tar: Book Contents

1 
1 1.1 What this Book Contains
1 ===========================
1 
1 The first part of this chapter introduces you to various terms that will
1 recur throughout the book.  It also tells you who has worked on GNU
1 'tar' and its documentation, and where you should send bug reports or
1 comments.
1 
1    The second chapter is a tutorial (⇒Tutorial) which provides a
1 gentle introduction for people who are new to using 'tar'.  It is meant
1 to be self-contained, not requiring any reading from subsequent chapters
1 to make sense.  It moves from topic to topic in a logical, progressive
1 order, building on information already explained.
1 
1    Although the tutorial is paced and structured to allow beginners to
1 learn how to use 'tar', it is not intended solely for beginners.  The
1 tutorial explains how to use the three most frequently used operations
1 ('create', 'list', and 'extract') as well as two frequently used options
1 ('file' and 'verbose').  The other chapters do not refer to the tutorial
1 frequently; however, if a section discusses something which is a complex
1 variant of a basic concept, there may be a cross-reference to that basic
1 concept.  (The entire book, including the tutorial, assumes that the
1 reader understands some basic concepts of using a Unix-type operating
1 system; ⇒Tutorial.)
1 
1    The third chapter presents the remaining five operations, and
1 information about using 'tar' options and option syntax.
1 
1    The other chapters are meant to be used as a reference.  Each chapter
1 presents everything that needs to be said about a specific topic.
1 
1    One of the chapters (⇒Date input formats) exists in its
1 entirety in other GNU manuals, and is mostly self-contained.  In
1 addition, one section of this manual (⇒Standard) contains a big
1 quote which is taken directly from 'tar' sources.
1 
1    In general, we give both long and short (abbreviated) option names at
1 least once in each section where the relevant option is covered, so that
1 novice readers will become familiar with both styles.  (A few options
1 have no short versions, and the relevant sections will indicate this.)
1