1. What is “text” and what is “binary”?

In computational terms, everything is a sequence of bytes. What defines “text” is the intention to interpret these bytes as characters in a specific encoding (ASCII, UTF-8, UTF-16, etc.). We observe readable characters, which can be presented to humans, with well-defined character maps. “Binary” refers to data that do not have a direct interpretation as characters, or whose interpretation depends on a specific format (images, audio, executables, file structures).

Common examples:

• Text files: .txt, .csv, .log — typically store characters according to an encoding.
• Binary files: .mp3, .png, .exe, .pdf — contain sequences of bytes that represent internal structures, without requiring a single character interpretation.

Important: The file extension does not determine whether it is text or binary. A .mp3 file, although it has an audio appearance, stores data in binary format, with frames and encoded metadata; A .txt can contain only characters, but you can use assorted encodings and new line rules.

2. How this translates into storage and encoding

Disk storage is a sequence of bytes. In text files, the combination of bytes must be interpreted with an encoding so that each group of bytes results in a character. In UTF-8, for example, ASCII gets a single byte, while accented characters can require up to 4 bytes.

Binary files don’t care about reading like characters. They follow a specific structure: headers, fields, bit masks, reference tables, frames or blocks. For MP3, frames contain bitrate information, sampling, synchronization, and more information. For images, there are markers, format headers and compressed image data.

Practical consequence: Accidental changes in a binary file can corrupt the internal structure, while text changes maintaining the correct encoding usually preserves readability (when editing respects the encoding).

3. How to read, edit and validate: different behaviors

For text files, editors show characters, automatically replace and save while maintaining the correct encoding. For binaries, hex editors reveal each byte; Changes without the knowledge of the format can destroy the content.

Useful diagnostic tools:

• File Command — Identifies the file type based on binary patterns.
• XXD or Hexdump — Displays the hexadecimal representation of bytes.
• Binary Editor — For direct inspection of non-textual content.

Conceptual example:

# In Python, check if the content is text or binary
def is_text(date: bytes, encoding: str = "utf-8") -> Bool:
Try:
date.decode(encoding)
return true
Except UnicoDeCodeError:
return false

# Quick Reading
with open("file_example", "rb") as f:
Sample = F.Read(1024)

print("is it text?", is_text(sample))

4. Good practices: when choosing text or binary, and how to confirm

Sometimes the choice between text or binary is not explicit in the file name, but rather in the content type. Consider:

• Human-readable data in the long term: Choose text with stable coding (UTF-8). It facilitates versioning, diffs and quick inspection.
• Structured data with a high level of format control: Prefer torque when performance, compression or format preservation is essential (images, audio, executables, models).
• Extensions should not be used as a single indicator. Use type checking tools (FILE), examine the structure, see the format documentation.
• When converting between formats, preserve relevant data: for text, be sure to maintain appropriate line breaks and encoding; For binaries, keep the layout of blocks, frames or headers.

Quick identification without depending on the extension:

• Use the file command to detect the content type based on binary patterns.
• Open with hex tools to see if the byte sequence appears to represent readable characters or structured data.