3.11 `fopen'--open a file
FILE *_fopen_r(struct _reent *REENT,
const char *FILE, const char *MODE);
The alternate function `_fopen_r' is a reentrant version. The extra
argument REENT is a pointer to a reentrancy structure.
Three fundamental kinds of access are available: read, write, and
append. `*MODE' must begin with one of the three characters ``r'',
``w'', or ``a'', to select one of these:
`r'
Open the file for reading; the operation will fail if the file does
not exist, or if the host system does not permit you to read it.
`w'
Open the file for writing _from the beginning_ of the file:
effectively, this always creates a new file. If the file whose
name you specified already existed, its old contents are discarded.
`a'
Open the file for appending data, that is writing from the end of
file. When you open a file this way, all data always goes to the
current end of file; you cannot change this using `fseek'.
Some host systems distinguish between "binary" and "text" files.
Such systems may perform data transformations on data written to, or
read from, files opened as "text". If your system is one of these,
then you can append a ``b'' to any of the three modes above, to specify
that you are opening the file as a binary file (the default is to open
the file as a text file).
``rb'', then, means "read binary"; ``wb'', "write binary"; and
``ab'', "append binary".
To make C programs more portable, the ``b'' is accepted on all
systems, whether or not it makes a difference.
Finally, you might need to both read and write from the same file.
You can also append a ``+'' to any of the three modes, to permit this.
(If you want to append both ``b'' and ``+'', you can do it in either
order: for example, `"rb+"' means the same thing as `"r+b"' when used
as a mode string.)
Use `"r+"' (or `"rb+"') to permit reading and writing anywhere in an
existing file, without discarding any data; `"w+"' (or `"wb+"') to
create a new file (or begin by discarding all data from an old one)
that permits reading and writing anywhere in it; and `"a+"' (or
`"ab+"') to permit reading anywhere in an existing file, but writing
only at the end.
Supporting OS subroutines required: `close', `fstat', `isatty',
`lseek', `open', `read', `sbrk', `write'.
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