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Chapter 12: Problem 1

What capability does the fstream data type provide that the ifstream and ofstream data types do not?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: The unique capability of the `fstream` data type is the ability to perform both input (read) and output (write) operations on the same file, which is not possible with `ifstream` and `ofstream`, as they are specialized for only reading or writing files, respectively.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding fstream, ifstream, and ofstream

`fstream` is a C++ class that provides file handling features, specifically input and output operations on files. `ifstream` is a derived class of `fstream` that provides input (read) operations on files, while `ofstream` is another derived class that provides output (write) operations on files.
02

Identifying the Unique Capability of fstream

The unique capability that `fstream` provides compared to `ifstream` and `ofstream` is the ability to perform both input (read) and output (write) operations on the same file. In other words, it can handle a file opened in a read-write mode. `ifstream` can only read from a file and `ofstream` can only write to a file, but `fstream` can do both simultaneously on a single file.
03

Recap

The `fstream` data type provides the capability to perform both input (read) and output (write) operations on the same file, which the `ifstream` and `ofstream` data types do not offer, as they are specialized for only reading or writing files, respectively.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

How do you get the byte number of a file’s current read position? How do you get the byte number of a file’s current write position?

T F If a file is opened in the definition of the file stream object, no mode flags may be specified.

Write two statements that use a file stream object named places to open a file named places.dat. (Show how to open the file with a member function and at the definition of the file stream object.) The file should be opened for both input and output.

A negative offset causes the file’s read or write position to be moved __________ in the file from the position specified by the mode.

Under what circumstances is a file stream object’s ios::badbit bit set? What member function reports the state of this bit?
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