🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <583@pallas.athenanet.com> kabra437@pallas.UUCP (Ken Abrams) writes:
>In article <CMM.0.90.2.665255161.wthomps@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> wthomps@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (William R Thompson) writes:
>>
>>I am a new computer user with an IBM compat at home and wish to transfer a
>>binary file to ASCII.  Is there a way to do this?  Any help would be greatly
>>appreciated.  Thanx in advance...
>>
>There is usually no practical application for the conversion you desire.
>Binary files are usually executable program instructions and ASCII files
>are usually readable text.
>Please tell us exactly what the binary file IS and why you think you
>want to convert it to ASCII, then maybe someone can offer some practical
>advice.
>
>-- 
>Ken Abrams                     uunet!pallas!kabra437

Yes there is a practical application for this conversion, it is called
uuencode and uudecode for the pc (adapted from a unix utility).  I think it
is available on SIMTEL20 under the file utilities directory.  The reason
a person might want to do this is so that he can send and receive programs
(executable files) through the net mail and USENET.  Mail is transfered
between system using SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), and this
protocol only supports 7 bit ASCII.  Therefore, in order to send executables
(8 bit files) over the net you use uuencode to change binary -> ASCII, and
mail the ASCII file.  The receiver uses uudecode to change ASCII -> binary.
It is all very simple, Really! :-)

-- 
---
Larry S. Roberts

8450robertsl@indinpls.navy.mil              lroberts@en.ecn.purdue.edu