On Wed, 2005-01-19 06:53:00 -0000, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Can someone pls let me know the difference b/w file pointers and file > descriptors?? In what way do they differ intenally?
A file descriptor is an integer value, which is meaningful to the operating system kernel. It is commonly used via open() read() write() close() These functions use simple char buffers and upon read/write, you specify the number of bytes to read. File pointers are a libc thing. Internally, they contain a buffer, which is used to allow eg. for line-buffered access (so you can read a whole line of textual input without knowing in advance how long it is). File pointers are handled by the "f" function: fopen() fgets() fputs() fclose() However, there are a lot more subtle details behing it... But the short version of "when shall I use this or that" is: if you handle textual data, line by line, use the "f" functions. If you use raw binary data, use the non-"f" functions instead. MfG, JBG -- Jan-Benedict Glaw [EMAIL PROTECTED] . +49-172-7608481 _ O _ "Eine Freie Meinung in einem Freien Kopf | Gegen Zensur | Gegen Krieg _ _ O fuer einen Freien Staat voll Freier BÃrger" | im Internet! | im Irak! O O O ret = do_actions((curr | FREE_SPEECH) & ~(NEW_COPYRIGHT_LAW | DRM | TCPA));
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