C File Input/Output on Windows

Question

First of all, this is my fist stack overflow question, so forgive me if I format this wrong.

I am a beginner at C, and I am up to a point in my book on File i/o. The following code, which is supposed to print the lines to test.txt, doesn't create a new txt file or... do anything.

I am running Code Blocks 16.01 on Windows. Is this code designed for another OS?

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

main() {
    FILE *fp;
    fp = fopen("/tmp/test.txt", "w+");
    fprintf(fp, "This is testing for fprintf...\n");
    fputs("This is testing for fputs...\n", fp);
    fclose(fp);
}

Ok, so removing the slash makes it work. In the original code, it is 'fopen("/tmp/test.txt", "W+");' Shouldn't this create the file in folder tmp?

@rootTraveller Not really. Take a look [at this Post](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4138649/why-is-return-0-optional) — LPs, Oct 13 '16 at 08:38
Windows doesn't use forward slashes between path components. — user3386109, Oct 13 '16 at 08:43
@user3386109: actually you *can* use forward slashes in paths, even on Windows. — Paul R, Oct 13 '16 at 08:47
@user7005993: you probably want something like: `fp = fopen("test.txt", "w+");` to create the file in your current working directory. — Paul R, Oct 13 '16 at 08:48
@rootTraveller I used the proper file path with / and it worked. Thank you — James A, Oct 13 '16 at 08:59
@rootTraveller yes, but it would be nice to have windows for other things — James A, Oct 13 '16 at 09:02

BartBB · Answer 1 · 2016-10-13T08:46:32.800

Try removing the front-slash from the file name. You seem to be doing everything properly, the slash might be the problem. If not, let us know.

Edit: When I wrote my comment your fopen used "/test.txt" and not "/temp/test.txt", do you have the "temp" folder created in the directory the application is running from? If not, try creating it. Or remove it altogether and try creating the text file within the directory the application is running from.

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 13 '16 at 08:56

1

Use double // in windows for navigate through directory.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

int main() {
    FILE *fp;
    /* 
       file path in windows should be like this= C:\\users\\r.maurya\\Desktop\\Downloads\\file.txt 
    */
    fp = fopen("C:\\users\\r.maurya\\Desktop\\Downloads\\file.txt", "w+");
    fprintf(fp, "This is testing for fprintf...\n");
    fputs("This is testing for fputs...\n", fp);
    fclose(fp);
return 0;//Optional, On success of program 
}

answered Oct 13 '16 at 08:56

roottraveller

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Note that the escaped backslash is not necessary - you can just use the standard `/`, which is interpreteted in the same way on Windows and is somewhat more portable. – Paul R Oct 13 '16 at 09:03
1

I suggest you try it - it does actually work with a Windows path. – Paul R Oct 13 '16 at 09:23
1

@PaulR yaa Sure :) – roottraveller Oct 13 '16 at 09:39

C File Input/Output on Windows

2 Answers2