Everything about Data File totally explained
A
data file is a
computer file which stores data for use by a computer
application or
system. It generally does
not refer to files that contain instructions or code to be executed (typically called program files), or to files which define the operation or structure of an application or system (which include configuration files, directory files, etc.); but specifically to information used as input, and/or written as output by some other software program. This is especially helpful when debugging a program.
Data files come in two broad categories: open and closed.
Closed data file formats
Closed data (frequently referred to as proprietary format files) files have their
metadata data elements hidden, obscured or unavailable to users of the file. Application developers do this to discourage users from tampering with or corrupting the data files or importing the data into a competitor's application. See
vendor lock-in.
Open data file formats
Open data files have their internal structures available to users of the through a process of
metadata publishing. Metadata publishing implies that the structure and
semantics of all the possible data elements within a file are available to users.
Examples of open data files include XML formats such as
HTML for storing web pages or
SVG for storing scalable graphics.
Binary and ASCII data file formats
Data files are frequently stored in
binary or
ASCII file formats. ASCII file formats can usually be inspected and modified with an appropriate text or word-processor.
Binary files are usually not editable with a text or word processor.
Note that binary file formats are not necessarily closed. Some application vendors store data in a compressed file structure.
Debugging uses
Data files are commonly used when computer programming, especially when debugging, to quicken the repetitious commands needed to get to certain parts of a program. Commonly used
file extensions for programming include
.txt and
.dat for simplicity. This greatly reduces the time for a programmer to access the problems in the programs.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Data File'.
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