GNU shar utilities - 1. Introduction to both programs

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Copyright (C) 1994 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

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# 1. Introduction to both programs

GNU `shar` makes so-called shell archives out of many files, preparing them for transmission by electronic mail services. A shell archive is a collection of files that can be unpacked by `/bin/sh`. A wide range of features provide extensive flexibility in manufacturing shars and in specifying shar smartness. See section 2. Invoking the `shar` program.

GNU `unshar` scans mail messages looking for the start of a shell archive. This removes the mail headers and any lines of correspondence. The body of the archive is then unpacked by a copy of the shell. It can process multiple files at once. It may also process files containing concatenated shell archives. See section 3. Invoking the `unshar` program.

GNU `shar` has a long history. All along this long road, numerous users contributed various improvements. The file ``THANKS'`, from the GNU `shar` distribution, contain all names still having valid email addresses, as far as we know.

Please help me getting the history straight, for the following information is approximative. James Gosling wrote the public domain `shar 1.x`. William Davidsen rewrote it as `shar 2.x`. Warren Tucker brought modifications and called it `shar 3.x`. Richard Gumpertz maintained it until 1990. Pinard, from the public domain `shar 3.49`, made `GNU shar 4.x`, in 1994. Some modules and other code sections were freely borrowed from other GNU distributions, bringing this `shar` under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

Your feedback helps us to make a better and more portable product. Mail suggestions and bug reports (including documentation errors) for these programs to ``bug-gnu-utils@prep.ai.mit.edu'`.

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