Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bgsuvax!denbeste
From: denbeste@bgsuvax.UUCP (William C. DenBesten)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: BinHex 4.0 files and downloading
Message-ID: <3332@bgsuvax.UUCP>
Date: 27 Dec 88 14:47:19 GMT
References: <18355@santra.UUCP>
Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh.
Lines: 47

From article <18355@santra.UUCP>, by mat65@tukki.jyu.fi:
>   Has anybody thought of expanding the BinHex 4.0 "hqx" format
> to include uuen/decode -like begin and end lines, and some
> sort of break facility, also like some versions of uuen/decode ?
> 
>   I am not too fond of the current format, as one can't very
> well tell if a line has been mistakenly edited off from the
> front, or even if you have the whole file.
>
>   Does anyone know the format of hqx files, so one could build
> a small program in the mainframe to test the file's integrity
> (is Mr. Lempereur on the net) ?  Are any of these suggestions
> already included in some software in existance ?

It is fairly easy to tell if you have a good file.

The first line is preceeded with: "(This file must be converted with
BinHex 4.0)" and begins with a colon.  The last line has a colon at
the end if it.  There are no other colons in the file.

All the lines are the same length, except for the last one, which is
usually shorter.  I have, however, seen a file that the last line is one
character longer than the rest (due to the colon).

Most of the bad files that I have seen are missing the end colon or have a
line that is the wrong length.

When a file is split for posting, the person doing the posting never
splits in the middle of a line.  Most news-muncher programs chop in
the middle of a line.  This makes it easy to tell if each part has arrived
intact.

Using the above rules, it is fairly easy to create a program that
combines multiple parts into one file.  I have seen two programs that
do just this come across the net, comb and bhcomb.  I am using bhcomb.

Another program, again from the net, is xbin.  Its purpose is to decode a
binhex file on your mainframe, before you move it to your mac.

Both of these programs are unbelievably useful.  Most likely, someone
at your site has already snarfed these and set them up.  If you can't
find them on your machine, they are available via anonymous ftp from
sumex-aim.stanford.edu.

-- 
 William C. DenBesten
 denbeste@bgsu.edu