Bonus question: With or without - ?

  • superkretOP
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    4 days ago

    “long-standing conventions” is how you end up with Internet Explorer still pre-installed on Windows Server 2025.
    And when was the last time you used the tar “tape archiver” to archive things on tape?

    • rtxn@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Magnetic tapes are still being used as long-term storage, as backups for example. They are inexpensive, compact, have zero moving parts, and are more durable than optical media. All you have to do is keep them in a location that is around room temperature, relatively dry, and away from magnets.

      But that’s not really what tar does. It simply collects the input files and writes them to a single contiguous data stream – a file not unlike an actual tape. It’s worked like that for, I shit you not, 45 years, and it is very much a single project holding up modern technology situation. I fear to imagine what would happen if it were to change.

    • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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      4 days ago

      You may not have heard this, but tar can be used to work with non-tape archives.

      In fact, non-tape archives are the overwhelmingly popular workflow.

      • electricyarn@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        Does having to explain the history of a tool to understand why it works that way make it more or less useful?

        • Laurel Raven@lemmy.zip
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          4 days ago

          Neither, but understanding that and the ubiquity of that tool might help understand why it can’t simply be changed