Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!know!cass!silverio
From: silverio@cass (Brian Silverio)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.programmer
Subject: Re: Unix binary/text files: is there a difference?
Message-ID: <1991Mar20.182003.3834@cass>
Date: 20 Mar 91 18:20:03 GMT
References: <77384@bu.edu.bu.edu>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Bull HN Information Systems Inc, USIS/IPS
Lines: 10

In article <77384@bu.edu.bu.edu> jdubb@bucsf.bu.edu (jay dubb) writes:
>
>....... So, what
>I'd like to know is, is there a difference (in terms of something
>stat() could tell me, for example) between straight text files and
>files which contain raw numbers......

Try "man a.out" the key to what you are looking for is in the file header.
f_magic indicates an executable file.  Values for ascii data do not match
(or should not) match valid magic numbers.