Binary and text files
Computer files can be divided into two broad category: binary and text. The distinction is subtle because to computers, any file is a sequence of digital bits.
Text files (plain text files) are files with generally a one-to-one correspondence between the bytes and ordinary readable characters such as letters and digits. Therefore any simple program to view a file makes them human-readable. Generally, they contain ASCII characters and some control characters such as tabs, line feeds and carriage returns without any embedded information such as font information, hyperlinks or inline images. But sometimes text files contain more than ASCII characters if they are encoded by East-Asian encoding such as SJIS or unicode. If the files are written in unicode, a UTF standard such as UTF-8 defines the encoding format. Although text files are generally human-readable, they can of course be used for data storage by computer programs. This may be done because text files avoid problems which may arise with binary files, such as problems of endianness or the byte-length of integers.
Note that a webpage with formatted text is not in plain text, but the HTML source is; whether a file contains plain text thus may depend on the level on which one is considering it.
Text files can have the MIME type "text/plain", often with suffixes indicating an encoding. Common encodings for plain text include Unicode UTF-8, Unicode UTF-16, ISO 8859, and ASCII.
Transferring text files between Unix, Macintosh, and Microsoft Windows or DOS computers can be problematical, as each platform uses different characters to signify a line break. See new line for a discussion of this confusion.
Binary files in turn usually contain non-alphabetic characters, and are used to store data in general rather than plain text. Computer programs are typical examples. As a result, compiled applications are often simply referred to as binaries, as opposed to source code, which is contained in text files. But binary files can also be image files, sound files, compressed files; basically any file other than text file. Usually the specification of a binary file's file format indicates how to handle that file.
Binary files can be encoded into plain texts to improve durability, using encoding schemes such as Base64.
In the News
Researchers Reverse Symptoms In Mice Of Leading Inherited Cause Of Men
Researchers have, for the first time, reversed symptoms of mental retardation and autism in mice. The study may lead to new drug therapies for a leading inherited cause of mental retardation (Fragile X Syndrome) and some types of autism. Schroedinger's Cat
A brief description of "one of the most celebrated paradoxes in quantum theory"as proposed by Erwin Schroedinger in 1935. In this paradox "a cat is placed in a box, together with a radioactive atom. ... The paradox lies in the clever coupling of quantum and classical domains."From a Ph.D. candidate in theoretical physics at Cornell University. Street Lit Takes a Hit: An African American Author Raps the Genre, But
This 2006 article discusses how "urban fiction, street lit, ghetto fiction, gangsta lit, whatever you call it, this gritty genre of African American writing is enormously popular, both in bookstores and libraries,"but is not popular with Nick Chiles, an education reporter and author, who believe these novels glamorize black criminals. From LibraryJournal.com. Need For Influenza And Measles Vaccinations In HIV-infected Patients A
Two new studies emphasize the importance of delivering measles and influenza vaccines to HIV-infected individuals. Scientists studied immune responses to measles vaccine in HIV-infected and uninfected children in Zambia from 2000 to 2004, when measles endemic in a country that still has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world. Measles poses a greater fatality risk in HIV-infected children than in uninfected children. What Is Ashura?
Provides an explanation of the "day of Ashura [which] is marked by Muslims as a whole, but for Shia Muslims it is a major religious festival which commemorates the martyrdom at Karbala of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad. It falls on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar."Includes links to related articles about Shia Muslims. From BBC News. Ground Movement Risks Identified By Terrafirma
Ground movements are responsible for hundreds of deaths and billions of Euros annually, and the threat they pose is increasing due to urbanization and land use. ESA's GMES Service Element Program is backing a project, Terrafirma, to help mitigate these risks. Researcher Warns Space Weather Hole Blocks Manned Mars Mission
Research published in the journal Space Weather warns that massive gaps in our understanding and monitoring of space weather will effectively block US plans for a manned mars space mission. The study, led by University of Warwick researcher Dr Claire Foullon, draws on work that Dr Foullon and colleagues carried out for the European Space Agency on radiation hazards and space weather. Chemical Genomic Screening Identifies Novel Therapeutic Strategies For
A sophisticated new chemical genetic screening strategy that serves as a tool for identifying anticancer compounds may significantly enhance the drug discovery process. Two research papers that describe using this exciting gene expression-based chemical genomic strategy to identify therapeutics for cancer phenotypes previously associated with a poor prognosis and to gain new insight into cancer biology are publishing online on September 28th, and in the October 2006 print issue of the journal Cancer Cell, published by Cell Press. Receptor Protein Appears To Be Key In Breakdown Of Kidney Filtration
Researchers have identified a new molecular pathway that appears to be involved in urinary protein loss, an early-stage kidney disease that affects 100 million people around the world, and is caused by a breakdown in the kidney's filtering structures. The pathway may be new target for cell-specific treatment of chronic kidney diseases. Policymakers Urged To Address Concerns About US Science And Technology
Amidst growing uneasiness around the United States'ability to compete with India, China and other nations, the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology has issued a report on the state of the nation's STEM workforce and the policy implications surrounding it.
MP3 Music Downloads
Preview songs, Download Free Music,Burn CDs at ITunes.com
 
|
