Question on Basic Commands

rootlinux · 12-15-2001, 12:08 AM

Just a real quick question here.

I was playing around tonight with tar files and I came across something that I wasnt too sure about.

Basically, if I wanted to tar or untar a file, you use the tar cvf <filename>.

My question is, i see some reading where it tells you to just put the command tar cvf <filename> and other places have it tar -cvf <filename>.

My question is, whats the difference between using a - and not using one?

Thanks everyone!

isajera · 12-15-2001, 12:23 AM

hmmm... good question. actually, i think it depends on the program. most programs will require a "-" in order to work correctly... others, like tar, might try to intelligently parse thier arguments. remember, every command is really a program of one type or another, written by someone who may or may not have taken the - into account.

just to be safe, always use a "-".