Using C#'s `BinaryReader` Class: Reading Binary Data from Streams

Learn how to use C#'s `BinaryReader` class to efficiently read binary data from streams (files, network connections, etc.). This tutorial explains `BinaryReader`'s methods, demonstrates its use in reading various data types, and emphasizes the importance of matching read and write order for correct data retrieval.

Using C#'s `BinaryReader` Class

The C# `BinaryReader` class is used for reading binary data from a stream. This is useful when working with files or other data sources that store data in binary format. Unlike `TextReader`, which reads character data, `BinaryReader` reads raw bytes and converts them into various data types as needed.

Understanding `BinaryReader`

The `BinaryReader` class (part of the `System.IO` namespace) provides methods to read different data types (integers, floats, strings, booleans, etc.) from a binary stream. It handles the low-level details of reading bytes from the stream and converting them to the appropriate data type. It's important to remember that the order of reading data types from the stream should match the order they were written using `BinaryWriter`.

Example: Reading Binary Data from a File

This example demonstrates writing data to a binary file using `BinaryWriter` and then reading that data back using `BinaryReader`:

using System;
using System.IO;

public class BinaryReadWriteExample {
    public static void Main(string[] args) {
        string filePath = "mybinaryfile.dat";
        // ... (code to write data to binaryfile.dat using BinaryWriter) ...
        // ... (code to read data from binaryfile.dat using BinaryReader) ...
    }
    //Helper method to write binary data to a file
    static void WriteBinaryFile(string filePath) { ... }
    //Helper method to read binary data from a file
    static void ReadBinaryFile(string filePath) { ... }
}

(Note: The contents of the `binaryfile.dat` shown in the original text are illustrative. The actual content will depend on what you write to the file.)