diff --git a/Doc/library/shutil.rst b/Doc/library/shutil.rst
index ad3ab57882a..25c911ff742 100644
--- a/Doc/library/shutil.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/shutil.rst
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ copying and removal. For operations on individual files, see also the
    not be correct. On Windows, file owners, ACLs and alternate data streams
    are not copied.
 
+Directory and files operations
+------------------------------
 
 .. function:: copyfileobj(fsrc, fdst[, length])
 
@@ -169,11 +171,10 @@ copying and removal. For operations on individual files, see also the
 
    .. versionadded:: 2.3
 
-
 .. _shutil-example:
 
-Example
--------
+copytree example
+::::::::::::::::
 
 This example is the implementation of the :func:`copytree` function, described
 above, with the docstring omitted.  It demonstrates many of the other functions
@@ -238,3 +239,97 @@ Another example that uses the *ignore* argument to add a logging call::
 
    copytree(source, destination, ignore=_logpath)
 
+
+Archives operations
+-------------------
+
+.. function:: make_archive(base_name, format, [root_dir, [base_dir, [verbose, [dry_run, [owner, [group, [logger]]]]]]])
+
+   Create an archive file (eg. zip or tar) and returns its name.
+
+   *base_name* is the name of the file to create, including the path, minus
+   any format-specific extension. *format* is the archive format: one of
+   "zip", "tar", "ztar", or "gztar".
+
+   *root_dir* is a directory that will be the root directory of the
+   archive; ie. we typically chdir into *root_dir* before creating the
+   archive.
+
+   *base_dir* is the directory where we start archiving from;
+   ie. *base_dir* will be the common prefix of all files and
+   directories in the archive.
+
+   *root_dir* and *base_dir* both default to the current directory.
+
+   *owner* and *group* are used when creating a tar archive. By default,
+   uses the current owner and group.
+
+   .. versionadded:: 2.7
+
+
+.. function:: get_archive_formats()
+
+   Returns a list of supported formats for archiving.
+   Each element of the returned sequence is a tuple ``(name, description)``
+
+   By default :mod:`shutil` provides these formats:
+
+   - *gztar*: gzip'ed tar-file
+   - *bztar*: bzip2'ed tar-file
+   - *ztar*: compressed tar file
+   - *tar*: uncompressed tar file
+   - *zip*: ZIP file
+
+   You can register new formats or provide your own archiver for any existing
+   formats, by using :func:`register_archive_format`.
+
+   .. versionadded:: 2.7
+
+
+.. function:: register_archive_format(name, function, [extra_args, [description]])
+
+   Registers an archiver for the format *name*. *function* is a callable that
+   will be used to invoke the archiver.
+
+   If given, *extra_args* is a sequence of ``(name, value)`` that will be
+   used as extra keywords arguments when the archiver callable is used.
+
+   *description* is used by :func:`get_archive_formats` which returns the
+   list of archivers. Defaults to an empty list.
+
+   .. versionadded:: 2.7
+
+
+.. function::  unregister_archive_format(name)
+
+   Remove the archive format *name* from the list of supported formats.
+
+   .. versionadded:: 2.7
+
+
+Archiving example
+:::::::::::::::::
+
+In this example, we create a gzip'ed tar-file archive containing all files
+found in the :file:`.ssh` directory of the user::
+
+    >>> from shutil import make_archive
+    >>> import os
+    >>> archive_name = os.path.expanduser(os.path.join('~', 'myarchive'))
+    >>> root_dir = os.path.expanduser(os.path.join('~', '.ssh'))
+    >>> make_archive(archive_name, 'gztar', root_dir)
+    '/Users/tarek/myarchive.tar.gz'
+
+The resulting archive contains::
+
+    $ tar -tzvf /Users/tarek/myarchive.tar.gz
+    drwx------ tarek/staff       0 2010-02-01 16:23:40 ./
+    -rw-r--r-- tarek/staff     609 2008-06-09 13:26:54 ./authorized_keys
+    -rwxr-xr-x tarek/staff      65 2008-06-09 13:26:54 ./config
+    -rwx------ tarek/staff     668 2008-06-09 13:26:54 ./id_dsa
+    -rwxr-xr-x tarek/staff     609 2008-06-09 13:26:54 ./id_dsa.pub
+    -rw------- tarek/staff    1675 2008-06-09 13:26:54 ./id_rsa
+    -rw-r--r-- tarek/staff     397 2008-06-09 13:26:54 ./id_rsa.pub
+    -rw-r--r-- tarek/staff   37192 2010-02-06 18:23:10 ./known_hosts
+
+
diff --git a/Lib/shutil.py b/Lib/shutil.py
index a689256f15d..ebed14003b9 100644
--- a/Lib/shutil.py
+++ b/Lib/shutil.py
@@ -9,9 +9,21 @@ import sys
 import stat
 from os.path import abspath
 import fnmatch
+from warnings import warn
+
+try:
+    from pwd import getpwnam
+except ImportError:
+    getpwnam = None
+
+try:
+    from grp import getgrnam
+except ImportError:
+    getgrnam = None
 
 __all__ = ["copyfileobj","copyfile","copymode","copystat","copy","copy2",
-           "copytree","move","rmtree","Error", "SpecialFileError"]
+           "copytree","move","rmtree","Error", "SpecialFileError",
+           "ExecError","make_archive"]
 
 class Error(EnvironmentError):
     pass
@@ -20,6 +32,9 @@ class SpecialFileError(EnvironmentError):
     """Raised when trying to do a kind of operation (e.g. copying) which is
     not supported on a special file (e.g. a named pipe)"""
 
+class ExecError(EnvironmentError):
+    """Raised when a command could not be executed"""
+
 try:
     WindowsError
 except NameError:
@@ -286,3 +301,267 @@ def _destinsrc(src, dst):
     if not dst.endswith(os.path.sep):
         dst += os.path.sep
     return dst.startswith(src)
+
+def _get_gid(name):
+    """Returns a gid, given a group name."""
+    if getgrnam is None or name is None:
+        return None
+    try:
+        result = getgrnam(name)
+    except KeyError:
+        result = None
+    if result is not None:
+        return result[2]
+    return None
+
+def _get_uid(name):
+    """Returns an uid, given a user name."""
+    if getpwnam is None or name is None:
+        return None
+    try:
+        result = getpwnam(name)
+    except KeyError:
+        result = None
+    if result is not None:
+        return result[2]
+    return None
+
+def _make_tarball(base_name, base_dir, compress="gzip", verbose=0, dry_run=0,
+                  owner=None, group=None, logger=None):
+    """Create a (possibly compressed) tar file from all the files under
+    'base_dir'.
+
+    'compress' must be "gzip" (the default), "compress", "bzip2", or None.
+    (compress will be deprecated in Python 3.2)
+
+    'owner' and 'group' can be used to define an owner and a group for the
+    archive that is being built. If not provided, the current owner and group
+    will be used.
+
+    The output tar file will be named 'base_dir' +  ".tar", possibly plus
+    the appropriate compression extension (".gz", ".bz2" or ".Z").
+
+    Returns the output filename.
+    """
+    tar_compression = {'gzip': 'gz', 'bzip2': 'bz2', None: '', 'compress': ''}
+    compress_ext = {'gzip': '.gz', 'bzip2': '.bz2', 'compress': '.Z'}
+
+    # flags for compression program, each element of list will be an argument
+    if compress is not None and compress not in compress_ext.keys():
+        raise ValueError, \
+              ("bad value for 'compress': must be None, 'gzip', 'bzip2' "
+               "or 'compress'")
+
+    archive_name = base_name + '.tar'
+    if compress != 'compress':
+        archive_name += compress_ext.get(compress, '')
+
+    archive_dir = os.path.dirname(archive_name)
+    if not os.path.exists(archive_dir):
+        logger.info("creating %s" % archive_dir)
+        if not dry_run:
+            os.makedirs(archive_dir)
+
+
+    # creating the tarball
+    import tarfile  # late import so Python build itself doesn't break
+
+    if logger is not None:
+        logger.info('Creating tar archive')
+
+    uid = _get_uid(owner)
+    gid = _get_gid(group)
+
+    def _set_uid_gid(tarinfo):
+        if gid is not None:
+            tarinfo.gid = gid
+            tarinfo.gname = group
+        if uid is not None:
+            tarinfo.uid = uid
+            tarinfo.uname = owner
+        return tarinfo
+
+    if not dry_run:
+        tar = tarfile.open(archive_name, 'w|%s' % tar_compression[compress])
+        try:
+            tar.add(base_dir, filter=_set_uid_gid)
+        finally:
+            tar.close()
+
+    # compression using `compress`
+    # XXX this block will be removed in Python 3.2
+    if compress == 'compress':
+        warn("'compress' will be deprecated.", PendingDeprecationWarning)
+        # the option varies depending on the platform
+        compressed_name = archive_name + compress_ext[compress]
+        if sys.platform == 'win32':
+            cmd = [compress, archive_name, compressed_name]
+        else:
+            cmd = [compress, '-f', archive_name]
+        from distutils.spawn import spawn
+        spawn(cmd, dry_run=dry_run)
+        return compressed_name
+
+    return archive_name
+
+def _call_external_zip(directory, verbose=False):
+    # XXX see if we want to keep an external call here
+    if verbose:
+        zipoptions = "-r"
+    else:
+        zipoptions = "-rq"
+    from distutils.errors import DistutilsExecError
+    from distutils.spawn import spawn
+    try:
+        spawn(["zip", zipoptions, zip_filename, base_dir], dry_run=dry_run)
+    except DistutilsExecError:
+        # XXX really should distinguish between "couldn't find
+        # external 'zip' command" and "zip failed".
+        raise ExecError, \
+            ("unable to create zip file '%s': "
+            "could neither import the 'zipfile' module nor "
+            "find a standalone zip utility") % zip_filename
+
+def _make_zipfile(base_name, base_dir, verbose=0, dry_run=0, logger=None):
+    """Create a zip file from all the files under 'base_dir'.
+
+    The output zip file will be named 'base_dir' + ".zip".  Uses either the
+    "zipfile" Python module (if available) or the InfoZIP "zip" utility
+    (if installed and found on the default search path).  If neither tool is
+    available, raises ExecError.  Returns the name of the output zip
+    file.
+    """
+    zip_filename = base_name + ".zip"
+    archive_dir = os.path.dirname(base_name)
+
+    if not os.path.exists(archive_dir):
+        if logger is not None:
+            logger.info("creating %s", archive_dir)
+        if not dry_run:
+            os.makedirs(archive_dir)
+
+    # If zipfile module is not available, try spawning an external 'zip'
+    # command.
+    try:
+        import zipfile
+    except ImportError:
+        zipfile = None
+
+    if zipfile is None:
+        _call_external_zip(base_dir, verbose)
+    else:
+        if logger is not None:
+            logger.info("creating '%s' and adding '%s' to it",
+                        zip_filename, base_dir)
+
+        if not dry_run:
+            zip = zipfile.ZipFile(zip_filename, "w",
+                                  compression=zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED)
+
+            for dirpath, dirnames, filenames in os.walk(base_dir):
+                for name in filenames:
+                    path = os.path.normpath(os.path.join(dirpath, name))
+                    if os.path.isfile(path):
+                        zip.write(path, path)
+                        if logger is not None:
+                            logger.info("adding '%s'", path)
+            zip.close()
+
+    return zip_filename
+
+_ARCHIVE_FORMATS = {
+    'gztar': (_make_tarball, [('compress', 'gzip')], "gzip'ed tar-file"),
+    'bztar': (_make_tarball, [('compress', 'bzip2')], "bzip2'ed tar-file"),
+    'ztar':  (_make_tarball, [('compress', 'compress')],
+                "compressed tar file"),
+    'tar':   (_make_tarball, [('compress', None)], "uncompressed tar file"),
+    'zip':   (_make_zipfile, [],"ZIP file")
+    }
+
+def get_archive_formats():
+    """Returns a list of supported formats for archiving and unarchiving.
+
+    Each element of the returned sequence is a tuple (name, description)
+    """
+    formats = [(name, registry[2]) for name, registry in
+               _ARCHIVE_FORMATS.items()]
+    formats.sort()
+    return formats
+
+def register_archive_format(name, function, extra_args=None, description=''):
+    """Registers an archive format.
+
+    name is the name of the format. function is the callable that will be
+    used to create archives. If provided, extra_args is a sequence of
+    (name, value) tuples that will be passed as arguments to the callable.
+    description can be provided to describe the format, and will be returned
+    by the get_archive_formats() function.
+    """
+    if extra_args is None:
+        extra_args = []
+    if not callable(function):
+        raise TypeError('The %s object is not callable' % function)
+    if not isinstance(extra_args, (tuple, list)):
+        raise TypeError('extra_args needs to be a sequence')
+    for element in extra_args:
+        if not isinstance(element, (tuple, list)) or len(element) !=2 :
+            raise TypeError('extra_args elements are : (arg_name, value)')
+
+    _ARCHIVE_FORMATS[name] = (function, extra_args, description)
+
+def unregister_archive_format(name):
+    del _ARCHIVE_FORMATS[name]
+
+def make_archive(base_name, format, root_dir=None, base_dir=None, verbose=0,
+                 dry_run=0, owner=None, group=None, logger=None):
+    """Create an archive file (eg. zip or tar).
+
+    'base_name' is the name of the file to create, minus any format-specific
+    extension; 'format' is the archive format: one of "zip", "tar", "ztar",
+    or "gztar".
+
+    'root_dir' is a directory that will be the root directory of the
+    archive; ie. we typically chdir into 'root_dir' before creating the
+    archive.  'base_dir' is the directory where we start archiving from;
+    ie. 'base_dir' will be the common prefix of all files and
+    directories in the archive.  'root_dir' and 'base_dir' both default
+    to the current directory.  Returns the name of the archive file.
+
+    'owner' and 'group' are used when creating a tar archive. By default,
+    uses the current owner and group.
+    """
+    save_cwd = os.getcwd()
+    if root_dir is not None:
+        if logger is not None:
+            logger.debug("changing into '%s'", root_dir)
+        base_name = os.path.abspath(base_name)
+        if not dry_run:
+            os.chdir(root_dir)
+
+    if base_dir is None:
+        base_dir = os.curdir
+
+    kwargs = {'dry_run': dry_run, 'logger': logger}
+
+    try:
+        format_info = _ARCHIVE_FORMATS[format]
+    except KeyError:
+        raise ValueError, "unknown archive format '%s'" % format
+
+    func = format_info[0]
+    for arg, val in format_info[1]:
+        kwargs[arg] = val
+
+    if format != 'zip':
+        kwargs['owner'] = owner
+        kwargs['group'] = group
+
+    try:
+        filename = func(base_name, base_dir, **kwargs)
+    finally:
+        if root_dir is not None:
+            if logger is not None:
+                logger.debug("changing back to '%s'", save_cwd)
+            os.chdir(save_cwd)
+
+    return filename
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_shutil.py b/Lib/test/test_shutil.py
index 151577eb5da..871541f20d5 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_shutil.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_shutil.py
@@ -7,11 +7,71 @@ import sys
 import stat
 import os
 import os.path
+from os.path import splitdrive
+from distutils.spawn import find_executable, spawn
+from shutil import (_make_tarball, _make_zipfile, make_archive,
+                    register_archive_format, unregister_archive_format,
+                    get_archive_formats)
+import tarfile
+import warnings
+
 from test import test_support
-from test.test_support import TESTFN
+from test.test_support import TESTFN, check_warnings, captured_stdout
+
 TESTFN2 = TESTFN + "2"
 
+try:
+    import grp
+    import pwd
+    UID_GID_SUPPORT = True
+except ImportError:
+    UID_GID_SUPPORT = False
+
+try:
+    import zlib
+except ImportError:
+    zlib = None
+
+try:
+    import zipfile
+    ZIP_SUPPORT = True
+except ImportError:
+    ZIP_SUPPORT = find_executable('zip')
+
 class TestShutil(unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        super(TestShutil, self).setUp()
+        self.tempdirs = []
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        super(TestShutil, self).tearDown()
+        while self.tempdirs:
+            d = self.tempdirs.pop()
+            shutil.rmtree(d, os.name in ('nt', 'cygwin'))
+
+    def write_file(self, path, content='xxx'):
+        """Writes a file in the given path.
+
+
+        path can be a string or a sequence.
+        """
+        if isinstance(path, (list, tuple)):
+            path = os.path.join(*path)
+        f = open(path, 'w')
+        try:
+            f.write(content)
+        finally:
+            f.close()
+
+    def mkdtemp(self):
+        """Create a temporary directory that will be cleaned up.
+
+        Returns the path of the directory.
+        """
+        d = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.tempdirs.append(d)
+        return d
     def test_rmtree_errors(self):
         # filename is guaranteed not to exist
         filename = tempfile.mktemp()
@@ -277,6 +337,261 @@ class TestShutil(unittest.TestCase):
                 shutil.rmtree(TESTFN, ignore_errors=True)
                 shutil.rmtree(TESTFN2, ignore_errors=True)
 
+    @unittest.skipUnless(zlib, "requires zlib")
+    def test_make_tarball(self):
+        # creating something to tar
+        tmpdir = self.mkdtemp()
+        self.write_file([tmpdir, 'file1'], 'xxx')
+        self.write_file([tmpdir, 'file2'], 'xxx')
+        os.mkdir(os.path.join(tmpdir, 'sub'))
+        self.write_file([tmpdir, 'sub', 'file3'], 'xxx')
+
+        tmpdir2 = self.mkdtemp()
+        unittest.skipUnless(splitdrive(tmpdir)[0] == splitdrive(tmpdir2)[0],
+                            "source and target should be on same drive")
+
+        base_name = os.path.join(tmpdir2, 'archive')
+
+        # working with relative paths to avoid tar warnings
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(tmpdir)
+        try:
+            _make_tarball(splitdrive(base_name)[1], '.')
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(old_dir)
+
+        # check if the compressed tarball was created
+        tarball = base_name + '.tar.gz'
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(tarball))
+
+        # trying an uncompressed one
+        base_name = os.path.join(tmpdir2, 'archive')
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(tmpdir)
+        try:
+            _make_tarball(splitdrive(base_name)[1], '.', compress=None)
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(old_dir)
+        tarball = base_name + '.tar'
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(tarball))
+
+    def _tarinfo(self, path):
+        tar = tarfile.open(path)
+        try:
+            names = tar.getnames()
+            names.sort()
+            return tuple(names)
+        finally:
+            tar.close()
+
+    def _create_files(self):
+        # creating something to tar
+        tmpdir = self.mkdtemp()
+        dist = os.path.join(tmpdir, 'dist')
+        os.mkdir(dist)
+        self.write_file([dist, 'file1'], 'xxx')
+        self.write_file([dist, 'file2'], 'xxx')
+        os.mkdir(os.path.join(dist, 'sub'))
+        self.write_file([dist, 'sub', 'file3'], 'xxx')
+        os.mkdir(os.path.join(dist, 'sub2'))
+        tmpdir2 = self.mkdtemp()
+        base_name = os.path.join(tmpdir2, 'archive')
+        return tmpdir, tmpdir2, base_name
+
+    @unittest.skipUnless(zlib, "Requires zlib")
+    @unittest.skipUnless(find_executable('tar') and find_executable('gzip'),
+                         'Need the tar command to run')
+    def test_tarfile_vs_tar(self):
+        tmpdir, tmpdir2, base_name =  self._create_files()
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(tmpdir)
+        try:
+            _make_tarball(base_name, 'dist')
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(old_dir)
+
+        # check if the compressed tarball was created
+        tarball = base_name + '.tar.gz'
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(tarball))
+
+        # now create another tarball using `tar`
+        tarball2 = os.path.join(tmpdir, 'archive2.tar.gz')
+        tar_cmd = ['tar', '-cf', 'archive2.tar', 'dist']
+        gzip_cmd = ['gzip', '-f9', 'archive2.tar']
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(tmpdir)
+        try:
+            with captured_stdout() as s:
+                spawn(tar_cmd)
+                spawn(gzip_cmd)
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(old_dir)
+
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(tarball2))
+        # let's compare both tarballs
+        self.assertEquals(self._tarinfo(tarball), self._tarinfo(tarball2))
+
+        # trying an uncompressed one
+        base_name = os.path.join(tmpdir2, 'archive')
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(tmpdir)
+        try:
+            _make_tarball(base_name, 'dist', compress=None)
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(old_dir)
+        tarball = base_name + '.tar'
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(tarball))
+
+        # now for a dry_run
+        base_name = os.path.join(tmpdir2, 'archive')
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(tmpdir)
+        try:
+            _make_tarball(base_name, 'dist', compress=None, dry_run=True)
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(old_dir)
+        tarball = base_name + '.tar'
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(tarball))
+
+    @unittest.skipUnless(find_executable('compress'),
+                         'The compress program is required')
+    def test_compress_deprecated(self):
+        tmpdir, tmpdir2, base_name =  self._create_files()
+
+        # using compress and testing the PendingDeprecationWarning
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(tmpdir)
+        try:
+            with captured_stdout() as s:
+                with check_warnings() as w:
+                    warnings.simplefilter("always")
+                    _make_tarball(base_name, 'dist', compress='compress')
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(old_dir)
+        tarball = base_name + '.tar.Z'
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(tarball))
+        self.assertEquals(len(w.warnings), 1)
+
+        # same test with dry_run
+        os.remove(tarball)
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(tmpdir)
+        try:
+            with captured_stdout() as s:
+                with check_warnings() as w:
+                    warnings.simplefilter("always")
+                    _make_tarball(base_name, 'dist', compress='compress',
+                                    dry_run=True)
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(old_dir)
+        self.assertTrue(not os.path.exists(tarball))
+        self.assertEquals(len(w.warnings), 1)
+
+    @unittest.skipUnless(zlib, "Requires zlib")
+    @unittest.skipUnless(ZIP_SUPPORT, 'Need zip support to run')
+    def test_make_zipfile(self):
+        # creating something to tar
+        tmpdir = self.mkdtemp()
+        self.write_file([tmpdir, 'file1'], 'xxx')
+        self.write_file([tmpdir, 'file2'], 'xxx')
+
+        tmpdir2 = self.mkdtemp()
+        base_name = os.path.join(tmpdir2, 'archive')
+        _make_zipfile(base_name, tmpdir)
+
+        # check if the compressed tarball was created
+        tarball = base_name + '.zip'
+
+
+    def test_make_archive(self):
+        tmpdir = self.mkdtemp()
+        base_name = os.path.join(tmpdir, 'archive')
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, make_archive, base_name, 'xxx')
+
+    @unittest.skipUnless(zlib, "Requires zlib")
+    def test_make_archive_owner_group(self):
+        # testing make_archive with owner and group, with various combinations
+        # this works even if there's not gid/uid support
+        if UID_GID_SUPPORT:
+            group = grp.getgrgid(0)[0]
+            owner = pwd.getpwuid(0)[0]
+        else:
+            group = owner = 'root'
+
+        base_dir, root_dir, base_name =  self._create_files()
+        base_name = os.path.join(self.mkdtemp() , 'archive')
+        res = make_archive(base_name, 'zip', root_dir, base_dir, owner=owner,
+                           group=group)
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(res))
+
+        res = make_archive(base_name, 'zip', root_dir, base_dir)
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(res))
+
+        res = make_archive(base_name, 'tar', root_dir, base_dir,
+                           owner=owner, group=group)
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(res))
+
+        res = make_archive(base_name, 'tar', root_dir, base_dir,
+                           owner='kjhkjhkjg', group='oihohoh')
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(res))
+
+    @unittest.skipUnless(zlib, "Requires zlib")
+    @unittest.skipUnless(UID_GID_SUPPORT, "Requires grp and pwd support")
+    def test_tarfile_root_owner(self):
+        tmpdir, tmpdir2, base_name =  self._create_files()
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(tmpdir)
+        group = grp.getgrgid(0)[0]
+        owner = pwd.getpwuid(0)[0]
+        try:
+            archive_name = _make_tarball(base_name, 'dist', compress=None,
+                                         owner=owner, group=group)
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(old_dir)
+
+        # check if the compressed tarball was created
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(archive_name))
+
+        # now checks the rights
+        archive = tarfile.open(archive_name)
+        try:
+            for member in archive.getmembers():
+                self.assertEquals(member.uid, 0)
+                self.assertEquals(member.gid, 0)
+        finally:
+            archive.close()
+
+    def test_make_archive_cwd(self):
+        current_dir = os.getcwd()
+        def _breaks(*args, **kw):
+            raise RuntimeError()
+
+        register_archive_format('xxx', _breaks, [], 'xxx file')
+        try:
+            try:
+                make_archive('xxx', 'xxx', root_dir=self.mkdtemp())
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+            self.assertEquals(os.getcwd(), current_dir)
+        finally:
+            unregister_archive_format('xxx')
+
+    def test_register_archive_format(self):
+
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, register_archive_format, 'xxx', 1)
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, register_archive_format, 'xxx', lambda: x,
+                          1)
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, register_archive_format, 'xxx', lambda: x,
+                          [(1, 2), (1, 2, 3)])
+
+        register_archive_format('xxx', lambda: x, [(1, 2)], 'xxx file')
+        formats = [name for name, params in get_archive_formats()]
+        self.assertIn('xxx', formats)
+
+        unregister_archive_format('xxx')
+        formats = [name for name, params in get_archive_formats()]
+        self.assertNotIn('xxx', formats)
+
 
 class TestMove(unittest.TestCase):