Windows System Programming Third Edition

23

CHAPTER

2 Using the

Windows File

System and

Character I/O

The file system and simple terminal I/O are often the first OS features that the

developer encounters on any system. Early PC OSs such as MS-DOS did little

more than manage files and terminal (or console) I/O, and these resources are also

central features of nearly every OS.

Files are essential for the long-term storage of data and

programs and are the

simplest form of program-to-program communication. Furthermore, many aspects

of the file system model apply to interprocess and network communication.

The file copy programs in Chapter 1 introduced the four essentia l sequential

file process