10

I've searched in StackOverFlow website and over the internet for this question and its relevant questions but I still haven't got a clear answer. I want to know what software may I use to convert any file (regarding size) into a text file that contains zeros and ones (only) of this specific file, then convert this text file that contains these zeros and ones back to the original file. Execuse my ignorance if the files that contains zeros and ones are not called "binary files", I searched the internet and read in wikipedia there are software called [hex dump], I don't need those, I need what I mentioned above, thank you all.

Bilal Sulaiman
  • 111
  • 1
  • 2
  • 5
  • Can you explain what you'd use it for? Novelty value, I can understand, or as a programming exercise, but outside that it doesn't make much sense. A text file containing zeros and ones really contains bytes as well, which are number values that represent ASCII or UTF codepoints 30 and 31. By doing this change you will make the file 8 times bigger, for what benefit? You're better off encoding each original byte as two hex digits, the information content is the same, the output is only 2x bigger, and ... you can use a hex dump/viewer and there's loads of them. – TessellatingHeckler May 08 '16 at 19:12
  • Possible duplicate of [How to read file binary in C#?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2426190/how-to-read-file-binary-in-c) – Movsar Bekaev May 08 '16 at 19:24
  • Not a dulpicat, and no the answer is not in that question's page, I've asked for a software not a code in some programming language – Bilal Sulaiman May 08 '16 at 19:31
  • I know if I will be doing this any file will get bigger, but I need this for my studying purpose, @TessellatingHeckler – Bilal Sulaiman May 08 '16 at 19:38

2 Answers2

6

The thing is that all the files are already binary, you just need an HEX viewer to see them for what they are (for instance in Total Commander you can use the "Compare Contents" functionality).

Something like a non-binary file does not exist in the computer world.

HEX means base 16 system, you can easily convert it to 2 based (1,0) by using simple windows calculator in Programmer mode:

In the picture below a text file has been compared with itself just to show it's content in HEX. As we can see the first digit is "66"; if we place it into a programmer calculator having HEX mode activated and then we switch to BIN, we will get "1100110", representing the "f" character. And so on for every HEX value.

enter image description here

P.S. 1 - Interesting thing is that there is no real emphasis on this matter in the Computer File definition on Wikipedia nor other sites. I think it is totally confusing for people who don't know this already. In my opinion those websites should all present the word "binary" right in the first line of "computer file" definition.

A computer file in its deepest level is binary data, not a piece of information splitted up in lines or something different from binary formats. The file format is only a protocol telling how to store bytes and it becomes proper information only when it is read or opened by someone or something who knows how that data has been written in this particular file, say the user, or a client software knowing how that data (bytes) has been written.

P.S. 2 - WTF? - Wikipedia has split files to binary and non-binary! Thank God I don't need to read this.

Software to create text representatives from binary input and vice versa: Windows, Online

Redoman
  • 3,059
  • 3
  • 34
  • 62
Movsar Bekaev
  • 888
  • 1
  • 12
  • 30
  • What about large files ? I need a software to do this calculator thing, plus, I need a text file of ther zeros and ones (only) of the desired file. – Bilal Sulaiman May 08 '16 at 19:11
  • here is the solution: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2426190/how-to-read-file-binary-in-c – Movsar Bekaev May 08 '16 at 19:23
  • This is a solution for a total different question, the guy asked for a method in C#, I am clearly asking for a software that does the job. – Bilal Sulaiman May 08 '16 at 23:26
  • @Billo, sorry, then, here is that what you need: http://ascii-converter1.software.informer.com/1.2/ - I tested it, it works fine – Movsar Bekaev May 09 '16 at 00:11
1

This method works with bash terminal

  • Convert your file to hexadecimal

    $ xxd originalFile > hexaFile

  • Convert back your hexadecimal file to original

    $ cat hexaFile |  xxd –r > backOriginalFile
zero323
  • 322,348
  • 103
  • 959
  • 935
Diego4016
  • 31
  • 7