20.2.

1 File processing operations

20 Files are frequently used to store records that include data types other than
string. Also, many programs need to handle random access files so that a record
can be found quickly without reading through all the preceding records.
A typical record to be stored in a file could be declared like this in pseudocode:

TYPE
TstudentRecord
20 Further programming

DECLARE name : STRING

DECLARE registerNumber : INTEGER
DECLARE dateOfBirth : DATE
DECLARE fullTime : BOOLEAN
ENDTYPE

Storing records in a serial or sequential file

The algorithm to store records sequentially in a serial (unordered) or sequential
(ordered on a key field) file is very similar to the algorithm for storing lines
of text in a text file. The algorithm written in pseudocode below stores the
student records sequentially in a serial file as they are input.
Note that PUTRECORD is the pseudocode to write a record to a data file and
GETRECORD is the pseudocode to read a record from a data file.

DECLARE studentRecord : ARRAY[1:50] OF TstudentRecord

DECLARE studentFile : STRING
DECLARE counter : INTEGER
counter ← 1
studentFile ← "studentFile.dat"
OPEN studentFile FOR WRITE
REPEAT
OUTPUT "Please enter student details"
OUTPUT "Please enter student name"
INPUT studentRecord.name[counter]
IF studentRecord.name <> ""
THEN
OUTPUT "Please enter student’s register number"
INPUT studentRecord.registerNumber[counter]
OUTPUT "Please enter student’s date of birth"
INPUT studentRecord.dateOfBirth[counter]
UTPUT "Please enter True for fulltime or
O
False for part-time"
INPUT studentRecord.fullTime[counter]
PUTRECORD, studentRecord[counter]
counter ← counter + 1

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 ELSE

ENDIF
CLOSEFILE(studentFile)
20
UNTIL studentRecord.name = ""
OUTPUT "The file contains these records: "
OPEN studentFile FOR READ
counter ← 1

20.2 File processing and exception handling

REPEAT
GETRECORD, studentRecord[counter]
OUTPUT studentRecord[counter]
counter ← counter + 1
UNTIL EOF(studentFile)
CLOSEFILE(studentFile)

Identifier name Description

studentRecord Array of records to be written to the file
studentFile File name
counter Counter for records
▲ Table 20.10

If a sequential file was required, then the student records would need
to be input into an array of records first, then sorted on the key field
registerNumber, before the array of records was written to the file.
Here are programs in Python, VB and Java to write a single record to a file.

Python
import pickle Library to use binary files
class student:
def __init __(self):
self.name = ""
self.registerNumber = 0
self.dateOfBirth = datetime.datetime.now()
self.fullTime = True
studentRecord = student()
studentFile = open('students.DAT','w+b') Create a binary file to store the data
print("Please enter student details")
studentRecord.name = input("Please enter student name ")
studentRecord.registerNumber = int(input("Please enter student's register number "))
year = int(input("Please enter student's year of birth YYYY "))
month = int(input("Please enter student's month of birth MM "))
day = int(input("Please enter student's day of birth DD "))
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 studentRecord.dateOfBirth = datetime.datetime(year, month, day)

20 studentRecord.fullTime = bool(input("Please enter True for full-time or False for

part-time "))
pickle.dump (studentRecord, studentFile) Write record to file
print(studentRecord.name, studentRecord.registerNumber, studentRecord.dateOfBirth,
studentRecord.fullTime)
studentFile.close()
20 Further programming

Open binary file to read from

studentFile = open('students.DAT','rb')
studentRecord = pickle.load(studentFile) Read record from file
print(studentRecord.name, studentRecord.registerNumber, studentRecord.dateOfBirth,
studentRecord.fullTime)
studentFile.close()

VB
Option Explicit On
Imports System.IO Library to use Input and Output
Module Module1
Public Sub Main()
Dim studentFileWriter As BinaryWriter
Dim studentFileReader As BinaryReader
Dim studentFile As FileStream
Dim year, month, day As Integer Create a file to store the data

Dim studentRecord As New student()

studentFile = New FileStream("studentFile.DAT", FileMode.Create)
studentFileWriter = New BinaryWriter(studentFile)
Console.Write("Please enter student name ")
studentRecord.name = Console.ReadLine()
Console.Write("Please enter student's register number ")
studentRecord.registerNumber = Integer.Parse(Console.ReadLine())
Console.Write("Please enter student's year of birth YYYY ")
year =Integer.Parse(Console.ReadLine())
Console.Write("Please enter student's month of birth MM ")
month =Integer.Parse(Console.ReadLine())
Console.Write("Please enter student's day of birth DD ")
day =Integer.Parse(Console.ReadLine())
studentRecord.dateOfBirth = DateSerial(year, month, day)
Console.Write("Please enter True for full-time or False for part-time ")
studentRecord.fullTime = Boolean.Parse(Console.ReadLine())

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 studentFileWriter.Write(studentRecord.name)
studentFileWriter.Write(studentRecord.registerNumber)
studentFileWriter.Write(studentRecord.dateOfBirth)
Write record to file 20
studentFileWriter.Write(studentRecord.fullTime)
studentFileWriter.Close() Open file to read from

studentFile.Close()

20.2 File processing and exception handling

studentFile = New FileStream("studentFile.DAT", FileMode.Open)
studentFileReader = New BinaryReader(studentFile)
studentRecord.name = studentFileReader.ReadString()
studentRecord.registerNumber = studentFileReader.ReadInt32()
Read record from file
studentRecord.dateOfBirth = studentFileReader.ReadString()
studentRecord.fullTime = studentFileReader.ReadBoolean()
studentFileReader.Close()
studentFile.Close()
Console.WriteLine (studentRecord.name & " " & studentRecord.registerNumber
& " " & studentRecord.dateOfBirth & " " & studentRecord.fullTime)
Console.ReadKey ()
End Sub
class student:
Public name As String
Public registerNumber As Integer
Public dateOfBirth As Date
Public fullTime As Boolean
End Class
End Module

Java
( Java programs using files need to include exception handling – see Section 20.2.2
later in this chapter.)
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileWriter;
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.Date;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
class Student {
private String name;
private int registerNumber;
private Date dateOfBirth;

529
 private boolean fullTime;

20 Student(String name, int registerNumber, Date dateOfBirth, boolean fullTime) {

this.name = name;
this.registerNumber = registerNumber;
this.dateOfBirth = dateOfBirth;
this.fullTime = fullTime;
20 Further programming

}
public String toString() {
return name + " " + registerNumber + " " + dateOfBirth + " " + fullTime;
}
}
public class StudentRecordFile {
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
Scanner input = new Scanner(System.in);
System.out.println("Please Student details");
System.out.println("Please enter Student name ");
String nameIn = input.next();
System.out.println("Please enter Student's register number ");
int registerNumberIn = input.nextInt();
System.out.println("Please enter Student's date of birth as YYYY-MM-DD ");
String DOBIn = input.next();
SimpleDateFormat format = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd");
Date dateOfBirthIn = format.parse(DOBIn);
System.out.println("Please enter true for full-time or false for part-time ");
boolean fullTimeIn = input.nextBoolean();
Student studentRecord = new Student(nameIn, registerNumberIn, dateOfBirthIn,
fullTimeIn);
System.out.println(studentRecord.toString());
// This is the file that we are going to write to and then read from
File studentFile = new File("Student.txt");
// Write the record to the student file
// Note - this try-with-resources syntax only works with Java 7 and later
try (FileWriter studentFileWriter = new FileWriter(studentFile)) {
studentFileWriter.write(studentRecord.toString());
}
// Print all the lines of text in the student file
try (Scanner studentReader = new Scanner(studentFile)) {

530
 while (studentReader.hasNextLine()) {
String data = studentReader.nextLine();
System.out.println(data);
20
}
}
}

20.2 File processing and exception handling

}

ACTIVITY 20L
In the programming language of your choice, write a program to
n input a student record and save it to a new serial file
n read a student record from that file
n extend your program to work for more than one record.

EXTENSION ACTIVITY 20E

In the programming language of your choice, extend your program to sort
the records on registerNumber before storing in the file.

Adding a record to a sequential file

Records can be appended to the end of a serial file by opening the file in
append mode. If records need to be added to a sequential file, then the whole
file needs to be recreated and the record stored in the correct place.
The algorithm written in pseudocode below inserts a student record into the
correct place in a sequential file.
DECLARE studentRecord : TstudentRecord
DECLARE newStudentRecord : TstudentRecord
DECLARE studentFile : STRING
DECLARE newStudentFile : STRING
DECLARE recordAddedFlag : BOOLEAN
recordAddedFlag ← FALSE
studentFile ← "studentFile.dat"
newStudentFile ← "newStudentFile.dat"
CREATE newStudentFile // creates a new file to write to
OPEN newStudentFile FOR WRITE
OPEN studentFile FOR READ
OUTPUT "Please enter student details"
OUTPUT "Please enter student name"
INPUT newStudentRecord.name
OUTPUT "Please enter student’s register number"

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 INPUT newStudentRecord.registerNumber

20 OUTPUT "Please enter student’s date of birth"

INPUT newStudentRecord.dateOfBirth
OUTPUT "Please enter True for full-time or False for part-time"
INPUT newStudentRecord.fullTime
REPEAT
20 Further programming

WHILE NOT recordAddedFlag OR EOF(studentFile)

GETRECORD, studentRecord // gets record from existing file
IF newStudentRecord.registerNumber > studentRecord.registerNumber
THEN
PUTRECORD studentRecord
// writes record from existing file to new file
ELSE
PUTRECORD newStudentRecord
// or writes new record to new file in the correct place
recordAddedFlag ← TRUE
ENDIF
ENDWHILE
IF EOF (studentFile)
THEN
PUTRECORD newStudentRecord
// add new record at end of the new file
ELSE
REPEAT
GETRECORD, studentRecord
PUTRECORD studentRecord
//transfers all remaining records to the new file
ENDIF UNTIL EOF(studentRecord)
CLOSEFILE(studentFile)
CLOSEFILE(newStudentFile)
DELETE(studentFile)
// deletes old file of student records
RENAME newStudentfile, studentfile
// renames new file to be the student record file

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 Identifier name Description
studentRecord
newStudentRecord
record from student file
new record to be written to the file 20
studentFile student file name
newStudentFile temporary file name
▲ Table 20.11

Note that you can directly append a record to the end of a file in a

20.2 File processing and exception handling

programming language by opening the file in append mode, as shown in the
table below.

Opening a file in append mode Language

myFile = open("fileName", "a") Opens the
file with
the name
fileName in
append mode
in Python
myFile = New FileStream("fileName", FileMode.Append) Opens the
file with
the name
fileName in
append mode
in VB.NET
FileWriter myFile = new FileWriter("fileName", true); Opens the
file with
the name
fileName in
append mode
in Java

▲ Table 20.12

ACTIVITY 20M
In the programming language of your choice, write a program to
n input a student record and append it to the end of a sequential file
n find and output a student record from a sequential file using the key field
to identify the record
n extend your program to check for record not found (if required).

EXTENSION ACTIVITY 20F

Extend your program to input a student record and save it to in the correct
place in the sequential file created in Extension Activity 20E.

Adding a record to a random file

Records can be added to a random file by using a hashing function on the key
field of the record to be added. The hashing function returns a pointer to the
address where the record is to be added.

533
 In pseudocode, the address in the file can be found using the command:

20 SEEK <filename>,<address>

The record can be stored in the file using the command:

PUTRECORD <filename>,<recordname>

Or it can be retrieved using:

20 Further programming

GETRECORD <filename>,<recordname>

The file needs to be opened as random:

OPEN studentFile FOR RANDOM

The algorithm written in pseudocode below inserts a student record into a

random file.
DECLARE studentRecord : TstudentRecord
DECLARE studentFile : STRING
DECLARE Address : INTEGER
studentFile ← "studentFile.dat"
OPEN studentFile FOR RANDOM
// opens file for random access both read and write
OUTPUT "Please enter student details"
OUTPUT "Please enter student name"
INPUT StudentRecord.name
OUTPUT "Please enter student’s register number"
INPUT studentRecord.registerNumber
OUTPUT "Please enter student’s date of birth"
INPUT studentRecord.dateOfBirth
OUTPUT "Please enter True for full-time or False for
part-time"
INPUT studentRecord.fullTime
address ← hash(studentRecord,registerNumber)
// uses function hash to find pointer to address
SEEK studentFile,address
// finds address in file
PUTRECORD studentFile,studentRecord
//writes record to the file
CLOSEFILE(studentFile)

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 EXTENSION ACTIVITY 20G
In the programming language of your choice, write a program to input a
student record and save it to a random file.
20
Finding a record in a random file
Records can be found in a random file by using a hashing function on the key field
of the record to be found. The hashing function returns a pointer to the address

20.2 File processing and exception handling

where the record is to be found, as shown in the example pseudocode below.
DECLARE studentRecord : TstudentRecord
DECLARE studentFile : STRING
DECLARE Address : INTEGER
studentFile ← "studentFile.dat"
OPEN studentFile FOR RANDOM
// opens file for random access both read and write
OUTPUT "Please enter student’s register number"
INPUT studentRecord.registerNumber
address ← hash(studentRecord.registerNumber)
// uses function hash to find pointer to address
SEEK studentFile,address
// finds address in file
GETRECORD studentFile,studentRecord
//reads record from the file
OUTPUT studentRecord
CLOSEFILE(studentFile)

EXTENSION ACTIVITY 20H

In the programming language of your choice, write a program to find and output
a student record from a random file using the key field to identify the record.

20.2.2 Exception handling

An exception is an unexpected event that disrupts the execution of a program.
Exception handling is the process of responding to an exception within the
program so that the program does not halt unexpectedly. Exception handling
makes a program more robust as the exception routine traps the error then
outputs an error message, which is followed by either an orderly shutdown of
the program or recovery if possible.
An exception may occur in many different ways, for example
» dividing by zero during a calculation
» reaching the end of a file unexpectedly when trying to read a record from a file
» trying to open a file that has not been created
» losing a connection to another device, such as a printer.

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 Exceptions can be caused by

20 » programming errors
» user errors
» hardware failure.
Error handling is one of the most important aspects of writing robust programs
that are to be used every day, as users frequently make errors without realising,
and hardware can fail at any time. Frequently, error handling routines can take
a programmer as long, or even longer, to write and test as the program to
20 Further programming

perform the task itself.

The structure for error handling can be shown in pseudocode as:
TRY
<statements>
EXCEPT
<statements>
ENDTRY

Here are programs in Python, VB and Java to catch an integer division by zero
exception.
Python
def division(firstNumber, secondNumber):
try: integer division //
myAnswer = firstNumber // secondNumber
print('Answer ', myAnswer)
except:
print('Divide by zero')
division(12, 3)
division(10, 0)

VB
Module Module1
Public Sub Main()
division(12, 3)
division(10, 0)
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
Sub division(ByVal firstNumber As Integer, ByVal secondNumber As Integer)
Dim myAnswer As Integer
Try integer division \
myAnswer = firstNumber \ secondNumber
Console.WriteLine("Answer " & myAnswer)

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 Catch e As DivideByZeroException
Console.WriteLine("Divide by zero")
End Try
20
End Sub
End Module

Java

20.2 File processing and exception handling

public class Division {
public static void main(String[] args) {
division(12, 3);
division(10, 0);
}
public static void division(int firstNumber, int secondNumber){
int myAnswer; Automatic Integer division because
try { there are integers on both sides of
the division operator
myAnswer = firstNumber / secondNumber;
System.out.println("Answer " + myAnswer);
}
catch (ArithmeticException e){
System.out.println("Divide by zero");
}
}
}

ACTIVITY 20N
In the programming language of your choice, write a program to check that a
value input is an integer.

ACTIVITY 20O
In the programming language of your choice, extend the file handling
programs you wrote in Section 20.2.1 to use exception handling to ensure
that the files used exist and allow for the condition unexpected end of file.

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