pax(1) is IEEE/POSIX's answer to tar and
cpio. Over the years the various versions of tar and
cpio have gotten slightly incompatible. So rather than fight it
out to fully standardize them, POSIX created a new archive utility.
pax attempts to read and write many of the various cpio and tar
formats, plus new formats of its own. Its command set more resembles
cpio than tar.