11/21   I'm trying to gunzip and in-tar a file for the first time.
        When I type: tar -x sag-0.6-html.tar  I get this error message:
        tar: can't open /dev/rst0 : Permission denied
        what am I doing wrong? -brett
        \_ if it's a tar.gz try:
           tar xzvf sag-0.6-html.tar.gz
           -jeff
        \_ -f
        \_ tar -xf blah.tar.  read the man pages.
        \_ tar -xf blah.tar.  Not reading the man pages is what you're doing
           wrong.  man tar.  man gunzip.  Sheesh.
                \_  Thanks for the snotty advice. The first one worked
                    just fine thanks. -brett
                \_ Don't be a jerk. My csua manpath didn't work, and
                   the man that I had on my Linux box didn't explain it
                   well enough. It would be nice if people weren't so
                   B
                   judgmental. Don't assume that everybody is stupid and
                   doesn't try to do it themself first. By the way, the first
                   bit of advice did the trick.
                   \_ 1) Fix your manpath, 2) Fix your Linux box, 3) I didn't
                      assume stupidity on your part, you proved it pretty
                      well without any help, 4) The first bit of advice won't
                      work everywhere which leads back to my advice: read the
                      man page for tar which is what you should have done in
                      the first place.  I find it unlikely that you have a
                      special set of tar man pages that have a poor
                        \_ as it happens, the GNU man pages are pretty horrid
                           because they expect everyone to use info files...
                           it's incredibly annoying --brg
                           \_ .TR off .RU les .FO rever
                      explanation of how tar works while the rest of us have
                      the really cool version with examples and such.  What
                      I merely implied about your intelligence before I will
                      now state outright for those still impaired: you _are_
                      an idiot and possibly a liar as well.
                      \_ I remember back in the days when I was a unix
                         newbie I didn't have a clue on how to use tar.
                         Even after reading the manpages I still couldn't
                         get the command line arguments to work properly.
                         Finally, I ran into a friend who happened to have
                         a tar for dummies explaination that gave a decent
                         example.  Now I use tar almost everyday.  Go light
                         on the newbies. It doesn't help if you just keep
                         on saying "read the fucking manual" and "if you
                         still don't get it keep on reading the fucking
                         manual until you do get it"
                         \_ My girlfriend, a total newbie, as newbie as you
                            can get, doesn't have a problem learning anything
                            from the man pages.  What the fuck is wrong with
                            you?
                            \_ so i'm dumb for not being able to understand
                               this manpage huh?
                            \_ she learns pretty well in the sack, too.

NAME
       tar - The GNU version of the tar archiving utility

SYNOPSIS
       tar  [  -  ]  A  --catenate --concatenate | c --create | d
       --diff --compare | r --append | t --list | u --update |  x
       -extract --get [ --atime-preserve ] [ -b, --block-size N ]
       [ -B, --read-full-blocks ]  [  -C,  --directory  DIR  ]  [
       --checkpoint     ]  [ -f, --file [HOSTNAME:]F ] [ --force-
       local   ] [ -F, --info-script F --new-volume-script F ]  [
       -G,  --incremental  ] [ -g, --listed-incremental F ] [ -h,
       --dereference ] [ -i, --ignore-zeros ] [  --ignore-failed-
       read  ] [ -k, --keep-old-files ] [ -K, --starting-file F ]
       [ -l, --one-file-system ] [ -L, --tape-length N  ]  [  -m,
       --modification-time   ]  [  -M,  --multi-volume  ]  [  -N,
       --after-date DATE, --newer DATE  ]  [  -o,  --old-archive,
       --portability  ]  [ -O, --to-stdout ] [ -p, --same-permis-
       sions, --preserve-permissions ] [ -P, --absolute-paths ] [
       --preserve      ] [ -R, --record-number ] [ --remove-files
       ] [ -s, --same-order, --preserve-order ] [ --same-owner  ]
       [  -S,  --sparse ] [ -T, --files-from F ] [ --null     ] [
       --totals   ] [ -v, --verbose ] [  -V,  --label  NAME  ]  [
       --version   ]  [ -w, --interactive, --confirmation ] [ -W,
       --verify    ] [ --exclude FILE ] [ -X, --exclude-from FILE
       ]   [   -Z,  --compress,  --uncompress  ]  [  -z,  --gzip,
       --ungzip      ] [ --use-compress-program PROG ] [ --block-
       compress ] [ -[0-7][lmh]     ]

       filename1 [ filename2, ... filenameN ]

       directory1 [ directory2, ...directoryN ]

                      \_ The problem with manpages is that they're written
                         (horribly) by the technically-inclined, and they
                         assume some clue. Manpages are NOT for newbies.
                         Hell, I've been using UNIX for over eight years
                         now and I still don't understand some of them.
                        \_ Odd. I've never had a problem figuring out anything
                           from the man pages from Day One to today.  The man
                           pages follow a very simple format and the tar
                           manpage in particular is far more detailed than
                           most.  I stand by my words: he's an idiot.
                        \_ I wrote a short explanation of how to use
                           tar and gzip with examples and posted it to
                           ucb.class.cs61b a day or two ago. -brg