# GNU tar 1.28: E. Genfile

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# E. Genfile

This appendix describes `genfile`, an auxiliary program used in the GNU tar testsuite. If you are not interested in developing GNU tar, skip this appendix.

Initially, `genfile` was used to generate data files for the testsuite, hence its name. However, new operation modes were being implemented as the testsuite grew more sophisticated, and now `genfile` is a multi-purpose instrument.

There are three basic operation modes:

File Generation

  This is the default mode. In this mode, `genfile` generates data files.

File Status

  In this mode `genfile` displays status of specified files.

Synchronous Execution.

  In this mode `genfile` executes the given program with ``--checkpoint'` option and executes a set of actions when specified checkpoints are reached.

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## E.1 Generate Mode

In this mode `genfile` creates a data file for the test suite. The size of the file is given with the ``--length'` (``-l'`) option. By default the file contents is written to the standard output, this can be changed using ``--file'` (``-f'`) command line option. Thus, the following two commands are equivalent:

    genfile --length 100 > outfile
    genfile --length 100 --file outfile

If ``--length'` is not given, `genfile` will generate an empty (zero-length) file.

The command line option ``--seek=N'` istructs `genfile` to skip the given number of bytes (N) in the output file before writing to it. It is similar to the ``seek=N'` of the `dd` utility.

You can instruct `genfile` to create several files at one go, by giving it ``--files-from'` (``-T'`) option followed by a name of file containing a list of file names. Using dash (``-'`) instead of the file name causes `genfile` to read file list from the standard input. For example:

    # Read file names from file `file.list'
    genfile --files-from file.list
    # Read file names from standard input
    genfile --files-from -

The list file is supposed to contain one file name per line. To use file lists separated by ASCII NUL character, use ``--null'` (``-0'`) command line option:

    genfile --null --files-from file.list

The default data pattern for filling the generated file consists of first 256 letters of ASCII code, repeated enough times to fill the entire file. This behavior can be changed with ``--pattern'` option. This option takes a mandatory argument, specifying pattern name to use. Currently two patterns are implemented:

``--pattern=default'`

  The default pattern as described above.

``--pattern=zero'`

  Fills the file with zeroes.

If no file name was given, the program exits with the code `0`. Otherwise, it exits with `0` only if it was able to create a file of the specified length.

Special option ``--sparse'` (``-s'`) instructs `genfile` to create a sparse file. Sparse files consist of data fragments, separated by holes or blocks of zeros. On many operating systems, actual disk storage is not allocated for holes, but they are counted in the length of the file. To create a sparse file, `genfile` should know where to put data fragments, and what data to use to fill them. So, when ``--sparse'` is given the rest of the command line specifies a so-called file map.

The file map consists of any number of fragment descriptors. Each descriptor is composed of two values: a number, specifying fragment offset from the end of the previous fragment or, for the very first fragment, from the beginning of the file, and contents string, i.e., a string of characters, specifying the pattern to fill the fragment with. File offset can be suffixed with the following quantifiers:

``k'`
``K'`

  The number is expressed in kilobytes.

``m'`
``M'`

  The number is expressed in megabytes.

``g'`
``G'`

  The number is expressed in gigabytes.

For each letter in contents string `genfile` will generate a block of data, filled with this letter and will write it to the fragment. The size of block is given by ``--block-size'` option. It defaults to 512. Thus, if the string consists of n characters, the resulting file fragment will contain `n*block-size` of data.

Last fragment descriptor can have only file offset part. In this case `genfile` will create a hole at the end of the file up to the given offset.

For example, consider the following invocation:

    genfile --sparse --file sparsefile 0 ABCD 1M EFGHI 2000K

It will create 3101184-bytes long file of the following structure:

Offset | Length | Contents
0 | 4*512=2048 | Four 512-byte blocks, filled with letters ``A'`, ``B'`, ``C'` and ``D'`.
2048 | 1046528 | Zero bytes
1050624 | 5*512=2560 | Five blocks, filled with letters ``E'`, ``F'`, ``G'`, ``H'`, ``I'`.
1053184 | 2048000 | Zero bytes

The exit code of `genfile --status` command is `0` only if created file is actually sparse.

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## E.2 Status Mode

In status mode, `genfile` prints file system status for each file specified in the command line. This mode is toggled by ``--stat'` (``-S'`) command line option. An optional argument to this option specifies output format: a comma-separated list of `struct stat` fields to be displayed. This list can contain following identifiers:

name

  The file name.

dev
st_dev

  Device number in decimal.

ino
st_ino

  Inode number.

mode[.number]
st_mode[.number]

  See Should we also support ``%'` notations as in stat(1)?

  File mode in octal. Optional number specifies octal mask to be applied to the mode before outputting. For example, `--stat mode.777` will preserve lower nine bits of it. Notice, that you can use any punctuation character in place of ``.'`.

nlink
st_nlink

  Number of hard links.

uid
st_uid

  User ID of owner.

gid
st_gid

  Group ID of owner.

size
st_size

  File size in decimal.

blksize
st_blksize

  The size in bytes of each file block.

blocks
st_blocks

  Number of blocks allocated.

atime
st_atime

  Time of last access.

mtime
st_mtime

  Time of last modification

ctime
st_ctime

  Time of last status change

sparse

  A boolean value indicating whether the file is ``sparse'`.

Modification times are displayed in UTC as UNIX timestamps, unless suffixed with ``H'` (for "human-readable"), as in ``ctimeH'`, in which case usual `tar tv` output format is used.

The default output format is: ``name,dev,ino,mode, nlink,uid,gid,size,blksize,blocks,atime,mtime,ctime'`.

For example, the following command will display file names and corresponding times of last access for each file in the current working directory:

    genfile --stat=name,atime *

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## E.3 Exec Mode

This mode is designed for testing the behavior of `paxutils` commands when some of the files change during archiving. It is an experimental mode.

The ``Exec Mode'` is toggled by ``--run'` command line option (or its alias ``-r'`). The non-optional arguments to `getopt` give the command line to be executed. Normally, it should contain at least the ``--checkpoint'` option.

A set of options is provided for defining checkpoint values and actions to be executed upon reaching them. Checkpoint values are introduced with the ``--checkpoint'` command line option. Argument to this option is the number of checkpoint in decimal.

Any number of actions may be specified after a checkpoint. Available actions are

``--cut file'`
``--truncate file'`

  Truncate file to the size specified by previous ``--length'` option (or 0, if it is not given).

``--append file'`

  Append data to file. The size of data and its pattern are given by previous ``--length'` and ``pattern'` options.

``--touch file'`

  Update the access and modification times of file. These timestamps are changed to the current time, unless ``--date'` option was given, in which case they are changed to the specified time. Argument to ``--date'` option is a date specification in an almost arbitrary format (see section Date input formats).

``--exec command'`

  Execute given shell command.

``--unlink file'`

  Unlink the file.

Option ``--verbose'` instructs `genfile` to print on standard output notifications about checkpoints being executed and to verbosely describe exit status of the command.

While the command is being executed its standard output remains connected to descriptor 1. All messages it prints to file descriptor 2, except checkpoint notifications, are forwarded to standard error.

`Genfile` exits with the exit status of the executed command.

For compatibility with previous `genfile` versions, the ``--run'` option takes an optional argument. If used this way, its argument supplies the command line to be executed. There should be no non-optional arguments in the `genfile` command line.

The actual command line is constructed by inserting the ``--checkpoint'` option between the command name and its first argument (if any). Due to this, the argument to ``--run'` may not use traditional `tar` option syntax, i.e., the following is wrong:

    # Wrong!
    genfile --run='tar cf foo bar'

Use the following syntax instead:

    genfile --run='tar -cf foo bar' actions...

The above command line is equivalent to

    genfile actions... -- tar -cf foo bar

Notice, that the use of compatibility mode is deprecated.

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