From: Warren Brown <wkb@...>
Date: 2003-10-31T00:59:08+09:00
Subject: Re: Problem with seeking in existing files.

Morgan,

> I'm trying to write a program that will be writing
> data to an existing file, that will not necessarily
> be done in the physical file order. I used mode
> 'ab+' to open the file, as only the 'a' modes allow
> writing without changing the existing file.

    It sounds like what you really want is to open the file with a mode
of 'r+b'.  This allows reading and writing of the file without
truncating the file (like 'w+b').  As you mentioned, a mode of 'ab'
opens the file for writing only (at end of file).  To open for reading
and writing (at end of file) you would need a mode of 'a+b'.  I believe
a mode of 'ab+' is technically incorrect on most platforms, although it
may work on some.

    I hope this helps!

    - Warren Brown