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MMENCODE(1)            DragonFly General Commands Manual           MMENCODE(1)

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

       (Same program also installed as "mimencode".)

SYNOPSIS
       mmencode[-u] [-b] [-q] [-p] [file name] [-o outputfile]

DESCRIPTION
       The mmencode 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 mmencode are preferable to the use of the
       uuencode/uudecode programs, for use in mail, in several respects that
       were important to the authors of MIME.

       By default, mmencode reads standard input, and sends a "base64" encoded
       version of the input to standard output.

       The (really not necessary) "-b" option tells mmencode to use the
       "base64" encoding.

       The "-q" option tells mmencode to use the "quoted-printable" encoding
       instead of base64.

       The "-u" option tells mmencode to decode the standard input rather than
       encode it.

       The "-p" option tells mmencode to translate decoded CRLF sequences into
       the local newline convention during decoding and to do the reverse
       during encoding.  This option is only meaningful when  -b (base64
       encoding) is in effect.

       If a file name argument is given, input is read from that file rather
       than from standard input.

       The "-o" option, which must be followed by a file name, sends output to
       the named file rather than to standard output.

RATIONALE
       Mmencode is intended to be a replacement for uuencode for mail and news
       use.  The reason is simple:  uuencode 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, uuencode is not
       standard -- there are several variants floating around, encoding and
       decoding things in different and incompatible ways, with no "standard"
       on which to base an implementation.  Finally, uuencode does not
       generally work well in a pipe, although some variants have been
       modified to do so.  Mmencode implements the encodings which were
       defined for MIME as uuencode replacements, and should be considerably
       more robust for email use.

SEE ALSO
       metamail(1), mailto(1)

COPYRIGHT
       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
       pertaining to this material without the specific, prior written
       permission of an authorized representative of Bellcore.  BELLCORE MAKES
       NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE ACCURACY OR SUITABILITY OF THIS MATERIAL
       FOR ANY PURPOSE.  IT IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR
       IMPLIED WARRANTIES.

AUTHOR
       Nathaniel S. Borenstein

Bellcore Prototype                 Release 1                       MMENCODE(1)