Test your knowledge: TAR archives with tarfile

Review

1. Which statement best distinguishes tarfile from zipfile?

   A TAR archive holds filesystem entries. Modes like w:gz wrap its data in gzip compression; ZIP is a different archive format.
2. Why is arcname useful when calling TarFile.add()?

   arcname lets you store a concise, portable archive-relative name instead of leaking or preserving the source filesystem path.
3. What must be set when adding in-memory bytes with TarFile.addfile()?

   TarInfo describes the member header. Its size is measured in bytes, and addfile() reads content from a binary file-like object.
4. Which mode reads a supported TAR archive while automatically detecting its compression?

   r:* is the recommended read mode when the archive may be uncompressed or use a supported compression method.
5. Which statement about appending to TAR archives is correct?

   tarfile supports a for uncompressed archives; compressed append modes such as a:gz and a:xz are not supported.
6. What does getmembers() return?

   TarInfo exposes member name, size, type predicates, and other header metadata.
7. When is extractfile() useful?

   extractfile() returns a binary stream for a regular member or supported link; directory members return None.
8. What does filter="data" guarantee when extracting an untrusted TAR archive?

   The data filter reduces common extraction risks, but applications still need inspection, controlled temporary destinations, and limits against oversized or excessive content.
9. Why should code explicitly pass filter="data" when that is the intended extraction policy?

   The extraction filter parameter arrived in Python 3.12; the default changed to data in Python 3.14. Passing it explicitly makes the desired policy clear on supported runtimes.