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The file library exposes a collection of interfaces (functions and symbolic constants) concerned with file input/output.
Central to the library is the `file' type - the opened files are identified by data of this type.
Objects of the `file' type are large, since the I/O is buffered. Large here is about 2 to 4 kilobytes.
The library arranges for the opened files to be closed eventually, explicitly closing files still makes sense.
See Execution Completion Cleanup.
Most read/write operations are to/from text data (data of the intrinsic string type), text formatting of (integral and real) scalars is available and some exotic data types are supported for target/source of read/write operations (data types such as the `list' type), yet only if so requested.
See List Library.
File operations do not recognize error conditions (not unless other specified). The executed programs are terminated before the function that attempted a failed I/O operation on behalf the executed program returns.
See Of Errors.