decode, encode

Synopsis:
$encode(<text>)
$decode(<text>)

Technical:
Given any input, $encode( ) will return a unique string that can serve as an lvalue (a variable name that can be assigned to.) Use $decode( ) to retrieve the original text. The $encode( ) function is case-preserving.

Practical:
The $encode( ) function is used to convert an arbitrary text string into a string suitable for use in variable or alias names. This might be used to set up a hash table keyed with nick!user@host patterns. The $decode( ) function does just the opposite, converting a string returned by $encode( ) to the original string.

Returns:
encode: encoded string
decode: decoded string

Examples:
$encode(hello there) returns "GIGFGMGMGPCAHEGIGFHCGF"
$decode(GIGFGMGMGPCAHEGIGFHCGF) returns "hello there"
$decode($encode(hello there)) returns "hello there"

See Also:
assign

Other Notes:
You should not trust $encode( ) to return any specific string. You may only trust that it is unique given the input string, and that you may use the return value as an lvalue. Any other use of $encode( ) should be considered an error.

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