Answer:
Binary I/O and text I/O differ primarily in how data is handled and represented:
1. **Binary I/O:**
- **Representation:** Data is read and written in binary format, which means it is processed as a sequence of bytes.
- **Use Cases:** Used for non-text data like images, videos, executables, and other types of files that require an exact byte-for-byte copy.
- **Functions:** In many programming languages, binary I/O operations involve functions that handle byte streams (e.g., `open()` with `'b'` mode in Python).
2. **Text I/O:**
- **Representation:** Data is read and written as text, which involves encoding and decoding characters (e.g., UTF-8, ASCII).
- **Use Cases:** Used for text-based files such as plain text documents, source code, and configuration files where the data is human-readable.
- **Functions:** Text I/O operations often involve functions that handle character streams (e.g., `open()` with default or `'t'` mode in Python).
**Key Differences:**
- **Encoding:** Text I/O includes an additional layer of encoding/decoding to/from a specific character set, whereas binary I/O does not involve encoding and deals directly with raw bytes.
- **File Handling:** In text mode, certain translations might occur, such as converting newline characters (`\n` to `\r\n` on Windows), while in binary mode, no such translation occurs.
- **Portability:** Binary files are generally less portable across different systems than text files because they can depend on the specific hardware or software environment.
Choosing between binary and text I/O depends on the nature of the data being processed and the specific requirements of the application.