There are three styles for writing operations and options to the command
line invoking tar. The different styles were developed at
different times during the history of tar. These styles will be
presented below, from the most recent to the oldest.
Some options must take an argument. (For example, --file=archive-name (-f archive-name) takes
the name of an archive file as an argument. If you do not supply an
archive file name, tar will use a default, but this can be
confusing; thus, we recommend that you always supply a specific archive
file name.) Where you place the arguments generally depends on
which style of options you choose. We will detail specific information
relevant to each option style in the sections on the different option
styles, below. The differences are subtle, yet can often be very
important; incorrect option placement can cause you to overwrite a
number of important files. We urge you to note these differences, and
only use the option style(s) which makes the most sense to you until you
feel comfortable with the others.
@FIXME{hag to write a brief paragraph on the option(s) which can optionally take an argument}
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