Comments on: xar rox http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/ distraction in action Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:28:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: n8 http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-8658 n8 Mon, 06 Aug 2007 20:37:58 +0000 http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-8658 @Paul: Yeah, don't read too much into the alias test at the moment. It's not clear what the correct behavior is for aliases, or even if there *is* a correct behavior. I know how I would want them handled: if an alias is pointing to a backed-up file then it should point to the corresponding restored file, even if it's at a different path. However, I can see somebody wanting different behavior. My lab-mate thought that retaining the original target was the right thing to do. (BTW, the exact same debate applies to absolute symlinks, which I don't have a test for in the symlink tests.) I should probably introduce a type of test that's not pass-fail for cases like this where you want to understand how the tool behaves but there's not a clear right or wrong behavior. @Paul: Yeah, don’t read too much into the alias test at the moment. It’s not clear what the correct behavior is for aliases, or even if there *is* a correct behavior. I know how I would want them handled: if an alias is pointing to a backed-up file then it should point to the corresponding restored file, even if it’s at a different path. However, I can see somebody wanting different behavior. My lab-mate thought that retaining the original target was the right thing to do. (BTW, the exact same debate applies to absolute symlinks, which I don’t have a test for in the symlink tests.)

I should probably introduce a type of test that’s not pass-fail for cases like this where you want to understand how the tool behaves but there’s not a clear right or wrong behavior.

]]> By: Paul http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-8656 Paul Mon, 06 Aug 2007 20:02:43 +0000 http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-8656 @n8: Thanks, I'd dug around and found that out, but now you've added the aliases test, so xar no longer gets a clean sweep :-) Reckon it probably does better than a lot of things out there though. The only problem is that it doesn't re-home the alias. Good enough for backups though where you expect to restore to the same location. Great suite of tests btw. Really useful stuff on something really important. @n8: Thanks, I’d dug around and found that out, but now you’ve added the aliases test, so xar no longer gets a clean sweep :-)

Reckon it probably does better than a lot of things out there though. The only problem is that it doesn’t re-home the alias. Good enough for backups though where you expect to restore to the same location.

Great suite of tests btw. Really useful stuff on something really important.

]]> By: n8 http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-8653 n8 Mon, 06 Aug 2007 19:02:26 +0000 http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-8653 @Paul: It looks like I had forgotten the -P flag to xar in the 0.1.1 release. You can add it in copiers.d/70-xar.cp in the backup function. It's fixed in svn, so I'll roll up a new release when I have a chance. @Paul: It looks like I had forgotten the -P flag to xar in the 0.1.1 release. You can add it in copiers.d/70-xar.cp in the backup function. It’s fixed in svn, so I’ll roll up a new release when I have a chance.

]]> By: Paul http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-8646 Paul Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:50:09 +0000 http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-8646 Hmmm, I'm not getting the same result, but then I'm also getting an error earlier on. Am I doing something wrong? This is with current SVN head (2007-Aug-06) on Tiger, with the 0.1.1 scripts. xar 1.5.1 also seems to fail in the same way. ---------------------------------- # ./bbouncer create-vol Src; ./bbouncer create-vol Dst # ./bbouncer create /Volumes/Src (All OK) # ./bbouncer copy -c 70-xar -d /Volumes/Src /Volumes/Dst src = /Volumes/Src dst = /Volumes/Dst Enabling owners on src/dst disks Password: /dev/disk5s2 on /Volumes/Src (local, journaled, mounted by pauls) /dev/disk6s2 on /Volumes/Dst (local, journaled, mounted by pauls) Cleaning. Copying with: xar ... touch: /Volumes/Dst/70-xar/bbouncer-vol: Permission denied ok ------------------ xar ------------------ Verifying: basic-permissions ... FAIL Verifying: timestamps ... Sub-test: modification time ... ok ok Verifying: symlinks ... ok Verifying: symlink-ownership ... FAIL Verifying: hardlinks ... ok Verifying: resource-forks ... ok Verifying: finder-flags ... ok Verifying: finder-locks ... ok Verifying: creation-date ... ok Verifying: bsd-flags ... ok Verifying: extended-attrs ... Sub-test: on files ... ok Sub-test: on directories ... ok Sub-test: on symlinks ... ok ok Verifying: access-control-lists ... Sub-test: on files ... ok Sub-test: on dirs ... ok ok Verifying: fifo ... ok Verifying: devices ... ok Verifying: combo-tests ... Sub-test: xattrs + rsrc forks ... ok Sub-test: lots of metadata ... FAIL FAIL Hmmm, I’m not getting the same result, but then I’m also getting an error earlier on.

Am I doing something wrong? This is with current SVN head (2007-Aug-06) on Tiger, with the 0.1.1 scripts. xar 1.5.1 also seems to fail in the same way.

———————————-

# ./bbouncer create-vol Src; ./bbouncer create-vol Dst
# ./bbouncer create /Volumes/Src (All OK)
# ./bbouncer copy -c 70-xar -d /Volumes/Src /Volumes/Dst
src = /Volumes/Src
dst = /Volumes/Dst
Enabling owners on src/dst disks
Password:
/dev/disk5s2 on /Volumes/Src (local, journaled, mounted by pauls)
/dev/disk6s2 on /Volumes/Dst (local, journaled, mounted by pauls)
Cleaning.
Copying with: xar … touch: /Volumes/Dst/70-xar/bbouncer-vol: Permission denied
ok

—————— xar ——————
Verifying: basic-permissions … FAIL
Verifying: timestamps …
Sub-test: modification time … ok
ok
Verifying: symlinks … ok
Verifying: symlink-ownership … FAIL
Verifying: hardlinks … ok
Verifying: resource-forks … ok
Verifying: finder-flags … ok
Verifying: finder-locks … ok
Verifying: creation-date … ok
Verifying: bsd-flags … ok
Verifying: extended-attrs …
Sub-test: on files … ok
Sub-test: on directories … ok
Sub-test: on symlinks … ok
ok
Verifying: access-control-lists …
Sub-test: on files … ok
Sub-test: on dirs … ok
ok
Verifying: fifo … ok
Verifying: devices … ok
Verifying: combo-tests …
Sub-test: xattrs + rsrc forks … ok
Sub-test: lots of metadata … FAIL
FAIL

]]> By: Becks http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-6050 Becks Sat, 26 May 2007 17:29:59 +0000 http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-6050 Unless you specify verbose output, there's no indication of any progress, besides using "df". Unless you specify verbose output, there’s no indication of any progress, besides using “df”.

]]> By: n8 http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-6008 n8 Fri, 25 May 2007 19:45:18 +0000 http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-6008 @ray: Since xar isn't installed with OS X I just hardwired it for my own system. I really despise the way macports and fink add random new branches to the filesystem root (though opt is not without precedent) when /usr/local is already a well-accepted place for this sort of thing. Anyhow, I'll probably change it to use 'which', though that always makes me a bit nervous -- I often end up with different versions of things installed in different paths (thanks to having both macports and fink on my system). @becks: I can't say I've looked at this behavior. Is this important to you? @ray: Since xar isn’t installed with OS X I just hardwired it for my own system. I really despise the way macports and fink add random new branches to the filesystem root (though opt is not without precedent) when /usr/local is already a well-accepted place for this sort of thing. Anyhow, I’ll probably change it to use ‘which’, though that always makes me a bit nervous — I often end up with different versions of things installed in different paths (thanks to having both macports and fink on my system).

@becks: I can’t say I’ve looked at this behavior. Is this important to you?

]]> By: Becks http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-5999 Becks Fri, 25 May 2007 15:16:33 +0000 http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-5999 I just tried xar from darwinports (1.5) and it seems to try to hide the data until the archive is all complete. Very strange. The only relevant file I could see using `lsof` was the archive file, but it was always 0 bytes until it was finished. I'm guessing it created a temp file and then used extended attributes to hide it. I just tried xar from darwinports (1.5) and it seems to try to hide the data until the archive is all complete. Very strange. The only relevant file I could see using `lsof` was the archive file, but it was always 0 bytes until it was finished. I’m guessing it created a temp file and then used extended attributes to hide it.

]]> By: ray http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-5963 ray Thu, 24 May 2007 21:24:18 +0000 http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2007/05/07/xar-rox/#comment-5963 in 70-xar.cp you have hardcoded the location of xar as /usr/local/dports/bin/xar. but the default location for darwinports is to put it at /opt/local/bin/xar. how about using `which xar`? in 70-xar.cp you have hardcoded the location of xar as /usr/local/dports/bin/xar. but the default location for darwinports is to put it at /opt/local/bin/xar. how about using `which xar`?

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