Question

What three steps must be taken by a program when it uses a file?

Short answer

Answer: The three main steps are: 1) Open the file, which establishes a connection between the program and the file and determines the mode of operation. 2) Read or write data within the file, using various methods depending on the programming language and use case. 3) Close the file, which frees up system resources and ensures the changes made to the file are saved.

Step-by-step solution

Open the file

Before a program can work with a file, it must first open the file. Opening a file establishes a connection between the program and the file, allowing the program to read from or write data to it. Additionally, the program will determine the mode in which the file should be opened (e.g., read, write, or append mode).

Read or write data

Once the file is opened, the program can read data from the file or write data to it. Reading data involves retrieving information stored within the file, while writing data involves adding or changing information in the file. Depending on the programming language and the specific use case, there are various methods to read and write data, such as reading line by line or writing specific data types.

Close the file

After the program has completed its operations with the file (reading or writing data), it is essential to close the file. Closing the file frees up system resources and ensures that any changes made to the file are saved. If a program fails to close a file properly, it could lead to data corruption or other issues.