2 9 Page 2 /9 File handling (only if time is available, otherwise should be done as part of the lab) File handling in programming refers to the process of reading from and \arting to fles on 2 computer's storage. This allows programs to interact with extemal data, store Information persistently, and share deta between different executions of the program. File handling operations typlealy involve opening files, reading or writing data, and closing fles. Here are key concepts related to fle handling: Drag from top and touch the back button to exit full screen. © Scanned with OKEN ScannerPage 3 /9 He @ Q@ « > 1, File Operations: Opening a File: Use functions like f open to open a file for reading, writing, or both. Closing a File: Use f close to close an open file, ensuring that resources are released. 2. File Modes: Files can be opened in different modes: “r': Read mode rite mode (creates a new file or truncates an existing one) Append mode (writes to the end of the file) Binary mode (for handling binary files) "+": Read and write mode © Scanned with OKEN ScannerPage 4 mo fl we @ Q@ < > 3. Reading from a File: Use functions lke f scan f or f gets to read data from a fle The f get c function reads a single character. 4. Writing to a File: Use functions lke f print for f puts to write data to a file. ‘The fputc function writes a single character. 5, Binary File Handling: For handling binary files, use functions lke f read and f waite 6. Error Handling: Check the return values of fle handling functions for errors, Use functions tke fe of to check for the end ofa file © Scanned with OKEN ScannerPage 5 /9 AF @ A < > Z. File Positionina: Use functions Ike f seek and f tell to set and get the file position, 8. Text Vs. Binary Files: Text files store data as human-readable text. Binary files store data in a format that Is not human-readable, allowing for more efficient storage of complex data structures. 9. File Streams: Files are typically accessed through fle streams, such as FILE structures in languages ike C. File Handling is the storing of data in a file using a program. In CC programming language, the programs store results, and other data of the program to a file using file handling in C. Also, we can extracvfetch data from a file to work with It In the program. The operations that you can perform on a File in C are ~ + Creating a new file ‘© Opening an existing file Reading data from an existing file Writing data to a file Moving data to a specific location on the file © Scanned with OKEN ScannerPage 6 /9 Hove Q@ QA « > + Closing the file Creating Or Opening File Using F Open The f open () function is used to create a new file or open an existing file in C. The f open function is defined in the stdio.h header file. Now, lets see the syntax for creation of a new fle or opening a file file = f open(file _ name", “mode") This is a common syntax for both opening and creating a file in Cc. Parameters File _name - Itis a string that specifies the name of the file that is to be opened o created using the f open method, Mode : It is a string (usually a single character ) that specifies the mode in which the file is to be opened. There are various modes available to open a file in C, we will learn about all of them later in this article. When Will A File Be Created? © Scanned with OKEN Scanner2 2 Page 7 Jo Q The f open function will create a new file when it will not find any file of the specified name in the specified location. Else, if the file is found it will be opened with the mode specified. Let’s see can example which will make the concept clear, Suppose we are opening a file named hello.txt using the f open function. The following will be the statement, file = f open(‘hello.txt’, w") This will search for a file named hello.xt in the current directory. If the file exists, it will open the file otherwise it wil create a new file named “hello.txt" and open it with write mode (specified using *w’) Now, let's see all types of modes that are available for us to read or write a file in C, and see code snippets that will show sample runs of the code. Mode = ‘r" - open for reading, this mode will open the file for reading purpose only, i.e. the contents can only be viewed, nothing else like edits can be done to it. This mode cannot create a new file and open () retums NULL, if we try to create a new file using this mode. © Scanned with OKEN Scanner#include Puen oma FILE *sourceFile, *destinationFile; cr sourceFile = fopen( it (sourceFile == NULL) { Diced ag ae eam Vik oH Clete se eee Beale eC see eee oeaag Beate cere return EXIT_FAILURE; cen, while ((ch = fgete(sourceFile)) != EOF) ( sted cme Ula CO © Scanned with OKEN Scannerfclose(sourceFile) ; Brae 80-1808 pana The program opens a source file ("source.txt") in read mode and a destination file ("destination.txt’) in write mode It reads characters from the source file one by one and writes them to the destination file. The f get c function is used to read characters, and f put c is used to write characters. The loop continues until the end of the file (EOF) is reached After copying is complete, both files are closed © Scanned with OKEN Scanner