17. File Processing

Objectives

In this chapter you'll learn:

  • To create, read, write and update files.

  • Sequential file processing.

  • Random-access file processing.

  • To use high-performance unformatted I/O operations.

  • The differences between formatted-data and raw-data file processing.

  • To build a transaction-processing program using random-access file processing.

I read part of it all the way through.

—Samuel Goldwyn

A great memory does not make a philosopher, any more than a dictionary can be called grammar.

—John Henry, Cardinal Newman

I can only assume that a "Do Not File" document is filed in a "Do Not File" file.

—Senator Frank Church Senate Intelligence Subcommittee Hearing, 1975

Outline

17.1 Introduction
17.2 Data Hierarchy
17.3 Files and Streams
17.4 Creating a Sequential File
17.5 Reading Data from a Sequential File
17.6 Updating Sequential Files
17.7 Random-Access Files
17.8 Creating a Random-Access File
17.9 Writing Data Randomly to a Random-Access File
17.10 Reading from a Random-Access File Sequentially
17.11 Case Study: A Transaction-Processing Program
17.12 Overview of Object Serialization
17.13 Wrap-Up