the 1st call, and GetDirRoot(1) would return the directory path in the 2nd call to AddDirRoot.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
topListXml
const char *CkTar_listXml(HCkTar cHandle, const char *tarPath);
Scans a TAR archive and returns XML detailing the files and directories found within the TAR.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
topListXmlAsync (1)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the ListXml method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)
Returns NULL on failure
topLoadTaskCaller
Untar
Extracts the files and directories from a TAR archive, reconstructing the directory tree(s) in the local filesystem. The files are extracted to the directory specified by the UntarFromDir property. Returns the number of files and directories extracted, or -1 for failure.
UntarAsync (1)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the Untar method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)
Returns NULL on failure
topUntarBz2
Extracts the files and directories from a tar.bz2 (or tar.bzip2) archive, reconstructing the directory tree(s) in the local filesystem. The files are extracted to the directory specified by the UntarFromDir property.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
UntarBz2Async (1)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the UntarBz2 method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)
Returns NULL on failure
topUntarFirstMatchingToBd
Untars the first file matching the matchPattern into bd.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
topUntarFirstMatchingToMemory
Memory-to-memory untar. The first file matching the matchPattern is extracted and returned.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
topUntarFromMemory
Extracts the files and directories from an in-memory TAR archive, reconstructing the directory tree(s) in the local filesystem. The files are extracted to the directory specified by the UntarFromDir property. Returns the number of files and directories extracted, or -1 for failure.
topUntarFromMemoryAsync (1)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the UntarFromMemory method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)
Returns NULL on failure
topUntarGz
Extracts the files and directories from a tar.gz (or tar.gzip) archive, reconstructing the directory tree(s) in the local filesystem. The files are extracted to the directory specified by the UntarFromDir property.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
UntarGzAsync (1)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the UntarGz method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)
Returns NULL on failure
topUntarZ
Extracts the files and directories from a tar.Z archive, reconstructing the directory tree(s) in the local filesystem. The files are extracted to the directory specified by the UntarFromDir property.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
UntarZAsync (1)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the UntarZ method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)
Returns NULL on failure
topVerifyTar
Verifies that a TAR archive is valid. This method opens the TAR archive and scans the entire file by walking the TAR headers. Returns TRUE if no errors were found. Otherwise returns FALSE.
topVerifyTarAsync (1)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the VerifyTar method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)
Returns NULL on failure
topWriteTar
Writes a TAR archive. The directory trees previously added by calling AddDirRoot one or more times are included in the output TAR archive.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
WriteTarAsync (1)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the WriteTar method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)
Returns NULL on failure
topWriteTarBz2
Writes a .tar.bz2 compressed TAR archive. The directory trees previously added by calling AddDirRoot one or more times are included in the output file.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
WriteTarBz2Async (1)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the WriteTarBz2 method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)
Returns NULL on failure
topWriteTarGz
Writes a .tar.gz (also known as .tgz) compressed TAR archive. The directory trees previously added by calling AddDirRoot one or more times are included in the output file.
Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.
WriteTarGzAsync (1)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the WriteTarGz method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)
Returns NULL on failure
top