XXENCODE

Section: User Commands (1)
Updated: 27 November 1989
Index Return to Main Contents
 

NAME

xxencode,xxdecode - encode/decode a binary file for transmission via mail  

SYNOPSIS

xxencode [ source ] remotedest
xxdecode [ -r ] [ file ]
e.g. cat binaryfile | xxencode binaryfile | mail user@node
e.g. xxencode - < binaryfile | mail -s binaryfile user@node
e.g. (from mail) | xxdecode > binaryfile

VM/CMS Examples:
xxencode fn ft fm (bin options remotefile > fn ft fm
xxencode remotefile < fn ft fm (bin options > fn ft fm
(remotefile is a Unix syntax filename.)
xxdecode [-r] fn ft [fm] [> fn ft [fm] [(options] (bin]  

DESCRIPTION

xxencode and xxdecode are used to send a binary file via electronic mail.

xxencode takes the named source file (default standard input) and produces an encoded version on the standard output. The encoding uses characters from a set expected to traverse most mail gateways without translation. The encoded file includes the permission for the file and the remotedest for recreation on the remote system.

xxdecode reads an encoded file, strips off any leading and trailing lines added by mailers, and recreates the original files with the specified mode and name. If the remotedest included in the encoded file is '-' or '/dev/stdout' (for historical purposes), it will write the binary file to the standard output. Note that several files can be encoded into the same stream. For instance, one can concatenate the result of several invokations of xxencode to be processed all-at-once by xxdecode. xxdecode will search through the entire file for occurrences of xxencoded files.

The encode file has an ordinary text form and can be edited by any text editor to change the mode or remote name.  

OPTIONS

-r
If an unpiped output file from xxdecode already exists, the user will be prompted whether the file should be replaced. This option overrides this prompt, forcing the file to be replaced.
 

SEE ALSO

mail(1), elm(l), split(1)  

AUTHOR

Phil Howard, David J. Camp (david@wubios.wustl.edu)  

BUGS

The file is expanded by 35% (3 bytes become 4 plus control information) causing it to take longer to transmit.

The user on the remote system who is invoking xxdecode must have write permission on the specified file.


 

Index

NAME
SYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
OPTIONS
SEE ALSO
AUTHOR
BUGS

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