Uuencode takes the named source file (default standard input) and produces an encoded version on the standard output. The encoding uses only printing ASCII characters, and includes the mode of the file and the remotedest for recreation on the remote system.
Uudecode reads an encoded file, strips off any leading and trailing lines added by mailers, and recreates the original file with the specified mode and name.
The intent is that all mail to the user ``decode'' should be filtered through the uudecode program. This way the file is created automatically without human intervention. An alias must be created in a master file to get the automatic invocation of uudecode.
If these facilities are not available, the file can be sent to a user on the remote machine who can uudecode it manually.
The encode file has an ordinary text form and can be edited by any text editor to change the mode or remote name.
The user on the remote system who is invoking uudecode (often uucp) must have write permission on the specified file.