What is the process of reading from and writing to external files called?

The process of reading from and writing to external files is referred to as file handling. This term encompasses a variety of operations that involve managing files on a computer system, including opening files, reading data, writing data, and closing files. File handling is crucial in programming as it allows applications to interact with data outside of their immediate codebase, facilitating persistent data storage and retrieval.

In the context of programming, effective file handling ensures that applications can perform necessary operations on external data sources, such as text files, binary files, and databases, seamlessly and efficiently. This makes it possible for programs to maintain state, transfer data, and recover information, which is essential for a wide range of applications.

Data processing refers more broadly to the manipulation of data using algorithms, which may involve complex transformations and calculations, but does not specifically address the interaction with external files. File management is related but focuses more on the organization and administrative aspects of files, such as maintaining a file system or managing file permissions, rather than the specific actions of reading and writing content. Data storage encompasses the methods and technologies for storing data but does not imply the active processes involved in accessing and modifying that data within files. Thus, file handling is the most accurate term for the process described in the