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Hi

Is there a way to protect system files, eg .ini files but still allow
access to them from C++ code?

As an example I have a settings file called SIMS.INI. This file is
often accessed through C++ using FILE and fstream. I do not want a
user to be able to open/edit/delete etc. this file.

Thanks

wallacej wrote:
> Is there a way to protect system files, eg .ini files but still allow
> access to them from C++ code?
>
> As an example I have a settings file called SIMS.INI. This file is
> often accessed through C++ using FILE and fstream. I do not want a
> user to be able to open/edit/delete etc. this file.

Is there a C++ _language_ question here somewhere that I am not seeing?

"wallacej" <> wrote in message
news: ups.com...
> Hi
>
> Is there a way to protect system files, eg .ini files but still allow
> access to them from C++ code?
>
> As an example I have a settings file called SIMS.INI. This file is
> often accessed through C++ using FILE and fstream. I do not want a
> user to be able to open/edit/delete etc. this file.
>
> Thanks
>

You'd need to ask in a newsgroup for the platform (Windows), not here. File
permissions are platform-specific.

But... there are a couple options, at least. One would be to not use a text
file, but instead use a binary file, and encode the contents in some simple
manner so that it's not easily readable by your users. Another might be to
mark it as read-only (using whatever system API calls are available on
Windows), such that the user gets a "hint" that it shouldn't be touched.
That wouldn't stop them if they really wanted to, but it might help. Or,
you could hide your file in some Windows-specific directory, and give it a
name they would never associate with your application. Or any combination
of the above.

In any case, you need to ask in a windows newsgroup if you've got questions
specific to that operating system.

-Howard

wallacej wrote:
>
> Hi
>
> Is there a way to protect system files, eg .ini files but still allow
> access to them from C++ code?
>
> As an example I have a settings file called SIMS.INI. This file is
> often accessed through C++ using FILE and fstream. I do not want a
> user to be able to open/edit/delete etc. this file.

Then you should check what capabilities your operating system offers
to protect files.

Note: operating system, not C++

--
Karl Heinz Buchegger

Cheers,

I thought that maybe there was some way to protect the file, un-protect
it for access and then re-protect it after; all within the C++
_language_ .

wallace

wallacej wrote:

> Cheers,
>
> I thought that maybe there was some way to protect the file, un-protect
> it for access and then re-protect it after; all within the C++
> _language_ .
>
> wallace
>
Sorry, but the _standard_ C++ language only provides
a minimal interface for files. Protecting them, passwords,
and redirection are left for the operating system.

--
Thomas Matthews

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