What is the difference between text files and binary files?

The main difference is the way information is presented and bytes are interpreted.

• Text files: Store data as a sequence of characters that correspond to a specific encoding (e.g., UTF-8, ASCII). Each character is represented by one or more bytes. When reading or writing, the operating system processes characters considering the encoding. They are convenient for reading and editing by humans.

• Binary files: Store data as a sequence of bytes that do not necessarily correspond to any characters. The interpretation of bytes depends on the data structure they represent (e.g., image, executable, archive). Opening in a text editor usually results in displaying unreadable characters or garbage. They are suitable for storing structured data or data optimized for machine processing.

Characteristic	Text file	Binary file
Content	Sequence of characters	Sequence of bytes
Interpretation	Depends on encoding	Depends on data structure
Readability	Easily readable by humans	Not directly readable by humans
Updating	Relatively simple	Difficult without knowledge of structure
Size	Can be larger for the same data due to encoding	Usually smaller for the same data

In Python, when working with files, the mode of opening is used ('t' for text, 'b' for binary).

# Working with a text file
with open('text_file.txt', 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
    content = f.read() # Reads as a string

# Working with a binary file
with open('binary_file.bin', 'rb') as f:
    data = f.read() # Reads as bytes