From: "Ryan" Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp Subject: best way to read selected data from a file? Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1999 14:39:39 +0930 Lines: 59 X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.1 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 NNTP-Posting-Host: 210.9.21.114 X-Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 210.9.21.114 Message-ID: <3812949e_2@news.chariot.net.au> X-Trace: 24 Oct 1999 14:39:50 +0950, 210.9.21.114 X-Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 203.30.236.75 To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com DJ-Gateway: from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp Reply-To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com Hi.... Im relatively new to C. I want to find a way to read a certain line from a text file plus also perhaps read a certain line from a text file which contains certain words. I have no problem opening files and reading the first line or the next line after that. Ie. if I use two fscanf's after each other that would read the first and second word. Or I could use fgets and say what max characters I could use. But what If I want to go straight to line 15 and read that line? Has it something to do with fseek etc? because from the notes I am reading I tried to implement Fseeks and fsetpos's without any luck. I could get it to read different sections of the file, yes, but i couldnt get it to read the exact lines I wanted. I also tried using ftell to try to comprehend how the cursor location is derived. But it seemed to follow some weird pattern, not simple like line 1 is 1 or anything. Line 3 would return an int of 15 then line 4 would return 18.....and i gave up on that. WHY is it SOOO hard to do this seemingly simple function??? Why when I read every tuturial on file handling it only explains how to read and write to a file in the most basic of circumstances. This is only good for writing one word to the top of the file or reading from the top.....but there has to be a way I am sure.....but why do no books tell me how to do it??? COuld someone please explain the ins and outs of file handling so that I will be able to read any bit of data I want at any position i want, plus also doing this with arguments so I can search through text files and read the lines I need??? I find all other parts of C pretty straight forward and in s tep by step fashion.....but I am in a big void here when it comes to advanced file handling...