Tar Lianja 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.

Object Creation

loObject = createobject("CkTar")

Properties

CaptureXmlListing
CaptureXmlListing As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.46

If .T., 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 .F..

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Charset
Charset As Character

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.)

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DebugLogFilePath
DebugLogFilePath As Character

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:

  1. a timeout related property was set to 0 to explicitly indicate that an infinite timeout is desired,
  2. the hang is actually a hang within an event callback (i.e. it is a hang within the application code), or
  3. there is an internal problem (bug) in the Chilkat code that causes the hang.

More Information and Examples
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DirMode
DirMode As Numeric

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.

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DirPrefix
DirPrefix As Character

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.

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FileMode
FileMode As Numeric

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.

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GroupId
GroupId As Numeric

The default numerical GID to be stored in each TAR header when writing TAR archives. The default value is 1000.

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GroupName
GroupName As Character

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.

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LastErrorHtml
LastErrorHtml As Character (read-only)

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.

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LastErrorText
LastErrorText As Character (read-only)

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.

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LastErrorXml
LastErrorXml As Character (read-only)

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.

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LastMethodSuccess
LastMethodSuccess As Boolean

Indicate whether the last method call succeeded or failed. A value of .T. indicates success, a value of .F. 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 = .T. and failure = .F..
  • 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 .T.. For example, a method that returns no value (such as a "void" in C++) will technically always succeed.

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MatchCaseSensitive
MatchCaseSensitive As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.46

Determines whether pattern matching for the MustMatch and MustNotMatch properties is case-sensitive or not. The default value is .F..

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MustMatch
MustMatch As Character
Introduced in version 9.5.0.46

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.

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MustNotMatch
MustNotMatch As Character
Introduced in version 9.5.0.46

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.

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NoAbsolutePaths
NoAbsolutePaths As Boolean

If .T., 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 .T..

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NumDirRoots
NumDirRoots As Numeric (read-only)

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.

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ScriptFileMode
ScriptFileMode As Numeric

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.

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SuppressOutput
SuppressOutput As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.46

If .T., then untar methods, such as Untar, UntarGz, UntarBz2, and UntarZ, do not produce any output. Setting this value equal to .T. is useful when the CaptureXmlListing is also set to .T., which enables an application to get the contents of a TAR archive without extracting. The default value is .F..

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UntarCaseSensitive
UntarCaseSensitive As Boolean

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.

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UntarDebugLog
UntarDebugLog As Boolean

Similar to the VerboseLogging property. If set to .T., then information about each file/directory extracted in an untar method call is logged to LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml / LastErrorHtml). The default value is .F..

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UntarDiscardPaths
UntarDiscardPaths As Boolean

If .T., then discard all path information when untarring. This causes all files to be untarred into a single directory. The default value is .F..

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UntarFromDir
UntarFromDir As Character

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.

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UntarMaxCount
UntarMaxCount As Numeric

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.

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UserId
UserId As Numeric

The default numerical UID to be stored in each TAR header when writing TAR archives. The default value is 1000.

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UserName
UserName As Character

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.

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VerboseLogging
VerboseLogging As Boolean

If set to .T., then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is .F.. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
Version As Character (read-only)

Version of the component/library, such as "9.5.0.94"

More Information and Examples
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WriteFormat
WriteFormat As Character

The TAR format to use when writing a TAR archive. Valid values are "gnu", "pax", and "ustar". The default value is "gnu".

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XmlListing
XmlListing As Character
Introduced in version 9.5.0.46

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 .T..

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Methods

AddDirRoot
AddDirRoot(dirPath As Character) As Boolean

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 .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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AddDirRoot2
AddDirRoot2(rootPrefix As Character, rootPath As Character) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.56

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 .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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AddFile
AddFile(path As Character) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.46

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 .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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AddFile2
AddFile2(filePath As Character, pathWithinTar As Character) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.69

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 .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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ClearDirRootsAndFiles
ClearDirRootsAndFiles() As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.84

Clears all directory roots and files previously added by calls to AddDirRoot, AddDirRoot2, AddFile, and AddFile2.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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CreateDeb
CreateDeb(controlPath As Character, dataPath As Character, debPath As Character) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.66

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 .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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GetDirRoot
GetDirRoot(index As Numeric) As Character

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 .F. on failure

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ListXml
ListXml(tarPath As Character) As Character

Scans a TAR archive and returns XML detailing the files and directories found within the TAR.

Returns .F. on failure

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ListXmlAsync (1)
ListXmlAsync(tarPath As Character) As CkTask

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 .F. on failure

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LoadTaskCaller
LoadTaskCaller(task As CkTask) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.80

Loads the caller of the task's async method.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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Untar
Untar(tarPath As Character) As Numeric

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.

More Information and Examples
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UntarAsync (1)
UntarAsync(tarPath As Character) As CkTask

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 .F. on failure

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UntarBz2
UntarBz2(tarPath As Character) As Boolean

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 .T. for success, .F. for failure.

More Information and Examples
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UntarBz2Async (1)
UntarBz2Async(tarPath As Character) As CkTask

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 .F. on failure

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UntarFirstMatchingToBd
UntarFirstMatchingToBd(tarPath As Character, matchPattern As Character, bd As CkBinData) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.82

Untars the first file matching the matchPattern into bd.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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UntarGz
UntarGz(tarPath As Character) As Boolean

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 .T. for success, .F. for failure.

More Information and Examples
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UntarGzAsync (1)
UntarGzAsync(tarPath As Character) As CkTask

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 .F. on failure

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UntarZ
UntarZ(tarPath As Character) As Boolean

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 .T. for success, .F. for failure.

More Information and Examples
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UntarZAsync (1)
UntarZAsync(tarPath As Character) As CkTask

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 .F. on failure

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VerifyTar
VerifyTar(tarPath As Character) As Boolean

Verifies that a TAR archive is valid. This method opens the TAR archive and scans the entire file by walking the TAR headers. Returns .T. if no errors were found. Otherwise returns .F..

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VerifyTarAsync (1)
VerifyTarAsync(tarPath As Character) As CkTask

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 .F. on failure

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WriteTar
WriteTar(tarPath As Character) As Boolean

Writes a TAR archive. The directory trees previously added by calling AddDirRoot one or more times are included in the output TAR archive.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

More Information and Examples
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WriteTarAsync (1)
WriteTarAsync(tarPath As Character) As CkTask

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 .F. on failure

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WriteTarBz2
WriteTarBz2(bz2Path As Character) As Boolean

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 .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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WriteTarBz2Async (1)
WriteTarBz2Async(bz2Path As Character) As CkTask

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 .F. on failure

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WriteTarGz
WriteTarGz(gzPath As Character) As Boolean

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 .T. for success, .F. for failure.

More Information and Examples
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WriteTarGzAsync (1)
WriteTarGzAsync(gzPath As Character) As CkTask

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 .F. on failure

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