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File Handling in C

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43 views4 pages

File Handling in C

Uploaded by

aashish
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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C Programming

Topperworld.in

File Handling in C

⚫ File handing in C is the process in which we create, open, read, write, and
close operations on a file.
⚫ C language provides different functions such as fopen(), fwrite(), fread(),
fseek(), fprintf(), etc. to perform input, output, and many different C file
operations in our program.

Why do we need File Handling in C?


⚫ So far the operations using the C program are done on a prompt/terminal
which is not stored anywhere.
⚫ The output is deleted when the program is closed. But in the software
industry, most programs are written to store the information fetched
from the program.
⚫ The use of file handling is exactly what the situation calls for.

Features of using file


◆ Reusability: The data stored in the file can be accessed, updated, and
deleted anywhere and anytime providing high reusability.
◆ Portability: Without losing any data, files can be transferred to another in
the computer system. The risk of flawed coding is minimized with this
feature.
◆ Efficient: A large amount of input may be required for some programs.
File handling allows you to easily access a part of a file using few
instructions which saves a lot of time and reduces the chance of errors.
◆ Storage Capacity: Files allow you to store a large amount of data without
having to worry about storing everything simultaneously in a program.

Types of Files in C
1. Text Files
2. Binary Files

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C Programming

1. Text Files

A text file contains data in the form of ASCII characters and is generally used
to store a stream of characters.
• Each line in a text file ends with a new line character (‘\n’).
• It can be read or written by any text editor.
• They are generally stored with .txt file extension.
• Text files can also be used to store the source code.

2. Binary Files

A binary file contains data in binary form (i.e. 0’s and 1’s) instead of ASCII
characters. They contain data that is stored in a similar manner to how it is
stored in the main memory.
• The binary files can be created only from within a program and their
contents can only be read by a program.
• More secure as they are not easily readable.
• They are generally stored with .bin file extension.

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C Programming

Functions for file handling

No. Function Description

1 fopen() opens new or existing file

2 fprintf() write data into the file

3 fscanf() reads data from the file

4 fputc() writes a character into the file

5 fgetc() reads a character from file

6 fclose() closes the file

7 fseek() sets the file pointer to given position

8 fputw() writes an integer to file

9 fgetw() reads an integer from file

10 ftell() returns current position

11 rewind() sets the file pointer to the beginning of the file

Opening File: fopen()


We must open a file before it can be read, write, or update. The fopen() function
is used to open a file.

Syntax:
FILE *fopen( const char * filename, const char * mode );

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C Programming

The fopen() function accepts two parameters:

◆ The file name (string). If the file is stored at some specific location, then we
must mention the path at which the file is stored. For example, a file name
can be like "c://some_folder/some_file.ext".
◆ The mode in which the file is to be opened. It is a string.

Closing File: fclose()


The fclose() function is used to close a file. The file must be closed after
performing all the operations on it.

Syntax:
int fclose( FILE *fp );

Writing File : fprintf() function


The fprintf() function is used to write set of characters into file. It sends
formatted output to a stream.

Syntax:

1. int fprintf(FILE *stream, const char *format [, argument, ...])

Reading File : fscanf() function


The fscanf() function is used to read set of characters from file. It reads a word
from the file and returns EOF at the end of file.

Syntax:

int fscanf(FILE *stream, const char *format [, argument, ...])

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