In computing, input/output (I/O) operations are fundamental for interacting with hardware, files, and other systems. On macOS, managing I/O operations is crucial for tasks such as reading from or writing to files, handling network communications, and interfacing with peripheral devices. This article will explore how to perform basic I/O operations using Terminal and scripting languages like Bash and Python, which are commonly used in the Apple environment.

Examples:

Example 1: Reading and Writing Files with Bash

Bash is a powerful scripting language available on macOS. Here’s how you can read from and write to files using Bash.

Reading from a file:

#!/bin/bash
# Read from a file and print its contents
input_file="example.txt"
while IFS= read -r line
do
  echo "$line"
done < "$input_file"

Writing to a file:

#!/bin/bash
# Write to a file
output_file="output.txt"
echo "This is a sample text." > "$output_file"
echo "Appending more text." >> "$output_file"

Example 2: File I/O with Python

Python is another versatile language available on macOS. Here’s how to handle file I/O operations using Python.

Reading from a file:

# Read from a file and print its contents
with open('example.txt', 'r') as file:
    for line in file:
        print(line, end='')

Writing to a file:

# Write to a file
with open('output.txt', 'w') as file:
    file.write("This is a sample text.\n")
    file.write("Appending more text.\n")

Example 3: Network I/O with Netcat

Netcat (nc) is a versatile networking tool available on macOS that can be used for network I/O operations.

Listening on a port:

# Listen on port 12345
nc -l 12345

Connecting to a port:

# Connect to a server on port 12345
nc 127.0.0.1 12345