.bin file type

[peekaboo]

i've answered a few threads about how to open .bin files by explaining that they are images and can be opened with iso-handling software like ultra-iso or can be mounted on a virtual drive.
I have been "corrected" a few times and told that .bin are in fact binary files.
I would like a clarification on this subject as i have always treated .bin files as images and successfully loaded them onto my virtual drive (i use daemon tools). sometimes i use the .cue file that usually comes with them to mount the image or burn it but sometimes i don't bother with the .cue file.

[bailey]

this should clear things up for you

http://filext.com/detaillist.php?extdetail=bin

hope it helps you understand what is going on here

[peekaboo]

actually that didn't really help me.
it basically says that BIN files could be anything.
how would i know what type of file it is without trying to open it with different apps?
when i see a .jpg or a .mpeg or .exe then i know what to expect.
what should i expect when i see a BIN file?
is it like a zip or rar file which is sort of like a packaging for any kind of file?

[Gizmo]

.bin files are binary files and can sometimes be refered to as images. Say for instance when you're flashing a BIOS chip with a newer BIOS version to go over the top of the old one. That can be refered to as flashing and image on top of the previous BIOS version. Hope that helps

[bailey]

let me try to explain it this way.
a file extension means that the file in written in binary code which is the only language that a computer can read without a interpeter to process it,
the cpu only works with 1's and 0's that is the only thing it understands,
so the file would normally be compiled to be a exe file which is a excuteable file if it were to be a program, but a data file can stay as a binary data file for faster data flow because it does not need to flow through the interpter first to be converted to the 1's and 0's.
most software is written in a programming language and then it must be compiled to be useable.
that is why a data file with the bin extension can be most anything and is in a binary format.
I think I got this correct.

[glc]

If a .bin file comes with a .cue file, you can generally assume it's an image file. This is just one of many different types of .bin files, search your hard drive for *.bin and I bet you find a whole bunch, not necessarily images either. I just did, and there are .bin files in AOL, AVG, Adobe Reader, and several other programs. There are also other types of image files - .iso, .nrg, .ccd come to mind.

.bin is somewhat of a generic extension, it's not specifically associated with a specific program like .xls is specifically an Excel spreadsheet.