filename - file name to associate the file stream to
mode - null-terminated character string determining file access mode
File access
mode string Meaning Explanation Action if file
already exists Action if file
does not exist
"r" read Open a file for reading read from start failure to open
"w" write Create a file for writing destroy contents create new
"a" append Append to a file write to end create new
"r+" read extended Open a file for read/write read from start error
"w+" write extended Create a file for read/write destroy contents create new
"a+" append extended Open a file for read/write write to end create new
File access mode flag "b" can optionally be specified to open a file in binary mode. This flag has no effect on POSIX systems, but on Windows, for example, it disables special handling of '\n' and '\x1A'.
On the append file access modes, data is written to the end of the file regardless of the current position of the file position indicator.
File access mode flag "x" can optionally be appended to "w" or "w+" specifiers. This flag forces the function to fail if the file exists, instead of overwriting it. (C++17)
The behavior is undefined if the mode is not one of the strings listed above. Some implementations define additional supported modes (e.g. Windows).