Patent ID: 8176243

Claim:
A tape recording apparatus, for sequentially recording files when receiving a command to write the files from an external host, comprising: a buffer for temporarily storing the files; a tape on which the files are recorded; a writing device for writing the files stored in the buffer on the tape; and a writing control device for performing control of sequentially writing the files stored in the buffer on the tape one by one, wherein the writing control device memorizes designated delimiter positions when delimiter position designation commands are received from the external host, the delimiter position designation commands designating the delimiter positions of the files to be sequentially written; and upon the writing control device receiving a writing position check command from the external host after a last one of the delimiter position designation commands, the writing control device notifies the external host of information comprising which delimiter position the files have been written on the tape, wherein for a number of the position designation commands being M, wherein M is a natural number and the last designated delimiter position, and a sequence number of a last written delimiter position on the tape being N, wherein N is a natural number and N<M, the writing control device uses M as indicating the last designated delimiter position, and the information is the last written designated delimiter position N for the last designated delimiter position M, and the information is N−M as the relative position.