A text file is a digital file that contains plain text data, typically encoded in a standard character encoding format like ASCII or UTF-8, and can be opened and edited by most text editors. Unlike binary files, text files are human-readable and are commonly used for storing configuration settings, documentation, and source code.

Text File

text file

digital file

plain text data

standard character encoding format

ASCII, or the American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard that represents text in computers and other devices using numbers. It encodes 128 specified characters into seven-bit integers, covering English letters, digits, and some special symbols, making it fundamental in early computing and data exchange.

ASCII

UTF-8 is a variable-width character encoding system that can represent every character in the Unicode character set, making it the most widely used encoding on the web. It is backward compatible with ASCII and efficiently encodes characters using one to four bytes, optimizing for both space and compatibility.

UTF-8

text editors

Binary files are digital files that store data in a format that is intended to be read by computer systems, rather than humans. These files contain data in binary code and can represent any type of information, from executable programs to multimedia files, enabling efficient data storage and processing.

binary files

human-readable

configuration settings

Documentation is the organized collection of records and information that provides essential details about a system, process, or product, ensuring clarity, consistency, and continuity. It serves as a critical tool for knowledge transfer, compliance, and quality assurance across various domains, facilitating communication and understanding among stakeholders.

documentation

Source code is the human-readable set of instructions that a programmer writes, which is then translated into machine code by a compiler or interpreter to be executed by a computer. It serves as the foundational element for software development, allowing for collaboration, modification, and understanding of a program's functionality.

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