Binscii is similar to the unix 'uuencode' encoding, but it is not
identical, and far superior. It allows Apple II filetype information
to be restored when the file is unpacked. Secondly, binscii is usually
not concerned about email or news headers (it ignores them when
unpacking), and also can unpack the various pieces of a binscii'd file
in any order, and the original file will be be intact as long as all
the pieces were unpacked. Finally, you do not have to rejoin all the
binscii pieces into one file before unpacking.

Why these two programs are so necessary in downloading is the
following: pretty much all Apple II programs are first compressed with
Shrinkit, and if they are to be sent via email or to
comp.binaries.apple2, the shrunk file is then binscii'd. To unpack,
you will need to first un-binscii the file, if appropriate, and then
un-Shrink it.

Ok, fine. What do Binscii and Shrinkit files look like?

If you are given a file, first look at the end of the filename. If it
ends in ".BSC" or ".BSQ" (no quotes, and upper/lower case doesn't
matter), you most likely have a binscii file. Shrinkit files tend to
end in ".SHK", but ".BXY" is also used.

If that isn't helpful, or you have a file without a name, then take a
look at the first few lines of content. After any optional news or
email header, a binscii file should look like this:

FiLeStArTfIlEsTaRt
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789()
GSOMEFILE.SHKAQhmAAAAA8)4MIAI02DA9ARMQEDtAQhmAIVZ
gYITA6u7xADA0MjM3YTNBlDOENkQwYURzITM2UDN5gzNDJUQGVERyEDM1QzM4cjN
CFUOFR0QxAjR0MjM3YTNBlDOENkQwAQRzITM2UDN5gzNDJUQGVERyEDM1QzM4cjN

The first two lines are constant throughout all binscii files; the
third contains the filename ('SOMEFILE.SHK' here) and then the encoded
file.

On the other hand, a .SHK file cannot have any news or email header,
and has only about 6 characters at the start (not all viewable on a
normal screen, especially non-Apple IIs) that identify it. Thus,
trying to look at the first few lines is pointless.

Finally, you can always try to unpack the file, as the binscii and
Shrinkit programs will notify you if the file is not in the format
they can unpack. As files are always binscii'd last, you should thus
try and unbinscii an unknown file first, then try to unshrink it.

Enough technical discussions, now on to the specifics of where and how
to get binscii and shrinkit running on your system.

_________________________________________________________________

5.2 Where can I get Apple II software and info on the net? 3/2/97

If you're looking for an OS (operating system) for your Apple II,
there's pretty much no way to download it and write it to an Apple II
disk without an Apple II handy. However, there are other ways of
getting it; see section 7.2 of this FAQ.

[A quick note about URL notation: For those of you with full net
access, you can run a web browser (like Lynx if you are dialed in from
your Apple), which will understand URLs directly. Otherwise, ignore
the 'http:' ones and see the next section on how to use the FTP ones.)