Difference between a Binary File and a Script File
| S. No. | Script File | Binary File |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | A script file is a file containing a sequence of instructions written in any scripting language that needs to be executed in order. | The binary file contains formatted information in a binary format that can only be understood by certain applications or processors. |
| 2. | It stores data using ASCII characters format. | It stores data in binary format i.e. with the help of 0 and 1. |
| 3. | Error in a script file can be easily recognized and eliminated. | Error in a binary file corrupts the file and is not easily detected. |
| 4. | It is human readable | It is not human readable |
| 5. | It can be modified easily | It cannot be modified by humans directly, it needs special software to modify them |
| 6. | It can be viewed using a text editor or any text viewer | It needs specified software to view the binary file, for example, you need an image viewer to view the binary file of the image |
| 7. | It is written in High-Level Language | It is written in Low-Level Language |
| 8. | Extension of shell script file generally: .sh, .csh, etc | Extensions are generally: .bin, .dat |
Difference Between a Script file and a Binary file
In this tutorial, we will learn what a script file and a binary file are and what’s the difference between a Script file and a Binary file.
Binary File
A binary file is a file in which the content of the file is in binary format, the file data is not human-readable. Binary files contain formatted information that only certain applications or processors can understand. All executable programs are stored in binary files. For example, a jpeg image is a binary file designed to be read by a computer program only.
Script File
A script file is a file containing the sequence of instructions written in any scripting language that needs to be executed in order. In Linux or Unix systems a script file contains a sequence of Linux commands that need to be executed and if one of the commands in the sequence is not executed others will also not execute, the extension of a script file is generally .sh in Linux. Below is an example of a script file in Linux that prints “Hello World”:
Script File in Linux