docs/97059: pax(1): -b option description could be flawed

[Giorgos Keramidas]

The following reply was made to PR docs/97059; it has been noted by GNATS.

From: Giorgos Keramidas <keramida at freebsd.org>
To: Coleman Kane <cokane at freebsd.org>
Cc: bug-followup at freebsd.org
Subject: Re: docs/97059: pax(1): -b option description could be flawed
Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 23:04:14 +0300

 > The pax(1) manpage states the following for the -b flag:
 >
 >   -b blocksize
 >         When writing an archive, block the output at a positive
 >         decimal integer number of bytes per write to the archive
 >         file.  The blocksize must be a multiple of 512 bytes with
 >         a maximum of 64512 bytes.  Archives larger than 32256
 >         bytes violate the POSIX standard and will not be portable
 >         to all systems.  A blocksize can end with k or b to
 >         specify multiplication by 1024 (1K) or 512, respectively.
 >         A pair of blocksizes can be separated by x to indicate a
 >         product.  A specific archive device may impose additional
 >         restrictions on the size of blocking it will support.
 >         When blocking is not specified, the default blocksize is
 >         dependent on the specific archive format being used (see
 >         the -x option).
 >
 >   Specifically, the statement:
 >
 >         Archives larger than 32256 bytes violate the POSIX
 >         standard
 >
 >   This could be worded better as:
 >
 >         Archive block sizes larger than 32256 bytes violate the
 >         POSIX standard
 >
 >   This sounds more like what the author might have meant.
 
 True.  Limiting the _full_ archive size to 32KB is contradictory
 with the previous sentence about 64512 bytes, and would render
 pax(1) pretty useless anyway.
 
 Feel free to make the manpage change, or let me know and I'll do it.