After extracting a tar...is tar useless?

glenn69 · 04-23-2004, 07:54 PM

If i extract a tar file using tar command,
a new directory is created with the appropriate files.

Is the original .tar file useless at that point?

Komakino · 04-23-2004, 07:56 PM

yes, unless you particularly want to keep it - I wait until I have many tarballs with libraries etc on then burn them to CD so I don't need to redownload them if I ever want to reinstall my system.

Short answer is yes.

glenn69 · 04-23-2004, 08:01 PM

OK, I understand that the tar file is basically bakup at that point, but what about the directory that is created by the tar command.

If I successfully install the program, is that directory and its files also backup now?

Komakino · 04-23-2004, 08:02 PM

If you've done 'make install' then yes.

glenn69 · 04-23-2004, 08:03 PM

Thanks again for your help Komakino.

Learning a new OS can be a humbling experience.

Komakino · 04-23-2004, 08:05 PM

Tell me about it...I'm still learning!

Technoslave · 04-23-2004, 09:04 PM

Yeah, only reason why you'd want to keep the install directory around is if you wanted to reconfigure the app you just installed. I did this recently, with vim, had to work the ./configure about 3 times before I got it just the way I wanted. I regularly go through my install directory and do an ls -l | grep drw to see what directories I have just sitting around pimpin' electrons.