how to use binary files an updated c tutorial

sure! in c programming, binary files are a way to store data in binary format rather than as text. this allows for more efficient storage and retrieval of complex data types, such as structures. in this tutorial, you'll learn how to read from and write to binary files using c.

1. understanding binary files

binary files store data in a format that is not human-readable, unlike text files. this binary format can represent various data types, including integers, floats, and custom structures.

2. advantages of binary files

- **efficiency**: binary files typically take up less space than their text counterparts.
- **complex data**: they can store complex data structures (like structs) directly without conversion.
- **performance**: reading/writing binary data can be faster than text because there's no need for parsing.

3. basic functions for binary file operations

the main functions for handling binary files in c are:

- `fopen()`: opens a file.
- `fwrite()`: writes binary data to a file.
- `fread()`: reads binary data from a file.
- `fclose()`: closes a file.

4. example code

here's a simple example demonstrating how to write and read a binary file containing an array of structures.

step 1: define the structure

```c
include stdio.h
include stdlib.h

typedef struct {
int id;
float score;
} student;
```

step 2: writing to a binary file

```c
void writebinaryfile(const char *filename) {
file *file = fopen(filename, "wb"); // open for writing in binary mode
if (file == null) {
perror("unable to open file for writing");
return;
}

student students[3] = {
{1, 85.5},
{2, 90.0},
{3, 78.5}
};

// write the array of structures to the file
size_t written = fwrite(students, sizeof(student), 3, file);
if (written != 3) {
perror("error writing to file");
}

fclose(file);
printf("data written to binary file successfully.\n");
}
```

step 3: reading from a binary fi ...

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