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Groups > comp.lang.c > #111765

Re: How to determine if file is binary or text?

From Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk>
Newsgroups comp.lang.c
Subject Re: How to determine if file is binary or text?
Date 2017-06-07 23:30 +0100
Organization A noiseless patient Spider
Message-ID <87poefe8h1.fsf@bsb.me.uk> (permalink)
References <oh9h55$a0q$2@dont-email.me> <slrnojgstb.1kjn.grahn+nntp@frailea.sa.invalid> <oh9tla$p61$1@dont-email.me>

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DFS <nospam@dfs.com> writes:

> On 6/7/2017 5:44 PM, Jorgen Grahn wrote:
>> On Wed, 2017-06-07, DFS wrote:
>>> binary, such as .xls or .exe or Linux ELF executable
>>> text, such as an ascii .txt file
>>
>> Why do you want to find out?  Few programs have a need for that.
>
> validate file inputs to my program.
>
> If someone tries to pass a binary file I want to sniff it out.

Now that's a very helpful insight.  Rather than worry about a term that
has other meanings ("binary"), focus on what is is about the input that
you want to prohibit.  That, for you, will become the crucial test.
Define what is acceptable and what is not, and test for that.

The main reason to avoid the term "binary" is that it's not really an
intrinsic property of a file -- it's a property of how a program
processes a file.  You get one set of guarantees when you open a file as
a text file and another if you open it as a binary file.

<snip>
-- 
Ben.

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Thread

How to determine if file is binary or text? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2017-06-07 14:40 -0400
  Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? GOTHIER Nathan <nathan.gothier@gmail.com> - 2017-06-07 20:46 +0200
  Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? bartc <bc@freeuk.com> - 2017-06-07 19:58 +0100
  Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2017-06-07 19:05 +0000
  Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? supercat@casperkitty.com - 2017-06-07 12:10 -0700
  Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? "James R. Kuyper" <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2017-06-07 16:25 -0400
  Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? Jorgen Grahn <grahn+nntp@snipabacken.se> - 2017-06-07 21:44 +0000
    Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2017-06-07 18:14 -0400
      Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? GOTHIER Nathan <nathan.gothier@gmail.com> - 2017-06-08 00:23 +0200
        Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? Robert Wessel <robertwessel2@yahoo.com> - 2017-06-08 00:11 -0500
          Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? GOTHIER Nathan <nathan.gothier@gmail.com> - 2017-06-08 15:14 +0200
            Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? Robert Wessel <robertwessel2@yahoo.com> - 2017-06-08 11:06 -0500
          Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2017-06-17 18:28 +0000
      Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2017-06-07 23:30 +0100
        Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2017-06-07 20:26 -0400
          Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? bartc <bc@freeuk.com> - 2017-06-08 01:30 +0100
            Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2017-06-07 23:50 -0400
              Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? mark.bluemel@gmail.com - 2017-06-08 02:13 -0700
                Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? mark.bluemel@gmail.com - 2017-06-08 04:05 -0700
                Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2017-06-08 09:21 -0400
                Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? Ike Naar <ike@iceland.freeshell.org> - 2017-06-08 14:19 +0000
                Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2017-06-08 12:07 -0400
                Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2017-06-08 16:14 +0000
                Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2017-06-08 12:37 -0400
                Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2017-06-08 16:54 +0000
                Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2017-06-08 13:14 -0400
                An old version of what??? (Was: How to determine if file is binary or text?) gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2017-06-09 17:13 +0000
              Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2017-06-08 11:15 +0100
          Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2017-06-08 12:49 +0000
          Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? Jorgen Grahn <grahn+nntp@snipabacken.se> - 2017-06-08 14:01 +0000
          Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? Michael Forsythe <forsythe@example.com> - 2017-06-08 15:33 +0000
            Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2017-06-08 18:43 -0400
              Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? jak <please@nospam.tnx> - 2017-06-09 08:46 +0200
      Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? "James R. Kuyper" <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2017-06-07 19:23 -0400
      Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? Barry Schwarz <schwarzb@dqel.com> - 2017-06-07 16:50 -0700
      Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? "Pascal J. Bourguignon" <pjb@informatimago.com> - 2017-06-08 15:51 +0200
  Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? Joe Pfeiffer <pfeiffer@cs.nmsu.edu> - 2017-06-07 17:17 -0600
    Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2017-06-07 19:21 -0700
      Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? Joe Pfeiffer <pfeiffer@cs.nmsu.edu> - 2017-06-07 21:37 -0600
  Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? Noob <root@127.0.0.1> - 2017-06-08 08:40 +0200
  Re: How to determine if file is binary or text? gordonb.t9rom@burditt.org (Gordon Burditt) - 2017-06-08 12:03 -0500

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