XML is a very flexable file format used to contain data. I often use XML configuration files for applications now instead of a .ini text file, as this type of file is better suited to complex configuration data for your application.

To read the entire contents of a file first we must open the file and specify the access mode by using the System.IO namespace. This class also allows various file operations such as delete, copy, and checking for the existance of a file.

Writing to a file works very similarly to when reading a file. The filestream is created passing the details of the filename and type of access.