22. Working with Files in C++

Working with Files in C++

In C++, we often need to read data from or write data to external files. The C++ standard library provides us with the tools to perform these tasks.

To work with files in C++, we must include the <fstream> library, which provides us with filestream classes.

#include <fstream>

File Operations in C++

The primary operations we can perform on files are:

• Writing to a file (output operation)

• Reading from a file (input operation)

• Appending data to a file (appending operation)

Text File Modes

1. Writing to Text Files

To write to a file, we use the ofstream (output file stream) class. We use the ios::out mode to open the file for writing.

std::ofstream outFile("filename", std::ios::out);

2. Reading from Text Files

To read from a file, we use the ifstream (input file stream) class. We use the ios::in mode to open the file for reading.

std::ifstream inFile("filename", std::ios::in);

3. Appending to Text Files

To append data to a file, we again use the ofstream class. We use the ios::app mode to open the file for appending.

std::ofstream appendFile("filename", std::ios::app);

Binary File Modes

Binary files are files that contain data in a binary format which is only readable by computers. Unlike text files, these files are not human-readable.

1. Writing to Binary Files

To write to a binary file, we use the ofstream class in combination with the ios_base::binary and ios_base::out modes.

std::ofstream binaryOutFile("filename", std::ios_base::binary | std::ios_base::out);

2. Reading from Binary Files

To read from a binary file, we use the ifstream class with the ios_base::binary mode.

std::ifstream binaryInFile("filename", std::ios_base::binary);

3. Appending to Binary Files

To append data to a binary file, we use the ofstream class with the ios_base::binary and ios_base::app modes.

std::ofstream binaryAppendFile("filename", std::ios_base::binary | std::ios_base::app);

In conclusion, C++ provides a powerful and flexible set of tools for working with both text and binary files. Using the fstream library, we can easily read from, write to, and append to files in a variety of modes.

Reference

The content in this document is based on the original notes provided in Azerbaijani. For further details, you can refer to the original document using the following link:

Original Note - Azerbaijani Version