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+
+ ******* Kto8 DOCUMENTATION *******
+
+
+OVERVIEW
+
+The "Kto8" program converts the strangely encoded text files
+output by D. Knuth's "TeX" program (v 3.x) into true 8-bit
+text files.
+
+This is helpful when text files output by TeX are to be edited
+visually -- which occurs, for example:
+
+ --- when TeX has been called upon to change the encoding of
+a text file, and
+
+ --- when an index being prepared on the basis of
+information gleaned by TeX.
+
+[In the latter role, Kto8 may not be suitable; more precisely it
+tends to be suitable only when TeX writes the gleaned words in
+an "unexpanded" form, i.e. more-or-less as originally typed.
+Alas, a few older TeX formats may fail to do this.]
+
+ Be aware that many implementations of TeX do write 8-bit
+text files, and thus have little use for Kto8. In a text file
+output by TeX, the sign of need for conversion by Kto8 is the
+presence of pairs ^^ of hat characters. If there are no such
+pairs, Kto8 will merely copy the file intact.
+
+ Kto8 is a small freeware program that was first realized
+for Macintosh as a tiny 16Ko drag-and-drop utility. Hopefully
+equally convenient binaries will become available also for
+Windows, and some linux, and unix platforms.
+
+
+ENCODING DETAILS
+
+Knuth's original Web version of the current TeX program, by
+default, writes all text files in a peculiar ASCII encoding.
+The ASCII characters 32--126 are roughly those that appear on
+every typewriter or computer keyboard.
+
+These 'normal' ASCII characters appear unaltered. All other
+octets 0--255 are represented by a sequence of 3 or 4 normal
+ASCII characters beginning with the pair ^^. More precisely:
+
+(i) the octets 0,1,2,...,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31 are
+represented by the 32 triples:
+
+ ^^@, ^^A, ^^B, ... ^^Y, ^^Z, ^^[, ^^\, ^^], ^^^, ^^_
+
+(ii) the octets 128, 129, ... , 254, 255 are represented by
+the quadruples consisting of ^^ followed by the lowercase
+2-digit hexadecimal representation of the integer:
+
+ ^^80, ^^81, ... , ^^fe, ^^ff
+
+(ii) The remaining octet 127 is represented as ^^?. (Some
+TeX implementations use ^^7f for greater clarity.)
+
+ This Knuthian encoding of 8-bit text files is unambiguous
+only because (or if!) the 8-bit text encoded is known to
+contain none of the triples and quadruples above.
+
+ Beware that TeX implementations claiming to write 8-bit
+text satisfactorily may use the Knuthian encoding for several
+characters deemed to be troublesome. Thus, even a progressive
+TeX implementation may occasionally need Kto8!
+
+
+BUGS
+
+ Please report bugs by email to:
+
+ lcs@topo.math.u-psud.fr
+ or
+ laurent@math.toronto.edu
+
+