Question

What is the difference between the seekg and seekp member functions?

Short answer

Question: Explain the difference between the seekg and seekp functions in file handling. Answer: The main difference between seekg and seekp lies in their purpose and the pointers they manipulate in file handling. The seekg function is used to set the position of the input (read) pointer in a file stream, determining where the stream will start reading data from the file. On the other hand, the seekp function is used to set the position of the output (write) pointer in a file stream, determining where the stream will start writing data to the file. Use seekg to change the read position and seekp to change the write position in a file.

Step-by-step solution

Introduction to File Handling Functions

In C++ or other programming languages, file handling is crucial, as it allows the manipulation and management of data stored on a computer. Two important functions in file handling are `seekg` and `seekp`. They are both used for navigating through files, but with different objectives.

seekg: Seek Get Position

The `seekg` function stands for "seek get position." It is used to set the position of the input (read) pointer in a file stream. By calling this function, you can change the location of where the stream will start reading data from the file. For example, if you want to start reading from the 10th byte of a file, you can use seekg like this: ```cpp file.seekg(10, ios_base::beg); // This will set the input pointer to the 10th byte from the beginning of the file. ```

seekp: Seek Put Position

The `seekp` function stands for "seek put position." It is used to set the position of the output (write) pointer in a file stream. By calling this function, you can change the location of where the stream will start writing data to the file. For example, if you want to start writing at the 20th byte of a file, you can use seekp like this: ```cpp file.seekp(20, ios_base::beg); // This will set the output pointer to the 20th byte from the beginning of the file. ```

Key Difference

The primary difference between `seekg` and `seekp` is their purpose and the pointers they manipulate: - `seekg` is used to manipulate the input (read) pointer's position in a file stream. - `seekp` is used to manipulate the output (write) pointer's position in a file stream. In summary, use `seekg` when you want to change where the stream reads data from a file, and use `seekp` when you want to change where the stream writes data to a file.