---
name: "bar"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "bar"
version: "1.11.1-4"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/bar"
---

# bar(1)

show information about a data transfer

## NAME

bar - show information about a data transfer

## SYNOPSIS

- **bar**

  \[ *I/O-options* \] \[ *display-options* \] \[ *color-options* \]\
   \[ *input-file* \] \[ *output-file* \]\
   \[ **-h** \| **--help** \] \[ **-v** \| **--version** \]

## DESCRIPTION

Bar is a simple tool to process a stream of data and print a display for the user on stderr showing (a) the amount of data passed, (b) the throughput of the data transfer, and, if the total size of the data stream is known, (c) estimated time remaining, percent complete, and a progress bar.

Bar was originally written for the purpose of estimating the amount of time needed to transfer large amounts (many, many gigabytes) of data across a network.  (Usually in an SSH/tar pipe.)

## I/O COMMAND LINE OPTIONS

- **-if** *input-file* **--in-file** *input-file*

  Read input from *input-file.* Default: stdin

- **-of** *output-file* **--out-file** *output-file*

  Write output to *output-file. If the output file is a directory, then bar will attempt to* create a file in the output directory with the same name as the input file, and attempt to copy the input file mode as well as it's data. Default: stdout

Please notice that if no  **-if, --in-file, -of,** or **--out-file** options are specified on the command line, and an unknown command line option is encountered, then bar will assume that the first unknown command line option is a path to an input file, and the second (if found) is a path to an output file.

- **-s** *size* **--size** *size*

  Expect an input stream of *size* bytes.

  When reading a regular file or a link to a regular file, bar will extract the file size on it's own.  However, this flag is useful for reading from a character- or block-special device file, or from a pipe. *size* may be followed by 'k', 'm', 'g', 't', 'p', or 'e' for kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes, petabytes, or exabytes, respectively (see also the -k option below).  Alternatively,  *size* may also be specified in terms of 'b' for blocks (see the  **-bl** option below). See examples below.

- **-c** *size* **--completed** *size*

  Instruct bar that *size* bytes of the data stream have already been copied, and that this is a continuation of a previous data stream.  Note that use of this option will throw off throughput and ETA calculations at first, but they should settle down as the transfer continues.

  **-bs** *buffer-size*\
   **--buffer-size** *buffer-size*\

  Allocate an I/O buffer of *buffer-size* bytes.  The same modifiers may apply here ('k', 'm', 'g', 't', 'p', 'e'  and 'b') as for the **-s** flag above.  Changing the buffer size can improve throughput, depending on your application of bar.  For fast I/O operations, say from a ramdisk for instance, it might be worth your while to experiment with a large buffer (circa 1MB for instance).  But for slow I/O operations, like from a tape drive, you could merely be wasting your memory.  Default: 52488 (512KB)

  **-th** *rate*\
   **--throttle** *rate*\

  Restrict I/O throughput to  *rate* bytes per second.  The same modifiers apply here ('k', 'm', 'g', 't', 'p', 'e' and 'b') as for the  **-s** flag above.

  **-i** *seconds*\
   **--interval** *seconds*\

  Update the display every *seconds* seconds.  Default: 1 second

  **-t** *microseconds*\
   **--timeout** *microseconds*\

  The number of microseconds to wait for a change in I/O state before *select()* times out.  Default: 250000 (1/4 second)

  **-k** 1000\|1024\
   **--kilo** 1000\|1024\

  Use either 1000 or 1024 as the definition of a kilobyte.  Default: 1024

  **-bl** *size*\
   **--block-size** *size*\

  When reading sizes from the command line that are specified in terms of blocks, assume a single block is  *size* bytes. *Size* may be followed by 'k', 'm', 'g', 't', 'p', or 'e' for kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes, petabytes, or exabytes, respectively.  Block size must be set before specifying any sizes in terms of blocks or the default value will be used instead.  Specifying *size* in terms of 'b' for blocks is not allowed for this option.  Default: 512

## DISPLAY COMMAND LINE OPTIONS

- **-sw** *width* **--screen-width** *width*

  Assume a screen width of  *width* characters.

  Bar will attempt to retrieve the width of the terminal it is running on, and will adjust that width if the terminal is resized.  If bar cannot determine the terminal width, then bar will assume a default width of 79 characters. Use the **--screen-width** command line option to override this behavior and specify a fixed width for bar to use.  (When this option is used, bar will ignore terminal resized signals and continue to use the value provided by the user.)

**-sw-1** \| **--screen-width-minus-one**\
 **-sw-0** \| **--screen-width-minus-zero**

Instruct bar to use either the entire column width reported by termio, or one less than reported by termio.  I.e. If termio reports that you are running bar in a terminal that's 80 characters wide, using the command line option **--screen-width-minus-one** instructs bar to only use 79 characters to print the display.  If you're using a terminal or shell that wraps the line whenever bar prints the last character then this should alleviate that problem.  Default is to use the full terminal's width.

- **-sh** *height* **--screen-height** *height*

  Assume a screen height of  *height* characters.

  Bar will attempt to retrieve the height of the terminal it is running on, and will adjust that height if the terminal is resized.  If bar cannot determine the terminal height, then bar will assume a default height of 23 characters. Use the **--screen-height** command line option to override this behavior and specify a fixed height for bar to use.  (When this option is used, bar will ignore terminal resized signals and continue to use the value provided by the user.)

  Please note that this option is only useful when used in conjunction with the **--info-file** command line option.  Otherwise bar has no need to know the screen height in order to perform it's function.

**-sh-1** \| **--screen-height-minus-one**\
 **-sh-0** \| **--screen-height-minus-zero**

Instruct bar to use either the entire row height reported by termio, or one less than reported by termio.  I.e. If termio reports that you are running bar in a terminal that's 24 rows characters high, using the command line option **--screen-height-minus-one** instructs bar to only use 23 rows to print the display.  If you're using a terminal or shell that wraps the line whenever bar prints the last character then this should alleviate that problem.  Default is to use the full terminal's height.

Please note that this option is only useful when used in conjunction with the **--info-file** command line option.  Otherwise bar has no need to know the screen height in order to perform it's function.

**-ti** *string* \| **--title** *string*\

Set the title to  *string*.

**-dti** \| **-nti**\
 **--display-title** \| **--no-title**\

Turn on/off the title display.  Even if on, if no title string is set then no title will be displayed.  Default is on.

**-dtw** \| **--display-twiddle**\
 **-ntw** \| **--no-twiddle**\

Turn on/off the twiddle in the display.

**-dc** \| **--display-count**\
 **-nc** \| **--no-count**\

Turn on/off the data count in the display.  Default is on.

**-dcb** \| **-ncb**\
 **--display-count-bits** \| **--no-count-bits**\

Display the data count at bits instead of as bytes.  Default is off.

By default bar will display the data count as bytes using the notation of "B". Using this option, bar will display the throughput as bits using the notation of "b".

**-dth** \| **--display-throughput**\
 **-nth** \| **--no-throughput**\

Turn on/off the data throughput in the display.  Default is on.

**-dthb** \| **-nthb**\
 **--display-throughput-bits** \| **--no-throughput-bits**\

Display throughput as bits/second instead of as bytes/second.  Default is off.

By default bar will display the throughput as bytes/second using the notation of "B/s".  Using this option, bar will display the throughput as bits/second using the notation of "b/s".

**-dt** \| **--display-time**\
 **-nt** \| **--no-time**\

Turn on/off the time elapsed or eta in the display.  Default is on.

**-de** \| **--display-elapsed-only**\
 **-ne** \| **--no-elapsed-only**

Force bar to display the elapsed time instead of the eta.  Default is off.

**-dp** \| **--display-percent**\
 **-np** \| **--no-percent**\

Turn on/off percent complete in the display.  Default is on.

**-db** \| **--display-bar**\
 **-nb** \| **--no-bar**\

Turn on/off the progress bar in the display.  Default is on.

**-ds** \| **--display-summary**\
 **-ns** \| **--no-summary**\

Turn on/off the summary information displayed when the operation is complete. Default is on.

**-da** \| **--display-all**\
 **-dn** \| **--display-none**\

Turn on/off all displays.  -dn is equivalent to -ntw -nc -nth -nt -np -nb. (Using -dn followed by -db would be equivalent to -ntw -nc -nth -nt -np.) -da is equivalent to -dtw -dc -dth -dt -dp -db.

**-inf** *infofile* \| **--info-file** *infofile*\

Display the information contained in *infofile* while copying data.  The file *infofile* is a regular text file containing tidbits of information broken up into sections.  Each section is separated by a line containing the string "@@@" by itself, with no other characters on the line, either preceeding or following.

When bar begins, it will count the number of sections within the file.  Bar will then begin by displaying the first section of information to the display before it draws the status line.  Then, periodically, each of the successive sections will be displayed as the progress indicator fills up.

The progress of the data transfer is the trigger for each successive display. For instance, if your information file has exactly four sections to it, then the first section will be printed as bar begins, the second section after the data transfer hits 25%, the third at 50%, and the fourth at 75%.

If bar is configured to use ANSI control codes, then the screen will be cleared before printing a section from the information file.  Otherwise, the contents of the current screen are scolled up and off the screen.

**-dnum** \| **--display-numeric**\

Do not render the usual display, but instead display an integer representing the percent of the transfer that is complete, one integer per line.  This output is suitable for piping to other programs such as  **[dialog(1)](/dialog/1.md)** or **[zenity(1)](/zenity/1.md)**. This implies that the total transfer size must be known by bar, either by finding the size of an input file directly or by using the **--size** command line option.

**-dw** \| **--display-wait**\

Wait for the first byte of data to come through before displaying anything.

## COLOR COMMAND LINE OPTIONS

For the following color-specific command line options, the following keywords are recognized as valid color names: normal, black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, and white

**-dan** \| **--display-ansi**\
 **-nan** \| **--no-ansi**\

Turn on/off the use of ansi color codes in the display.

**-spbg** *color* \| **--space-background** *color*\

Use *color* as the background color for spacing between display objects.  Default: normal

**-twfg** *color* \| **--twiddle-foreground** *color*\
 **-twbg** *color* \| **--twiddle-background** *color*\

Use *color* as the twiddle color in the display.  Default: normal

**-twb** \| **--twiddle-bold**\
 **-twn** \| **--twiddle-normal**\

Turn on/off the use of bold font when displaying the twiddle.  Default off

**-tifg** *color* \| **--title-foreground** *color*\
 **-tibg** *color* \| **--title-background** *color*\

Use *color* as the title color in the display.  Default: normal

**-tib** \| **--title-bold**\
 **-tin** \| **--title-normal**\

Turn on/off the use of bold font when displaying the title.  Default off

**-cfg** *color* \| **--count-foreground** *color*\
 **-cbg** *color* \| **--count-background** *color*\

Use *color* as the data count color in the display.  Default: normal

**-cb** \| **--count-bold**\
 **-cn** \| **--count-normal**\

Turn on/off the use of bold font when displaying the data count.  Default off

**-thlfg** *color* \| **--throughput-label-foreground** *color*\
 **-thlbg** *color* \| **--throughput-label-background** *color*\

Use *color* as the throughput label color in the display.  Default: normal

**-thlb** \| **--throughput-label-bold**\
 **-thln** \| **--throughput-label-normal**\

Turn on/off the use of bold font when displaying the throughput label. Default off

**-thfg** *color* \| **--throughput-foreground** *color*\
 **-thbg** *color* \| **--throughput-background** *color*\

Use *color* as the throughput color in the display.  Default: normal

**-thb** \| **--throughput-bold**\
 **-thn** \| **--throughput-normal**\

Turn on/off the use of bold font when displaying the throughput. Default off

**-tlfg** *color* \| **--time-label-foreground** *color*\
 **-tlbg** *color* \| **--time-label-background** *color*\

Use *color* as the time label color in the display.  Default: normal

**-tlb** \| **--time-label-bold**\
 **-tln** \| **--time-label-normal**\

Turn on/off the use of bold font when displaying the time label. Default off

**-tfg** *color* \| **--time-foreground** *color*\
 **-tbg** *color* \| **--time-background** *color*\

Use *color* as the time color in the display.  Default: normal

**-tb** \| **--time-bold**\
 **-tn** \| **--time-normal**\

Turn on/off the use of bold font when displaying the time. Default off

**-pfg** *color* \| **--percent-foreground** *color*\
 **-pbg** *color* \| **--percent-background** *color*\

Use *color* as the percent color in the display.  Default: normal

**-pb** \| **--percent-bold**\
 **-pn** \| **--percent-normal**\

Turn on/off the use of bold font when displaying the percent. Default off

**-bbfg** *color* \| **--bar-brace-foreground** *color*\
 **-bbbg** *color* \| **--bar-brace-background** *color*\

Use *color* as the brace color around the progress bar in the display.  Default: normal

**-bbb** \| **--bar-brace-bold**\
 **-bbn** \| **--bar-brace-normal**\

Turn on/off the use of bold font when displaying the bar braces. Default off

**-bfg** *color* \| **--bar-foreground** *color*\
 **-bbg** *color* \| **--bar-background** *color*\

Use *color* as the color of the progress bar in the display.  Default: normal

**-bb** \| **--bar-bold**\
 **-bn** \| **--bar-normal**\

Turn on/off the use of bold font when displaying the progress bar. Default off

- **-bobc** \| **--bar-openbrace-char** *char*

  *char* as the open brace character on the progress bar.

- **-bcbc** \| **--bar-closebrace-char** *char*

  *char* as the close brace character on the progress bar.

- **-bcc** \| **--bar-complete-char** *char*

  *char* as the completed character on the progress bar.

- **-bic** \| **--bar-incomplete-char** *char*

  *char* as the incomplete character on the progress bar.

**-h** \| **--help**\

Display this text and exit.

**-v** \| **--version**\

Display the program version and exit.

## RESOURCE FILE OPTIONS

Some command line options may be specified in a resource file.  Bar will search for a resource file by the name of **/etc/clpbarrc** and, if found, bar will use the values within by default.  Next bar will search for **~/.barrc** and, if found, bar will use these values to override any values set within **/etc/clpbarrc**. Last, bar will search for a file in the current working directory named **./.barrc**. If this file exists, it's values will override the values found in **~/.barrc** or **/etc/clpbarrc**. Values in all files may be overridden by command line flags.  Lines that begin with a # are ignored.

For resource options requiring a *boolean* value, the following values are recognized: on and off, yes and no, (and the single-character abbreviations y and n), true and false, (and the single-character abbreviations t and f), 0 and 1.

For resource options requiring a *color* value, the same keywords are recognized as for the color-specific command line options above: normal, black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, and white

**buffer-size**: *buffer-size*

Allocate an I/O buffer of *buffer-size* bytes.  See the **--buffer-size** command line option above.

**throttle**: *rate*

Restrict I/O throughput to  *rate* bytes per second.  See the **--throttle** command line option above.

**interval**: *seconds*

Update the display every *seconds* seconds.  See the **--interval** command line option above.

**timeout**: *microseconds*

The number of microseconds to wait for a change in I/O state before *select()* times out.  See the  **--timeout** command line option above.

**kilobyte**: 1000\|1024

Use either 1000 or 1024 as the definition of a kilobyte.  See the **--kilo** command line option above.

**block-size**: *size*

When parsing sizes specified in terms of blocks, assume a single block is  *size* bytes.  See the **--block-size** command line option above.

**screen-width**: *width*

Override termio and assume that the screen is  *width* characters wide.  See the  **--screen-width** command line option above.

**screen-width-minus-one**: *boolean*\

Instruct bar to restrict the number of columns reported by termio by one.  See the **--screen-width-minus-one** command line option above.

**display-twiddle**: *boolean*\

Instruct bar to turn on/off the twirling twiddle character in the display. See the  **--display-twiddle** command line option above.

**display-title**: *boolean*\

Instruct bar to turn on/off the title in the display.  See the **--display-title** command line option above.

**display-count**: boolean\

Instruct bar to turn on/off the data count in the display.  See the **--display-count** command line option above.

**display-count-bits**: *boolean*\

Display the data count as bits instead of as bytes.  See the **--display-count-bits** command line option above.

**display-throughput**: *boolean*\

Instruct bar to turn on/off the data throughput in the display.  See the **--display-throughput** command line option above.

**display-throughput-bits**: boolean\

Display throughput as bits/sec instead of as bytes/sec.  See the **--display-throughput-bits** command line option above.

**display-time**: *boolean*\

Instruct bar to turn on/off the time in the display.  See the **--display-time** command line option above.

**display-elapsed-only**: *boolean*\

Force bar to display the elapsed time instead of the eta.  See the **--display-elapsed-only** command line option above.

**display-percent**: *boolean*\

Instruct bar to turn on/off the percent complete in the display.  See the **--display-percent** command line option above.

**display-bar**: *boolean*\

Instruct bar to turn on/off the progress bar in the display.  See the **--display-bar** command line option above.

**display-summary**: *boolean*\

Instruct bar to turn on/off the summary information displayed when operation is complete.  See the  **--display-summary** command line option above.

**info-file**: *infofile*\

Display the information contained in *infofile* while copying data.  The file *infofile* is a regular text file containing tidbits of information broken up into sections.  Each section is separated by a line containing the string "@@@" by itself, with no other characters on the line, either preceeding or following.

When bar begins, it will count the number of sections within the file.  Bar will then begin by displaying the first section of information to the display before it draws the status line.  Then, periodically, each of the successive sections will be displayed as the progress indicator fills up.

The progress of the data transfer is the trigger for each successive display. For instance, if your information file has exactly four sections to it, then the first section will be printed as bar begins, the second section after the data transfer hits 25%, the third at 50%, and the fourth at 75%.

If bar is configured to use ANSI control codes, then the screen will be cleared before printing a section from the information file.  Otherwise, the contents of the current screen are scolled up and off the screen.

**display-numeric**: *boolean*\

Do not render the usual display, but instead display an integer representing the percent of the transfer that is complete, one integer per line.  This output is suitable for piping to other programs such as  **[dialog(1)](/dialog/1.md)** or **[zenity(1)](/zenity/1.md)**. This implies that the total transfer size must be known by bar, either by finding the size of an input file directly or by using the **--size** command line option.

**display-wait**: *boolean*\

Wait for the first byte of data to come through before displaying anything.

**display-ansi**: *boolean*\

Instruct bar to turn on/off the use of ansi color codes in the display.  See the **--display-ansi** command line option above.

**space-background**: *color*\

Use *color* as the background color for spacing between display objects.  See the **--space-background** command line option above.

**twiddle-foreground**: *color*\
 **twiddle-background**: *color*\
 **twiddle-bold**: *boolean*\

Use the specified colors for the foreground and background of the twiddle, and use a bold font.  See the **--twiddle-foreground**, **--twiddle-background**, and **--twiddle-bold** command line options above.

**title**: *string*\

Set the title string for the display.  See the **--title** command line option above.

**title-foreground**: *color*\
 **title-background**: *color*\
 **title-bold**: *boolean*\

Use the specified colors for the foreground and background of the title, and use a bold font.  See the **--title-foreground**, **--title-background**, and **--title-bold** command line options above.

**count-foreground**: *color*\
 **count-background**: *color*\
 **count-bold**: *boolean*\

Use the specified colors for the foreground and background of the data count, and use a bold font.  See the **--count-foreground**, **--count-background**, and **--count-bold** command line options above.

**throughput-label-foreground**: *color*\
 **throughput-label-background**: *color*\
 **throughput-label-bold**: *boolean*\

Use the specified colors for the foreground and background of the throughput label, and use a bold font.  See the **--throughput-label-foreground**, **--throughput-label-background**, and **--throughput-label-bold** command line options above.

**throughput-foreground**: *color*\
 **throughput-background**: *color*\
 **throughput-bold**: *boolean*\

Use the specified colors for the foreground and background of the throughput, and use a bold font.  See the **--throughput-foreground**, **--throughput-background**, and **--throughput-bold** command line options above.

**time-label-foreground**: *color*\
 **time-label-background**: *color*\
 **time-label-bold**: *boolean*\

Use the specified colors for the foreground and background of the time label, and use a bold font.  See the **--time-label-foreground**, **--time-label-background**, and **--time-label-bold** command line options above.

**time-foreground**: *color*\
 **time-background**: *color*\
 **time-bold**: *boolean*\

Use the specified colors for the foreground and background of the time, and use a bold font.  See the **--time-foreground**, **--time-background**, and **--time-bold** command line options above.

**percent-foreground**: *color*\
 **percent-background**: *color*\
 **percent-bold**: *boolean*\

Use the specified colors for the foreground and background of the percent, and use a bold font.  See the **--percent-foreground**, **--percent-background**, and **--percent-bold** command line options above.

**bar-brace-foreground**: *color*\
 **bar-brace-background**: *color*\
 **bar-brace-bold**: *boolean*\

Use the specified colors for the foreground and background of the brace surrounding the progress bar, and use a bold font.  See the **--bar-brace-foreground**, **--bar-brace-background**, and **--bar-brace-bold** command line options above.

**bar-foreground**: *color*\
 **bar-background**: *color*\
 **bar-bold**: *boolean*\

Use the specified colors for the foreground and background of the progress bar, and use a bold font.  See the **--bar-foreground**, **--bar-background**, and **--bar-bold** command line options above.

**bar-openbrace-char**: *char*\
 **bar-closebrace-char**: *char*\
 **bar-complete-char**: *char*\
 **bar-incomplete-char**:\

Use the specified custom characters *char* for the opening brace, closing brace, completed, and incomplete characters when rendering the progress bar.

## EXAMPLES

Example 1: Using bar to copy a 2.4gb file from a device (in this case a tape drive) to a file, using a 64k buffer.

prompt% bar --in-file /dev/rmt/1cbn --out-file \\\
 tape-restore.tar --size 2.4g --buffer-size 64k

Example 2: Using bar to copy a 37tb file across the network using SSH.

prompt% ssh remote 'dd if=file' \| bar --size 37t \> file

Example 3: Using bar inside a tar-pipe command:

Normal tar-pipe command might be:

prompt% (cd /some/dir/somewhere && tar -cf - \*) \\\
 \| (cd /some/other/dir && tar -xBpf -)

3a: Using bar within the tar-pipe:

prompt% (cd /some/dir/somewhere && tar -cf - \*) \\\
 \| bar \\\
 \| (cd /some/other/dir && tar -xBpf -)

3b: Using bar with the --size option in a tar-pipe:

prompt% du -sk /some/dir/somewhere\
 6281954 /some/dir/somewhere\

prompt% (cd /some/dir/somewhere && tar -cf - \*) \\\
 \| bar --size 6281954k \\\
 \| (cd /some/other/dir && tar -xBpf -)

Example 4: Using bar on a regular file.  (Note that the **--size** option is not needed here, as bar will retrieve the file size itself.)

prompt% bar --in-file ./file \| ssh remote 'cd /some/dir && dd of=file'

Example 5: Generating a 512k file of random data.

prompt% dd if=/dev/random bs=1024 count=512 \\\
 \| bar -s 512k -of ./random

Example 6: An example .barrc file.

\#\
 \# This is an example of what a ~/.barrc file \
 \# might look like.  Note that lines beginning\
 \# with a # are ignored.\
 \#\
 display-twiddle: no\
 display-ansi: yes\
 \# space-background: black\
 twiddle-foreground: green\
 \# twiddle-background: normal\
 \# twiddle-bold: no\
 count-foreground: green\
 \# count-background: magenta\
 count-bold: yes\
 throughput-label-foreground: normal\
 \# throughput-label-background: red\
 throughput-label-bold: no\
 throughput-foreground: green\
 \# throughput-background: black\
 throughput-bold: yes\
 time-label-foreground: normal\
 \# time-label-background: red\
 time-label-bold: no\
 time-foreground: green\
 \# time-background: black\
 time-bold: yes\
 percent-foreground: green\
 \# percent-background: green\
 percent-bold: yes\
 bar-brace-foreground: red\
 \# bar-brace-background: blue\
 bar-brace-bold: no\
 bar-foreground: yellow\
 \# bar-background: blue\
 bar-bold: yes

## NOTES

- \-

  The **--size** option is only used by bar in calculating information about the data transfer.  Bar will not cease copying data once it has reached the number of bytes specified with the  **--size** option, but instead bar will continue to copy data until and end of input is reached.  If this behavior is undesirable then bar may be used in conjunction with dd, where the count option is used with dd to specify when to cut off the input stream.  (See examples above.)

- \-

  When using other commands such as  **du -k** to calculate the expected size of a data transfer stream, the value returned may not be exactly the number of bytes counted by bar in the actual data transfer.  Common causes for this discrepancy could be attributed to round-off error or the use of 1000 bytes as a kilobyte rather than 1024.  (If the later is the case, then using the  **-k** 1000 option to bar will help.)  When such discrepancies occur, bar may report that the data stream contained only 98% or as much as 101% of it's expected size.  (If you have doubts, you should definitely verify your data using md5sum, diff, or cmp.)

- \-

  When the value of a calculation exceeds the size alloted for the display, the value +99... will be substituted in it's place.  The complete value will be displayed in a summary statement after bar has reached the end of input.

- \-

  Bar assumes a linear relationship between the speed of the data transfer and the amount of time remaining.  Specifically the calculation is based on the following:

  elapsed time / eta = bytes written / total size

  However, it has been the author's experience that the throughput speed will change, particularly at the beginning of the transfer, and this will affect the estimated time remaining.  The author does not believe this is a bug, but a side-effect of this method of calculation.

- \-

  Bar assumes that there are 8 bits in both a byte and a char.

## BUGS

- \-

  Bar uses the *open()* and *fstat()* functions to open and retrieve the size of regular files when using either the **--in-file** or **--out-file** command line options.  Some OS's do not support Large Files (file sizes up to (2\*\*63)-1 bytes) natively.  Some OS's support Large Files but require \_FILE\_OFFSET\_BITS or \_LARGE\_FILES to be defined properly at compile time. Other OS's support neither, but still allow programs to open files in excess of (2\*\*32)-1 through an O\_LARGEFILE option that can be passed to the *open()* function.

  When trying to open files greater than 2gb on an OS without Large File support, bar will exit with the message: "File too large".  When trying to write more than 2gb of data to a file, bar will write 2\*\*32-1 bytes and then the OS may terminate bar with a message similar to: "File size limit exceeded".

  When trying to open files greater than 2gb on an OS without Large File support, but with the O\_LARGEFILE option that can be passed to  *open()*, bar will receive an error when trying to retrieve the file's size, but bar will be able to open the file anyway.  Under these circumstances, bar will print a "File too large" error message, but will then proceed to transfer the data.  Since bar will not be able to retrieve the file's size on it's own, the **--size** command line option must be used after the **--in-file** option to tell bar the file size manually.  On such OS's, bar should be able to write more than 2gb of data to a file without any problems.

  For OS's that support files greater than 2gb, either natively or through the Large File extension definitions mentioned above, bar should work as expected.

- \-

  The author has noticed that when running bar over an SSH connection, sometimes window resize events are not captured until after the display has gone through one or two more updates, which can cause the line to wrap.

- \-

  The author has noticed that on some systems the use of aligned memory allocation, through either memalign() or posix\_memalign(), causes bar to commit a segmentation fault the first time read() or readv() is called and passed a pointer to the aligned memory as it's input buffer.  Attempts were made to try to isolate systems in which this bug bites through tests in configure, but all tests devised passed with flying colors.  Therefore aligned memory allocation is turned off by default, and may only be enabled by passing --enable-use-memalign to configure when building the executable.

- \-

  On some 64-bit systems it has been found that the CC compiler will, by default, compile bar in 32-bit mode.  This has been known to cause math errors which result in segmentation faults and infinite loops.  Although multiple configure tests have been added to the compilation phase to try to properly detect such compilers and compensate for such bugs, without access to such systems for debugging purposes there may be other bugs waiting to rear their ugly heads.

Report all bugs to the author.

Bar was developed on a Sun workstation running Solaris 8.  To the best of the author's knowledge bar should compile and run on other platforms without much trouble.  Should other OS's require modifications to the code, the author welcomes all patch submissions, but requests that you include the file *config.log* and the output of  *gcc -dumpspecs* (or a listing of predefined variables, if not using gcc).

## DISTRIBUTION

The latest version of bar can always be found at:

http://www.freshmeat.net/projects/commandlineprogressbar\
 http://sourceforge.net/projects/clpbar/

## AUTHOR

Bar was written by Michael Peek.  See DISTRIBUTION above for contact information.

Occasionally, the author fancies that he knows what he's doing.  It is at these times more than ever that his coworkers should cower in fear...