Using QBasic to read and write into files
			    Written by: Jimbo


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	In this tutrioal,  we will learn how to read the text from and 
	write text to a file.  This may seem complicated at first but
 	is very easy once you get to know the INPUT, OUTPUT, and APPEND
	statements.  These commands can be very powerful, as many
	programmers use external files to write their large programs.
	For this tutorial, you should make the .bas file on your desktop
	so we can easily manage the many files we will make.

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	First, I will show you a very simple program that will write some 
	text into a file called SAMPLE.TXT.  If QBasic does not find the file,
	it will make a new file with the given name.

		Program.bas:


		CLS

		OPEN "SAMPLE.TXT" FOR OUTPUT AS #1    'This opens up the file
		S$ = "THIS STATEMENT WAS WRITTEN USING QBASIC"
		WRITE #1, S$                     'This writes into the file
		CLOSE #1			'This closes the file
		? "DONE!"

		END

	After the program is executed.You will notice that the .txt file will 
	appear in the same directory as your .BAS file. This will always 
	happen unless you use the absolute path (explained later).

	You will also notice that there are quotes around the text if you open up 
	the .txt file.  This is normal behivor of QBasic and should not be any problem.

	

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	The "#1" is used to distinguish which text gets written into
	which file. If we want to open multiple files at once, then we
	can use #2, #3 and so forth.  For example...

		Program2.bas:

		CLS
		
		OPEN "SAMPLE1.TXT" FOR OUTPUT AS #1	'first file
		OPEN "SAMPLE2.TXT" FOR OUTPUT AS #2	'second file
		
		S1$ = "THIS IS THE FIRST FILE."
		S2$ = "THIS IS THE SECOND FILE."

		WRITE #1, S1$	'writing into the first file
		WRITE #2, S2$	'writing into the second file
		
		CLOSE #1
		CLOSE #2

		? "DONE!"	

		END

	If you dont want to use #2, #3 and so forth, and still want to
	write into multiple files, you must close the file (using the 
	CLOSE statement) before you write into the next one.  This
	prevents QBasic from writing into the wrong file or displaying
	an error message.  For example...

		Program3.bas:

		CLS

		OPEN "SAMPLE3.TXT" FOR OUTPUT AS #1
		S3$ = "THIS IS THE THIRD FILE"
		WRITE #1, S3$
		CLOSE #1
		
		OPEN "SAMPLE4.TXT" FOR OUTPUT AS #1
		S4$ = "THIS IS THE FORTH FILE"
		WRITE #1, S4$
		CLOSE #1

		? "DONE!"

		END

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	Now we will write multiple lines using the OUTPUT statement.
	We can do this by using multiple strings.  For example:

		Program4.bas:

		CLS

		OPEN "SAMPLE5.TXT" FOR OUTPUT AS #1
		S5$ = "THIS IS THE FIRST LINE"
		S6$ = "THIS IS THE SECOND LINE"
		WRITE #1, S5$
		WRITE #1, S6$
		CLOSE #1

		? "DONE!"

		END

	---------------------------

	This document is still in construction.  Please check for updates
	every few days.  This page was last updated at 7:25 PM 5/4/2005.
	The following sites has permission to link to this site:
	http://www.techtutorials.info
	If you have any questions regarding this tutorial, please contact me
	at evilbond_007@hotmail.com

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