uuencode(5)
Name
uuencode − format of an encoded uuencode file
Description
Files output by uuencode() consist of a header line, followed by a number of body lines, and a trailer line. The uudecode command ignores any lines preceding the header or following the trailer. Lines preceding a header must not, of course, look like a header.
The header line is distinguished by having the first six characters by the word “begin”, followed by a space. The next item on the line is a mode (in octal) and a string which names the remote file. A space separates the three items in the header line.
The body consists of a number of lines, each at most 62 characters long including the trailing new line. These consist of a character count, followed by encoded characters, followed by a new line. The character count is a single printing character and represents an integer, the number of bytes the rest of the line represents. Such integers are always in the range from 0 to 63 and can be determined by subtracting the character space (octal 40) from the character.
Groups of 3 bytes are stored in 4 characters, with 6 bits per character. All are offset by a space to make the characters print. The last line may be shorter than the normal 45 bytes. If the size is not a multiple of 3, this fact can be determined by the value of the count on the last line. Extra dummy characters are included to make the character count a multiple of 4. The body is terminated by a line with a count of zero. This line consists of one ASCII space.
The trailer line consists of “end” on a line by itself.