What (who) is BinHex - definition

BinHex, originally short for "binary-to-hexadecimal", is a binary-to-text encoding system that was used on the classic Mac OS for sending binary files through e-mail. Originally a hexadecimal encoding, subsequent versions of BinHex are more similar to uuencode, but combined both "forks" of the Mac file system together along with extended file information.

<file format> A Macintosh format for representing a {binary file} using only printable characters. The file is converted to lines of letters, numbers and punctuation. Because BinHex files are simply text they can be sent through most electronic mail systems and stored on most computers. However the conversion to text makes the file larger, so it takes longer to transmit a file in BinHex format than if the file was represented some other way. Filename extension: .hqx. See also BinHex 4.0, uuencode. [Encoding algorithm?] (1994-11-30)

<file format> A seven bit wide representation of a Macintosh file with CRC error checking. Binhex 4.0 files are designed for communication of Mac files over long distance, possibly noisy, seven bit wide paths. [Difference from other binhex formats?] (1996-09-17)