[tex-live] Misplaced context files

[Karl Berry]

Hi Akira,

    There was a similar problem in TL '08 for pgf files, and
    I think that problem was solved.

Right.  We changed make_container in TLPOBJ.pm to pass --format=ustar to
tar to create the package tar files.  That is still in effect.

    By remaking longname.tar.xz by using "tar.exe", all files including
    long named ones are correctly extracted.

I'm not surprised, but I'm afraid that doesn't help me resolve the
problem.  The question is, why can tar.exe read the current pgf.tar
(after xzdec), but not longname.tar?  They were both created in the same
way, with --format=ustar.  That is, I assume tar.exe can read the
current pgf.tar since no one has complained about it.

    Are you using a file format newer than that in TL '08?

TL'08 used the GNU tar format.  That didn't work with BSD-derived tars,
e.g., on a BSD or Solaris system.  That was the problem with pgf.tar.

    Please try a format as old as possible, that tar.exe understands,

I have no way of knowing what tar.exe understands.  I would have thought
it should understand ustar  That's why we picked it!  Help?
    
    or search for a new tar.

We can probably find or compile a different tar for Windows easily
enough, like the one Vladimir found (below), but I thought that the
tar.exe you provided had certain features which you needed.  The details
are lost in my mind, though.  Am I just misremembering?

    I think --oldgnu option may help, since tar.exe is an
    old one (1.11.8), in the case where no new tar is found.

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're saying.  I certainly don't
want to pass --oldgnu because we're not creating tars in "old gnu" format.
And that won't work with BSD tars.

    vlomov> 
    ~/works/texlive/win32$ wine tlpkg/installer/tar.exe --version
    GNU tar 1.11.8 + 1.5X(WIN32)
    How about to ship TL with this version of GNU tar for windows?

I don't know.  Where did it come from?  Where are the sources?
Akira, what do you think?


In principle, my preference would be to compile the original sources for
current GNU tar on Windows and use that, instead of various old and/or
downstream versions.  

Thanks,
karl