File Handling in C

File handling in C allows you to create, read, write, and modify files. C provides a set of functions to work with files through the stdio.h library.

Types of Files

• Text Files - Store data in human-readable format.
• Binary Files - Store data in machine-readable format.

File Handling Functions

Opening a File

The fopen() function is used to open a file. It returns a FILE pointer.

FILE *filePointer;
filePointer = fopen("example.txt", "w"); // Opens file in write mode

File Opening Modes

• "r" - Read
• "w" - Write (overwrites if exists)
• "a" - Append (adds data at the end)
• "r+" - Read and write
• "w+" - Write and read
• "a+" - Append and read

Writing to a File

Use fprintf() or fputs() to write data.

FILE *file = fopen("data.txt", "w");
if (file != NULL) {
    fprintf(file, "Hello, C File Handling!");
    fclose(file);
}

Reading from a File

Use fscanf() or fgets() to read data.

FILE *file = fopen("data.txt", "r");
char content[100];
if (file != NULL) {
    fgets(content, 100, file);
    printf("%s", content);
    fclose(file);
}

Closing a File

Use fclose() to close the file and free resources.

fclose(file);

Understanding file handling is essential for data persistence in applications.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Thank you for reading!