Which statement about text vs binary files is accurate?

Which statement about text vs binary files is accurate?

• A. Text files store readable characters; binary files store data as bytes.
• B. It stores only compressed data.
• C. Text files store images as text.
• D. It can be opened only in a hex editor.

Answer: (C)

The key idea is how data is interpreted and stored. Text files use a character encoding (like ASCII or UTF-8) so the bytes map to readable characters. Binary files are just sequences of bytes that can represent any kind of data, not necessarily human-readable text. That’s why the statement about text files storing readable characters and binary files storing data as bytes is the accurate one. Images, for example, are stored as binary data, not as text, so describing a text file as storing images as text isn’t correct. The other options aren’t generally true either: text files aren’t limited to compressed data, and binary data isn’t only opened with a hex editor—you use appropriate software to view or interpret each type.

The key idea is how data is interpreted and stored. Text files use a character encoding (like ASCII or UTF-8) so the bytes map to readable characters. Binary files are just sequences of bytes that can represent any kind of data, not necessarily human-readable text.

That’s why the statement about text files storing readable characters and binary files storing data as bytes is the accurate one. Images, for example, are stored as binary data, not as text, so describing a text file as storing images as text isn’t correct. The other options aren’t generally true either: text files aren’t limited to compressed data, and binary data isn’t only opened with a hex editor—you use appropriate software to view or interpret each type.