What Is A Tar File In Linux?

a tarball is a compressed archive o files, like zip files. the tarball usually contains scripts that will install the software o the correct location on the system. unfortunately, tarballs do not update a central software database, so they are difficult to manage, upgrade or remove from the system. most Linux software was traditionally distributed in tarball format, but the advantages of using RPM is making RPM more popular.

so if you have a choice of a file.tar than a file.rpm, you should go with the rpm its easier to install