[fpc-pascal] Understanding the .bin format

[Johann Glaser]

Hi!

> Does anyone have the specification for the .bin (binary) file type?

No. Because there is no such ".bin format".

File name extensions (e.g. ".bin") are NOT the file format[1] (e.g. JPEG
image)!

Unfortunately Windows strives to let people assume that, but it is
wrong. The extension is an arbitrary part of the file name. Not more,
not less. Foolishly Windows uses this as specification of the file
format (e.g. when associating programs to start when double-clicking a
file in the Explorer). It even tries to assure this by warning you when
you modify the extension. All this lets user assume that the extension
says something about the content. Again, this assumption is generally
wrong (despite often it is by accident right).

So, if you have a file with a certain extension, you can not rely on its
format. This is especially true for files with such generic extensions
like ".bin" (short for "binary") or ".dat" (short for "data"). This
extensions are used by hundreds of different programs, each with a
totally different formats.

Bye
  Hansi

[1] File Format: specifies the meaning of the individual bits and bytes
at certain locations in a file