Introduction to the Internet Computer Science 1604
Uucp is the UNIX to UNIX CoPy network. It allows two UNIX machines to share files and command execution. However, uucp is primarily used for the transport of Usenet news and e-mail.
Uucp does not require a continuous connection between the two machines; dial-up access over phone lines is the usual means by which two uucp machines communicate. This network of loosely connected machines is known as UUNET. With uucp you can send mail to a machine that you are able to dial-up. To send to other sites, you must have access to a uucp mailer on another machine that can forward the message.
Uucp addresses use an exclamation point (!) between fields. You must know not only the destination address, but also the address of all machines your message will pass through on the way to that address. Most uucp computers can be reached in ten or fewer hops.
Here is a sample uucp address:
machine1!machine2!userid
The store-and-forward network consisting of all the world's connected UNIX machines (and others running some clone of the UUCP (UNIX-to-UNIX CoPy) software). Any machine reachable only via a bang path is on UUCPNET. (This material came from http://web.cnam.fr/Jargon/UUCPNET)
Frequently Asked Questions 1 September 16, 1994
AlterNet's Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a UUCP connection and a TCP/IP connection? UUCP (UNIX to UNIX Copy Protocol) and TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) are both standards by which computers communicate with one another. From a practical standpoint, the real difference is that far more tools are available to computers communicating via TCP/IP. UUCP provides a store and forward text transfer capability, mainly used for email and USENET news. Using a host computer, your service provider collects and saves email addressed to you and postings to newsgroups to which you have subscribed. Your computer dials in to that host computer periodically to collect your mail and news. By connecting via TCP/IP, your range of options increases dramatically. You are not limited to connecting to only one designated host; you can instead conduct interactive sessions with virtually any computer with which your service provider maintains a direct or indirect TCP/IP connection. You may remotely log in to these computers (telnet), or transfer files (FTP) between these computers and your own. You also gain access to information browsers such as the World Wide Web.
There is information on uucp on the net but most of it is advertising. Those of you with UNIX machines may want to read your man pages to find out more.
There are also several newsgroups devoted to the topic but traffic on them is slight.