Handling Files in Visual Basic, Page 4

So we've seen the Random file access mode in use. And it's pretty darn cool.

But what are the advantages when compared with the sequential Input/Output/Append modes?

Advantages:

• It's easy to change the data already saved in records - you just write a Put command and it will overwrite the old data.
• You don't need to open and close files to change how you read the files (i.e. random does both input and output).

Disadvantages:

• If you want to do anything except simple retrieval of settings or basic data storage, you will need to do a lot of calculations which can be frustrating. Trust me.
• You can't read the data into a text editor, though a simple record editor can be created with a moderate amount of coding

And now for something completely different; binary file mode...