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stream                      Definition                     stream




The term  stream is a metaphor  for any entity that  can be named
and from  which bits can flow,  such as a device  or a file.  The
name ``stream'' reflects the fact that the C programming environ-
ment does  not depend upon  record descriptors and  other devices
that predetermine what  form data can assume; instead,  data from
whatever source are conceived as being a flow of bytes whose sig-
nificance is set entirely by the program that reads them.

For example, whether 16 bits  forms an iinntt, two cchhaarrs, and should
be used as an absolute value  or a bit map, is entirely up to the
program that  receives it.  It is also  irrelevant to the program
that processes these 16 bits whether they come from the keyboard,
from a file on disk, or from a peripheral device.

The FILE structure holds all of the information needed to manipu-
late a  stream.  The STDIO functions can be  used to open, close,
or reopen a stream; read data from it; or write data to it.

***** See Also *****

bit, byte, data formats, definitions, file, FILE, STDIO



































COHERENT Lexicon                                           Page 1

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