Re: tar up a symbolic linked directory

[T o n g <mlist4suntong@yahoo.com>]

On Mon, 04 May 2009 13:48:07 -0400, Douglas A. Tutty wrote:

>> >> I want to tar up a symbolic linked directory as if it is a real
>> >> directory. Is there any easy way to do it?
>> >> 
>> >> Let me explain with an example (that you can try). . .
>> 
>> I can't see that it would be possible to dereference the top-level
>> symlink but no others. No commands that I know of support selective
>> symlink dereferencing, except find(1) with -H.
>> 
>> That lead me to try:
>> $ find -H d2 | cpio -o -L -H ustar > d2.tar
>> 
>> This comes close, storing d2/d as a link, but as a hardlink, not a
>> symlink.

Thanks. seems that this is the best approach so far. 

> Before we get too far down the garden path, would you review the "why"
> of this?

Simple -- I want to maintain an identical working environment across all 
places, in my prime home environment, or on remote sites, on Live CDs or 
their HD installations. The most important thing about the "identical" is 
logical identical, as oppose to physical. I.e., I expect a certain path 
name to be at a specific location, across all environments that I work 
in, despite the fact that such path name might be a symlink one to other 
folder on another volume with another name. 

> It may be simpler to do it in a couple of steps. . .

Thanks, but that still seems too complicated to me. So I'll propose to 
tar developers for my seems-legitimate request, to, either differentiate 
"d2" and "d2/" as sync does, or add a option similar to "find -H". 

Thanks for the comments.

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