[bit.listserv.games-l] uudecoding

G_KINNEL@HVRFORD.BITNET (White Wolf) (01/14/90)

Hi,
        This is a bit off the track, but I recently downloaded a file
that was uuencoded and when I decoded it, it shrank by a factor of 10.
Before:<>200000 bytes  After:<>20000.  It was my first time decoding
and I just wonder if that is normal, or did I screw up?

        Games question:  Is Omega as good as Moria?

Geoff

S825177@UWEC.BITNET (JEFFREY SORTE) (01/15/90)

Yes, this is perfectly normal for a file to shrink after uudecoding.  By
uuencoding a file, it is converted to normal ascii/ebcidic chars that can
be easily sent to/through different systems.  Every byte in the file is
converted to a standard character that can be displayed, giving you a much
smaller set to work with.....and thereby increasing the size of the file.


Jeff Sorte  -  S825177@UWEC.BITNET
%Slipped Bit Error% - Can't find NIFTY.SIG