Sequential Files

• In many applications, it is helpful to have the capability to read and write information to a disk file. This information could be some computed data or perhaps information loaded into a Visual Basic object.

• Visual Basic supports two primary file formats: sequential and random access. We first look at sequential files.

• A sequential file is a line-by-line list of data. You can view a sequential file with any text editor. When using sequential files, you must know the order in which information was written to the file to allow proper reading of the file.

• Sequential files can handle both text data and variable values. Sequential access is best when dealing with files that have lines with mixed information of different lengths. I use them to transfer data between applications.