Storing binary data, such as an integer, uses a fixed number of bytes on disk. For example, storing any number from 0 to 4 billion in binary format, such as 1, 1,000, or 1,000,000, takes up 4 bytes for each number.
Use binary files to save numeric data and to access specific numbers from a file or randomly access numbers from a file. Binary files are machine readable only, unlike text files, which are human readable. Binary files are the most compact and fastest format for storing data. You can use multiple data types in binary files, but it is uncommon.
Binary files are more efficient because they use less disk space and because you do not need to convert data to and from a text representation when you store and retrieve data. A binary file can represent 256 values in 1 byte of disk space. Often, binary files contain a byte-for-byte image of the data as it was stored in memory, except for cases like extended and complex numeric values. When the file contains a byte-for-byte image of the data as it was stored in memory, reading the file is faster because conversion is not necessary.
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Note�� Text and binary files are both known as byte stream files, which means they store data as a sequence of characters or bytes. |
Use the File I/O VIs and functions to read from and write to binary files. Consider using the binary file functions if you want to read numeric data from or write numeric data to a file or if you want to create text files for use on multiple operating systems.
Refer to Simple Binary File.lvproj in the labview\examples\File IO\Binary\Simple Binary directory for examples of reading and writing an array of double-precision floating-point values from and to a binary file, respectively.
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