uuencode is used to create an ASCII representation of a file that can be sent over channels that may otherwise corrupt the data. Specifically, email cannot handle binary data and will often even insert a character when the six character sequence "\nFrom " is seen.
uuencode will read in-file if provided and otherwise read data from standard in and write the encoded form to standard out. The output will begin with a header line for use by uudecode giving it the resulting suggested file output-name and access mode. If the output-name is specifically /dev/stdout, then uudecode will emit the decoded file to standard out.
Note: uuencode uses buffered input and assumes that it is not hand typed from a tty. The consequence is that at a tty, you may need to hit Ctl-D several times to terminate input.
This section was generated by AutoGen,
using the agtexi-cmd template and the option descriptions for the uuencode program.
This software is released under the GNU General Public License, version 3 or later.