Binary or ascii file?

[Grant Edwards]

In article <imefrs4r6svcpk7rsa617ps45u3eepi2hb at 4ax.com>, Anders M Eriksson wrote:

>Working on windows I need to know if the file I'm about to open is
>binary or ascii.

It's whichever you open it as.  "Binary vs. ASCII" mode is
determined by the method the program uses to handle the data in
the file. A file itself isn't either one, it's just a stream of
bytes.

>How can I find out which the file is?

It's either -- or both, depending on how you want to look at
it.  If you want the data treated as ASCII and CR/LF
translation done, then open it in ASCII mode.  If you want the
bytes exactly as they are, open it in binary mode.

-- 
Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow!  HELLO, everybody,
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