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storage, operating system A file containing
binary data,
i.e. arbitrary bytes or words, as opposed to a
text filecontaining only printable characters (e.g.
ASCII characters
with codes 10, 13, and 32-126).
file that happens to contain only printable characters, but
some older systems distinguish the two file types, requiring
programs to handle them differently.
execute. Binary files may also be used to store data output
by a program, and intended to be read by that or another
program but not by humans. Binary files are more efficient
for this purpose because the data (e.g. numerical data) does
not need to be converted between the binary form used by the
CPU and a printable (ASCII) representation. The
disadvantage is that it is usually necessary to write special
purpose programs to manipulate such files since most general
purpose utilities operate on text files. There is also a
problem sharing binary numerical data between processors with
Some communications
protocols handle only text files,
widespread in about 1995. The
FTP utility must be put into
"binary" mode in order to copy a binary file since in its
default "ascii" mode translates between the different text
line terminator characters used on the sending and receiving
computers.
rich text files, are actually binary files because they
contain non-printable characters and require special programs
to view, edit, and print them.
(2002-01-19)