Can a plain text file be corrupted or have a bug in the source?

Question

A rather simple question (I hope), but I am trying to learn more about plain text (in a UTF-8 mode) and how versatile it is. Most importantly, I'm reflecting on the usage of plain text in file systems such as LaTeX and similar processors.

They say that plain text is the most stable. Plain text is stable (by design). No need to worry about metadata being corrupted by a program like Word or similar WYSIWYGs; But I'm wondering:

• Can a plain text file be corrupted (in its source) or otherwise contain "Bugs?"
• If not, can someone explain how this works? Is plain text just parsed I/O?

This is an elementary question, I'm sure, but I'd like to understand how plain text functions inside a PC.

Answer 1

Who are "they"? Read the Wikipedia article on "Plain Text". Any file can be corrupted by hardware failures. But if a file has no metadata, the metadata cannot be corrupted by defects in the software that manipulates the file.