MMENCODE(1L)                                                      MMENCODE(1L)



NNAAMMEE
       mmencode - Translate to and from mail-oriented encoding formats

SSYYNNOOPPSSIISS
       mmmmeennccooddee [ --uubbqq ] [ --oo outputfile ] [ inputfile ]

DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN
       The _m_m_e_n_c_o_d_e program simply converts a byte stream into (or out of) one
       of the standard mail encoding formats defined  by  MIME,  the  proposed
       standard  for  internet  multimedia  mail formats.  Such an encoding is
       necessary because binary data cannot be sent  through  the  mail.   The
       encodings understood by _m_m_e_n_c_o_d_e are preferable to the use of the _u_u_e_n_-
       _c_o_d_e(1) and _u_u_d_e_c_o_d_e(1) programs, for use in mail, in several  respects
       that were important to the authors of MIME.

       By  default,  _m_m_e_n_c_o_d_e  reads  standard  input,  and sends a ``base64''
       encoded version of the _i_n_p_u_t_f_i_l_e to standard output.  If  no  _i_n_p_u_t_f_i_l_e
       is specified, then the standard input is processed.

       The following options are available.

       --bb     Tells  _m_m_e_n_c_o_d_e  to  process  ``base64''  encoding (which is the
              default).

       --qq     Tells _m_m_e_n_c_o_d_e to process ``quoted-printable'' encoding  instead
              of ``base64''.

       --uu     Tells _m_m_e_n_c_o_d_e to decode the input, rather than encode it.

       --oo     Output  will  be sent to _o_u_t_p_u_t_f_i_l_e instead of the standard out-
              put.

RRAATTIIOONNAALLEE
       _m_m_e_n_c_o_d_e is intended to be a replacement for _u_u_e_n_c_o_d_e for mail and news
       use.  The reason is simple: _u_u_e_n_c_o_d_e doesn't work very well in a number
       of circumstances and ways.  In  particular,  uuencode  uses  characters
       that  don't translate well across all mail gateways (particularly ASCII
       <-> EBCDIC gateways).  Also, _u_u_e_n_c_o_d_e is not standard -- there are sev-
       eral  variants floating around, encoding and decoding things in differ-
       ent and incompatible ways, with no ``standard'' on  which  to  base  an
       implementation.   Finally,  _u_u_e_n_c_o_d_e  does not generally work well in a
       pipe, although some variants have been modified  to  do  so.   _m_m_e_n_c_o_d_e
       implements  the  encodings  which  were  defined  for  MIME as _u_u_e_n_c_o_d_e
       replacements, and should be considerably more robust for email use.

SSEEEE AALLSSOO
       metamail(1), uuencode(1), uudecode(1)

BBUUGGSS
       This program is derived from the  _m_m_e_n_c_o_d_e  provided  in  the  _m_e_t_a_m_a_i_l
       package.   That  package also links this program to the name _m_i_m_e_n_c_o_d_e.
       The --pp option, which is provided in  the  _m_e_t_a_m_a_i_l  implementation,  is
       accepted as a noop.

CCOOPPYYRRIIGGHHTT
       Copyright (c) 1991 Bell Communications Research, Inc. (Bellcore)

       Permission  to  use, copy, modify, and distribute this material for any
       purpose and without fee is hereby  granted,  provided  that  the  above
       copyright  notice  and this permission notice appear in all copies, and
       that the name of Bellcore not be used in advertising or publicity  per-
       taining to this material without the specific, prior written permission
       of an authorized representative of Bellcore.  BELLCORE MAKES NO  REPRE-
       SENTATIONS  ABOUT  THE ACCURACY OR SUITABILITY OF THIS MATERIAL FOR ANY
       PURPOSE.  IT IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR  IMPLIED  WAR-
       RANTIES.

AAUUTTHHOORR
       Nathaniel S. Borenstein



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