UUENCODE(1L)

NAME
uuencode - decode a binary file into printable encoding

SYNOPSIS
uuencode [ -v ] input output

DESCRIPTION
Uuencode reads the named binary input file and writes a printable version of it to the named output file. The output file is an ordinary text file and can be edited by any text editor to change the destination name, add introductory matter, and the like. In particular, it is very common to use uuencode and uudecode to send binary files around as electronic mail, Usenet, or general bulletin-board messages.

Several versions of the original uuencode and uudecode programs are available and have been widely distributed; luckily, all the changes seem to have been made in a compatible manner. This distribution does not provide all the features of other versions, just the basic format and the ``translation table.'' No per-line or per-file checksumming is performed, and the UNIX ``tilde'' syntax to represent a home directory (e.g., ~rsalz/vmunix represents the file named vmunix in the home directory of the user rsalz) is not supported. Only one file can be sent per message; use shar(1L) to bundle multiple binary files.

describe translation table

Note that the encoded file is about 35% bigger (three bytes become four, plus control information) than the original.

The ``-v'' option prints out the current version and exits.

SEE ALSO
uudecode(1L).