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Text Files - Prgramming

The document explains how to work with text files in C++ using the standard library's file input/output facilities. It covers the necessary header inclusion, creating and writing to a text file, reading from a text file, and emphasizes the importance of error handling. Overall, it provides a concise guide for managing text files in C++ applications.

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5 views4 pages

Text Files - Prgramming

The document explains how to work with text files in C++ using the standard library's file input/output facilities. It covers the necessary header inclusion, creating and writing to a text file, reading from a text file, and emphasizes the importance of error handling. Overall, it provides a concise guide for managing text files in C++ applications.

Uploaded by

tinashenyambuwa10
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TEXT FILES IN C++

When working with text files in C++, you typically use the standard library’s file
input/output facilities provided by the header. This allows you to create, read, write,
and manipulate text files easily. Below is a detailed explanation of how to handle text
files in C++, including creating a file, writing to it, reading from it, and closing it
properly.

1. Including the Necessary Header

To work with files in C++, you need to include the header:

#include

This header provides the necessary classes for file handling: std::ifstream for
reading files and std::ofstream for writing files.

2. Creating and Writing to a Text File

To create a text file and write data into it, follow these steps:

 Declare an instance of std::ofstream.


 Open a file using the .open() method or directly in the constructor.
 Write data using the insertion operator ( <<).
 Close the file using .close().

Here’s an example:

#include

#include

int main() {

std::ofstream outFile("example.txt"); // Create and open a text file

if (outFile.is_open()) { // Check if the file is successfully opened


outFile << "Hello, World!\n"; // Write to the file

outFile << "This is a sample text file.\n";

outFile.close(); // Close the file

} else {

std::cerr << "Unable to open file";

return 0;

In this code:

 We create an output stream object named outFile.


 We check if the file was opened successfully before writing.
 After writing our strings, we close the file.

3. Reading from a Text File

To read data from a text file, you will use std::ifstream. The process is similar to
writing but involves reading data instead:

#include

#include

#include

int main() {

std::ifstream inFile("example.txt"); // Open an existing text file


std::string line;

if (inFile.is_open()) { // Check if the file is successfully opened

while (getline(inFile, line)) { // Read line by line

std::cout << line << '\n'; // Output each line to console

inFile.close(); // Close the file after reading

} else {

std::cerr << "Unable to open file";

return 0;

In this example:

 We create an input stream object named inFile.


 We read each line of the text until we reach EOF (end-of-file) using getline().
 Each line is printed to standard output.

4. Error Handling

It’s important to handle errors when dealing with files. Always check whether your
operations succeed by checking if streams are open or valid before proceeding with
read/write operations. You can also use exceptions for more robust error handling.

5. Conclusion

Using text files in C++ is straightforward with . You can easily create, write, read, and
manage text files while ensuring proper error handling practices are followed. This
makes C++ suitable for applications that require simple data storage without
complex formatting.

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