What is a stream? Difference between text and binary streams

A logical interface to a file is known as a stream. A stream is a flow of data from input and output devices to computer and computer to input or output devices. A flow of characters from an input device to a computer is called an input stream.

A sequence of the flow of characters from the computer to the output device is called an output stream. A stream is associated with a file using an open operation. By using a close operation, a stream is disassociated from the file.

Types of Stream

There are two types of streams in the C language

Text Stream

It is a collection of sequences of characters. Character translation may be done in a text stream, but in a binary stream, translation cannot be done.

For example, a new line may be converted to a carriage return/line feed pair It means that there may not be a one-to-one relationship between the written characters and the characters in an external device.

Binary Stream

It is a sequence of bytes. In the binary stream, translation is not done. It exists with one-to-one correspondence with external devices. The number of bytes can be written or read as the same as the number of bytes on the external device. However, an Implementation-defined number of bytes may be appended to a binary stream.

Difference between Text and Binary Stream

The difference between the text stream and the binary stream is as follows:

Text Stream	Binary Stream
It is a sequence of characters.	It is a sequence of bytes.
It does not have a one-to-one relationship with external devices.	It has a one-to-one relationship with external devices
A certain character translation may occur in the text stream	No translation occurs in the binary stream.
It is less efficient than a binary stream.	It is more efficient than a text stream.
It can be used only for text data.	It can be used for different types of data.
This types of file create problems with portability.	This type of file can easily be portable.
If any error occurs in the text file, it can be easily found and eliminated.	Errors in the binary files cannot be easily recognized, they corrupt the binary file.
In the text file, there are special characters at the end of a file that signals the EOF to the program.	In Binary files, there are special characters to signal EOF.