Re: questions about system function: mmap / fwrite

From: Helge Hafting
Date: Fri May 20 2005 - 04:32:20 EST


sylvanino b wrote:

Hello,

I have a question about ways of accessing a file.

I know it is possible to use: fseek + fwrite/fread to access a file.
and It is also possible to map file in memory with "mmap" function,
and access it by adressing memory.

Currently I use the frame buffer of mobile phones with mmap function.
For my understanding, I would like to know what is the difference
between using fseek+fwrite compared to mmap style.
Dont hesitate to be precise or to use technical terms.

Thanks you,


There may be subtle performance differences, but I'd say the most
important here is to use the API that best suits the problem at hand.
fwrite/fread is sequential in nature, useful when you want to read/write
large contigous chunks of data, and when the notion of a "current position"
in the file is useful.

mmap is nice when you find it useful to access the file as a random-access
array of bytes. mmap style access seems to be the best fit for a framebuffer.

Helge Hafting

Helge Hafting

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