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File Handling in C

Files are used to permanently store data. There are four basic file operations - opening, reading, writing and closing. A file must be opened before performing read/write operations on it. It must be closed after all operations are complete. Command line arguments allow passing of parameters to programs and are accessed through the argc and argv arguments to the main function.

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69 views15 pages

File Handling in C

Files are used to permanently store data. There are four basic file operations - opening, reading, writing and closing. A file must be opened before performing read/write operations on it. It must be closed after all operations are complete. Command line arguments allow passing of parameters to programs and are accessed through the argc and argv arguments to the main function.

Uploaded by

Bilkheez Begam
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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File Handling in C

Lecture 17c
20/3/01


    
m      
›ntroduction
{ Files are places where data can be stored
permanently.
{ Some programs expect the same set of data to
be fed as input every time it is run.
{ Cumbersome.
{ Better if the data are kept in a file, and the
program reads from the file.
{ Programs generating large volumes of output.
{ Difficult to view on the screen.
{ Better to store them in a file for later viewing/
processing


    
m      m
aasic File Operations

{ —pening a file
{ Reading data from a file
{ Writing data to a file
{ Closing a file


    
m      
Opening a File
{ ë file must be Ơopenedơ before it can be used.
FILE *fp;
:
fp = fopen (filename, mode);
{ fp is declared as a pointer to the data type FILE.
{ filename is a string - specifies the name of the file.
{ fopen returns a pointer to the file which is used in all
subsequent file operations.
{ mode is a string which specifies the purpose of
opening the file:
Ơrơ :: open the file for reading only
Ơwơ :: open the file for writing only
Ơaơ :: open the file for appending data to it

    
m      
Contd.

{ Points to note:
{ Several files may be opened at the same
time.
{ For the Ơwơ and Ơaơ modes, if the named file
does not exist, it is automatically created.
{ For the Ơwơ mode, if the named file exists, its
contents will be overwritten.


    
m      
„ amples

FILE *in, *out ;


in = fopen (Ơmydata.datơ, Ơrơ) ;
out = fopen (Ơresult.datơ, Ơwơ);

FILE *empl ;
char filename[25];
scanf (Ơ%sơ, filename);
empl = fopen (filename, Ơrơ) ;

    
m      
Closing a File

{ ëfter all operations on a file have been


completed, it must be closed.
{ Ensures that all file data stored in memory buffers
are properly written to the file.
{ General format: fclose (file_pointer) ;
FILE *xyz ;
xyz = fopen (Ơtestơ, Ơwơ) ;
ƦƦ.
fclose (xyz) ;

    
m      
¦ead/Write Operations on Files

{ àhe simplest file input-output (I/—) function are getc


and putc.
{ getc is used to read a character from a file and return it.
char ch; FILE *fp;
Ʀ..
ch = getc (fp) ;
{ getc will return an end-of-file marker E—F, when the end of the
file has been reached.
{ putc is used to write a character to a file.
char ch; FILE *fp;
ƦƦ
putc (c, fp) ;

    
m      
„ ample :: convert a te t file to
all UPP„¦CAS„

× 

   
 

   


    



   
 !
 ! 
"


    
m      
Contd.

{ We can also use the file versions of scanf


and printf, called fscanf and fprintf.
{ General format:
fscanf (file_pointer, control_string, list) ;
fprintf (file_pointer, control_string, list) ;
{ Examples:
fscanf (fp, Ơ%d %s %fơ, &roll, dept_code, &cgpa) ;
fprintf (out, Ơ\nàhe result is: %dơ, xyz) ;

    
m      
Some Points
{ 2ow to check E—F condition when using
fscanf?
{ Use the function feof
if (feof (fp))
printf (Ơ\n Reached end of fileơ) ;
{ 2ow to check successful open?
{ For opening in Ơrơ mode, the file must exist.
if (fp == NULL)
printf (Ơ\n Unable to open fileơ) ;


    
m      
„ ample
á á á
* +

á   á,-


á    á)'...()/& )
 á  &á )/& 
  á00
 
0$& 
 !"#á 
  á'1 2  .()
 á$%&% 3  á
á  á$%   á
á$  'á&á()'( 


    
m      m
Arguments to main ()
{ Command line arguments are parameters supplied to
a program, when the program is invoked.
cc myfile.c
cc xyz.c -lm
netscape www.mailcity.com
average 10 20 30 40 50
{ 2ow do these parameters get into the program?
{ Every C program has a main function.
{ main can take two arguments conventionally called argc and
argv.
{ Information regarding command line arguments are passed
to the program through argc and argv.

    
m      
„choing the command line
arguments

int main (int argc, char *argv[]) {


int i;
printf (Ơargc = %d\nơ, argc) ;
for (i=0; i<argc; ++i)
printf (Ơargv[%d] = %s\nơ,
i,argv[i]) ;
ù   × #
return 0; $
} %&'(  
%&)( 
%&*(× #

    
m      
„ ample :: convert a te t file to
all  , using command line
arguments
×     %&( +!  × !,

   
    
  %&)( 
  %&*( 


   
 !
 ! 
"


    
m      

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