Message-ID: <215@cmu-cs-k.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 15-Dec-84 19:30:08 EST
Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-k.215
Posted: Sat Dec 15 19:30:08 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 26-Jan-85 06:11:35 EST
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 52

This message attempts to reduce the confusion regarding Mac<->VAX transfers
and the infamous "hexes".

Let's assume for the moment that you have a Unix system and a Mac, and you
would like to be able to post and retrieve Mac files from the net.  Since
you can't post straight data to the net, you need some way to turn Mac files
into text and reverse the process.  In the past, this was done by
fromhex/tohex, but now we have the new, improved compressed BinHex format as
a de facto standard, so you will want to use that.

The first thing you'll need is macput/macget.  The latest versions of
these are archived in [SUMEX-AIM] and are retrievable through
ARPANet.  If no one has posted the latest versions of the source, that would
probably be a good idea.  In case you're not familiar with these programs,
they allow an XMODEM transmission to take place between a Mac and a Unix
system.

Next, you'll need BinHex.  If you have MS-BASIC, there is a version of
BinHex3.Bas along with a BinHexed BinHex on net.source.  Just run the BASIC
program with BinHex.Hex as input, and you can throw BinHex.Bas away.  For
those without BASIC, I am posting a tohexed version of the latest BinHex.
After getting this tohexed file (BinHex.dl), and compiling fromhex.c (which
I am also posting) on your VAX, if you don't already have it, you can use

	fromhex BinHex.rsrc

to get a BinHex on your VAX.  Now you can use

	macput -r BinHex.rsrc     (or macput -o -r BinHex.rsrc for -0.15X)

to send it to your Mac.  Note that, since BinHex.Bas takes many minutes to
convert BinHex.Hex, it is faster to use the VAX fromhex method.

Once you have BinHex on your Mac, to get something from the net:

	- Download the .hex file, either by macput -u (most reliable)
	  or just by saving it off the top.
	- Run BinHex on your Mac to convert the file.

To post something onto the net:

	- Run BinHex on your Mac to convert the file.
	- Use macget -u or a text file transfer to send it to the VAX.

To review: I am posting fromhex.c and BinHex.dl to net.sources.  If people
need macput and macget, I can post those too... Let me know.

-- 
      Walter Smith, CS undergraduate, Carnegie-Mellon University
uucp: ...!seismo!cmu-cs-k!wrs
arpa: wrs@cmu-cs-k.ARPA
usps: Box 874; 5115 Margaret Morrison St.; Pittsburgh, PA  15213