"tar czf file.tar.gz dirname" or "tar -czf file.tar.gz dirname"?

Question

I always use tar czf file.tar.gz dirname instead of tar -czf file.tar.gz dirname (without -) because faster

I know... from the documentation, what I'm doing is wrong.

But what is the effect of my command?

(so far, I dont see any problem of my command... sometime I think why the documentation suggest tar -czf file.tar.gz dirname instead of tar czf file.tar.gz dirname?)

Answer 1

It's all in the info pages:

“Like short options, "old options" are single letters. However, old options must be written together as a single clumped set[...] this old style syntax makes it difficult to match option letters with their corresponding arguments, and is often confusing. In the command tar cvbf 20 /dev/rmt0, for example, 20 is the argument for -b, /dev/rmt0 is the argument for -f, and -v does not have a corresponding argument. Even using short options like in tar -c -v -b 20 -f /dev/rmt0 is clearer, putting all arguments next to the option they pertain to.”

And you don't want to confuse your users, do you?