176 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
176 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
TARCHIVE - File/Tape Archiver Program - Ver 1.2B
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by Andreas Schiffler - University of Saskatchewan
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============================================================================
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Introduction
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------------
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Tarchive is a DOS command-line tape archiver program for the Exabyte 8500 or
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8505 tape drives operating in the 4.9 GByte mode. This program is meant to
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replace the TAR program and enhance it by using some of the specific
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features of the EXB-8500 family of tape drives. This means that this program
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will not work with the older Exabyte 8200 drives since they do not support
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the SCSI-commands used by Tarchive. DAT drives should however work, if they
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support block-seek commands (this is not tested). Tarchive is not TAR
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compatible, but uses its own format for increased speed and security of the
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archiving process.
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Also provided are sources for a tape-erase program and a simple file
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archiver.
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Features
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--------
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* fast save and backup operation through use of buffering mode and large
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blocksize
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* directory information of each saveset is kept with saveset for quicker
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access of individual files
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* fast file retrieval by use of direct data-block search
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* increased data security by use of a magic code in header and a checksum
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* advanced error checking implemented for Exabyte drives
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* extensive error logging possible
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* filename-list mode for simple interfacing with other programs
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* tape erase/conditioning program is included
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Disadvantages
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-------------
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* the format is not TAR compatible
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* does not store path information
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* number of files per saveset limited (approx. 15 thousand)
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Command line usage
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------------------
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| means or, <...> means substitute value, [...] means optional
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TARCHIVE a|x|l <LUN:saveset> <wildcard>|@<filelist> [<options>]
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Function:
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.........
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a - create a new archive an add files to it
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x - extract files from an existing archive
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l - list directory of an existing archive
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Tape identification
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...................
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LUN - local unit number of the tape drive (1-7), depends on the system
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configuration and will be displayed by the SCSI-BIOS at boot time
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save-set - the number of the save set to work with (1,2,3,...). The saveset
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number must point to a saveset that exists (for options X and L) or to a
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saveset number which is one larger that the last existing saveset (for
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option a). If the a option is used on an existing saveset, that one and all
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subsequent savesets will be overwritten and all information will be lost.
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Scope
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.....
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wildcard - valid DOS wildcard to identify files in the current directory
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@filelist - filename of a textfile containing the filenames to be archived.
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The sysntx is simple: one filename per line. The filenames should not
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include path information.
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Options
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.......
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LOG=<filename> - sets the error log to 'filename'. The default error report
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is printed on the screen. If the logfile exists, the text is appended to the
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existing file.
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WORDY=FALSE - default is TRUE, so this option turns off most of the
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informational messages that are usually displayed
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TIMEDISP=FALSE - default is TRUE, so this option turns off the time in the
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error messages
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TIMEOUT=<minutes> - sets the timeout period in minutes, if the tape does not
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respond to the program. In case of a timeout, the program will abort. A
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reasonable time is several minutes to give the drive time to recover from
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tracking problems or tape winding.
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TAPE=<identifier> - sets the tape size. This is used to approximate the
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space left on the tape. Valid identifiers are for EXABYTE drives and
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include: P5-15, P5-30, P5-60, P5-90, P6-15, P6-30, P6-60, P6-90, P6-120
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RESET=TRUE - will force an ASPI reset whenever Tarchive initializes the tape
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drive. The reset will slow the startup process by about one minute, but for
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unattended operation this option is highly reccomended to avoid lockups.
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Compilation and Sources
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-----------------------
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All programs require Borland/Turbo Pascal 6.0 and up to compile.
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archiv.pas basic file archiver: reads multiple files from disk and
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stores them with a directory in a single file
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tarchiv.pas Exabyte/DAT tape archiver: uses ASPI calls to store
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multiple files in single save sets on tape, includes
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complete tape control
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terase.pas Tape eraser: erases tapes, multiple erases possible for
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tape conditioning
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xxx.pas units used by the above programs
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Data Format
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-----------
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Each save set consists of a directory, the files and a filemark at the end.
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Saveset=Directory,File,File,...,File,Filemark
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The directory is just another file containing reference information. It has
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to be the first file in the set. Its structure is as follows:
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Directory=Filename,Filesize,Filetime,Position
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Filename=STRING[12]
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Filesize=Longint
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Filetime=Longint
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Position=Longint
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Files are the packages that get written:
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File=Header,Data,Checksum
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Header=MagicCode,Filename,Filesize,Filetime
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Data=File (byte stream containing the data)
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Checksum=Longint (sum of all data bytes)
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MagicCode=T#6archi#7 (7 bytes)
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Tarchive uses fixed length blocks of 32 Kbytes size.
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The Author
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----------
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Andreas Schiffler
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1230 11th St. E
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Saskatoon, Sask
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S7H 0G3
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Canada
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Phone (306) 374-2431
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FAX (306) 652-7849
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e-mail: andreas@karlsberg.usask.ca
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e-mail: andreas@milo.usask.ca
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e-mail: schiffler@skisas.usask.ca
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-------------
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Copyright (C) 1994, 1995 by Andreas Schiffler.
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Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
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documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided
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that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that
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copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting
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documentation. This software is provided "as is" without express or
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implied warranty.
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---------
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