Unsuccessful attempt in creating/overwriting a file using fopen

Question

I tried to run the following program:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

int main(){
    FILE *datei = fopen("employees.txt", "w");
    fprintf(datei, "Anna\n");

    fclose(datei);
    return 0;
}

Which should normally, if I understood correctly, generate the .txt file within the same folder of my C file, in case the file does not exist within the folder, or overwrite it if it does. However, no matter how many times I run the program, no file is being generated nor overwritten in case it exists.

I then thought that my *.c file being saved within the cloud was the problem, so I saved it directly on my PC — same outcome.

I proceeded to inserting the absolute path:

FILE *datei = fopen("C:\\Users\\für\\JustCoding", "w");
fprintf(datei, "Anna\n");

Same outcome.

I restarted my PC (Windows 11 Home) and repeated above-mentioned steps; nothing.

Now I am pretty sure this has nothing to do with compilation errors, since my terminal does show me that the program was executed, so I am currently at a stand-still.

How do I solve this?

Answer 1

This code is correct and should create (or overwrite) a file named "employees.txt" in the current working directory of your program.

The issue you're facing is likely related to one of these factors:

• The file is being created, but not where you're looking for it.
• There's an error opening the file that you're not catching.

To address these possibilities, let's modify your code to include error checking and print the current working directory:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <direct.h>

int main() {
    char cwd[1024];
    if (_getcwd(cwd, sizeof(cwd)) != NULL) {
        printf("Current working directory: %s\n", cwd);
    } else {
        perror("getcwd() error");
        return 1;
    }

    FILE *datei = fopen("employees.txt", "w");
    if (datei == NULL) {
        perror("Error opening file");
        return 1;
    }

    fprintf(datei, "Anna\n");

    fclose(datei);
    printf("File 'employees.txt' should have been created or overwritten.\n");
    return 0;
}