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(sharutils.info)Introduction

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Introduction to both programs
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   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_.  For example, `shar' may
compress files, uuencode binary files, split long files and construct
multi-part mailings, ensure correct unsharing order, and provide
simplistic checksums.  Note: shar invocation.

   GNU `unshar' scans a set of mail messages looking for the start of
shell archives.  It will automatically strip off the mail headers and
other introductory text.  The archive bodies are then unpacked by a
copy of the shell.  `unshar' may also process files containing
concatenated shell archives.  Note: unshar invocation.

   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.  Franc,ois 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'.