$ tar -cvf all.tar g b d . What is f?

[mayjune]

Hi
in the following command what is f?
$ tar -cvf all.tar g b d

I checked the man, I didnt understand.
even when we extract we req f, i tried without it, it doesnt work.
Thanks..

[Rubberman]

-cvf : c)reate archive with v)erbose output using the f)ile named all.tar and put the contents of local directories g, b, and d in that file.

[reed9]

I believe it stems from its history. Tar = tape archive, originally. The -f flag tells tar it's reading from or writing to a file, not a tape device or whatever the default is these days. Your file name, all.tar, is the argument to the -f flag.

[mayjune]

Thanks Guys.