Documented in Volume 1 of the UNIX Programmers Manual.
% tar cvf - .README.MAINT .examples local unix csh > /va/kemp/tst/tarfile
will create (c) a tar formatted file and list it to the standard output (-),
listing each filename (v) as it is processed. The result will go to a
disk file (f) instead of the default which is tape.
This file will have the name '/va/kemp/tst/tarfile' and will contain the
files (from the present directory) '.README.MAINT' and '.examples';
following these, all files in the subdirectories named 'local', 'unix'
and 'csh' will be written.
% tar xf /va/kemp/tst/tarfile
will extract (x) from a file (f) named /va/kemp/tst/tarfile, all directories
and files present, and place them in the current directory.
% tar cvt4 dirname |& tee tocfile
will create (c) a tar format archive on a 1600 density tape mounted on
drive 0, and will NOT rewind after writing it (4); it will also create
a "table-of-contents" file in tocfile that contains filenames (v) and
file sizes in blocks (t). The files to be archived consist of all files
and subdirectories of the directory named dirname.
% tar xf /dev/rmt0
will extract (x) from a file (f) named /dev/rmt0 (actually, tape drive 0,
1600 density, raw mode), all directories and files present and place them
in the current directory.
See also dd and mt.
NOTE: At some installations, resides in /usr/local/tar.