hbpldecode

hbpldecode input_file [output_file]

input_file
    The name of the compressed file to decompress.

output_file
    Optional. The name of the file to which the decompressed output will be written. If not specified, output is directed to standard output.

hbpldecode is a command-line utility for decompressing files that have been compressed using the HP packing algorithm. This algorithm was commonly used on HP minicomputers and workstations.
The utility reads a compressed file as input and produces a decompressed version of the file as output. It can handle various HP packing formats and automatically detects the compression method used. hbpldecode is a useful tool for working with legacy files created on HP systems.
It's often used in conjunction with other file format conversion tools when migrating data from older HP platforms to modern systems. It's primarily designed for unpacking files created using the HP 'pack' command or similar tools.

hbpldecode is specifically designed for HP packing algorithms. It will not work with other compression formats such as gzip, bzip2, or zip.

If hbpldecode encounters an error during decompression (e.g., invalid input file format), it will print an error message to standard error and exit with a non-zero status code. Be sure to check your data if you encounter issues with this command.

If no output_file is specified, the decompressed output is written to standard output. You can redirect standard output to a file using shell redirection operators (e.g., `hbpldecode input_file > output_file`).

hbpldecode likely emerged from the need to handle HP specific compression formats as they were used on HP-UX systems. The command predates widespread use of more common compression tools such as gzip and bzip2, reflecting a time when proprietary compression algorithms were more prevalent.

pack(1), unpack(1)