Question

What is the difference between a text file and a binary file?

Short answer

Text files are human-readable, while binary files are not.

Step-by-step solution

Define a Text File

A text file is a type of computer file that is structured as a sequence of lines. Each line is made up of characters from the ASCII or Unicode character set, which makes it human-readable. Common text file formats include '.txt' and '.csv'.

Define a Binary File

A binary file is a type of file that contains data in a format that is not human-readable. It is designed to be interpreted by specific programs or software. Examples of binary files include executable files (like '.exe'), image files (like '.png'), and compiled object files.

Explain the Key Differences

The key difference lies in how the data is stored and interpreted. Text files are stored as sequences of characters use character encoding (like ASCII or Unicode), making them human-readable. In contrast, binary files store data as a sequence of bytes that require specific software to interpret and are not necessarily human-readable.

Key concepts

Understanding Text Files

Text files are some of the simplest and most easily understood types of files that computers use. They consist entirely of characters organized by lines. Due to this structure, they can be easily edited and read by humans.
Common formats for text files include ".txt" and ".csv". These files use character sets like ASCII or Unicode to encode the characters, allowing the text data to be presented in a way that both humans and computers can comprehend.
For instance, if you've ever opened a Notepad file on Windows or a TextEdit document on Mac, you've interacted with a text file.

• ASCII: Originally, text files were mainly encoded using ASCII, an older encoding system that covers about 128 characters and symbols, including letters and numbers.
• Unicode: Unicode is a more modern character encoding standard that includes a much broader range of characters, symbols, and even emojis, making it more suitable for diverse languages and symbols worldwide.

Text files are incredibly lightweight, their simplicity making them a great choice for storing straightforward data without special formatting.

Exploring Binary Files

Unlike text files, binary files consist of data in a format not easily readable by humans. The content inside a binary file contains bytes structured not as readable characters but for a program to interpret and execute specific operations.
These files can store all sorts of data, from a music album in a ".mp3" file to an entire software program in a ".exe" file. Because binaries include complex data, opening them in a text editor typically results in garbled text or strange characters.

• Executable Files: These are binary files that your computer can run. For instance, when you open a program on your device, you're likely starting a ".exe" file, which contains encoded data structured for your processor to execute.
• Image and Video Files: Formats like ".png" for images or ".mp4" for videos are binary files where visual data is stored in compressed or raw formats to be viewed or edited by specialized software.

In summary, binary files are essential for computing because they enable the execution and storage of diverse multimedia and software applications.

Character Encoding Demystified

Character encoding is a method used to convert characters into a form that computers can understand and process. It's essential for the functionality of both text and binary files.
Text files depend on encoding to represent characters in a way that displays to users. The most common encoding formats are ASCII and Unicode.

• ASCII: Stands for the American Standard Code for Information Interchange and uses a 7-bit binary number to represent characters. This limits it to 128 unique symbols, primarily focusing on English characters.
• Unicode: A comprehensive encoding scheme that assigns a unique code to every character, no matter what platform, device, or language. That's why it supports over 143,000 characters across numerous contemporary and historic scripts, symbols, and emojis.

In binary files, encoding might appear different as it is often specialized to fit the needs of the data type or software it serves. Proper encoding ensures that data is consistently and accurately represented, stored, and retrieved across different systems and applications.