Which tar command option is used to list the files in a tape archive format

Which tar command option is used to list the files in a tape archive format?
a) cvf
b) tvf
c) xvf
d) ovf

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:

Correct answer: b) tvf

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The tar command in Unix/Linux is used to create, extract, and list files in a tape archive (tar) format. Among its many options, tvf is specifically used to list the contents of a tar archive without extracting them.

Explanation:

The tar command uses a combination of options, where:

• t stands for “list” (table of contents),
• v stands for “verbose” (shows detailed file information),
• f stands for “file” (specifies the archive file name).

So, the tar tvf archive.tar command reads the file archive.tar and lists all its contents, showing details like file names, sizes, modification times, and permissions.

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Breakdown of Options:

1. cvf – This is used to create a new tar archive.
   • c: create a new archive
   • v: verbose
   • f: file (specify the archive name)
   • Example: tar cvf archive.tar file1 file2
2. tvf – This is used to list the contents of a tar archive.
   • t: list files
   • v: verbose
   • f: file
   • Example: tar tvf archive.tar → lists files inside archive.tar with details.
3. xvf – This is used to extract files from a tar archive.
   • x: extract
   • v: verbose
   • f: file
   • Example: tar xvf archive.tar → extracts all files from archive.tar.
4. ovf – This is not a valid tar option combination. There is no o option in standard tar usage for this purpose.

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Summary:

If you want to view what files are stored in a tar archive without extracting them, use:

tar tvf archive.tar

This is particularly useful when you want to check the contents of a large archive before deciding which files (if any) to extract.