Definitions for "Binary files"
Files where the information is stored in the binary code of 1's and 0's that make up the basic language of computing. These files usually require some application to present the data in a form that we can understand. File transfer of binary files require a different protocol from that for text files.
A file not in "human readable" ASCII file format. Executable programs, graphic image files, audio & video files, and compressed files are all examples of binary files.
Binary files are files that include up to 256 different characters and are encoded by 8 binary digits (bits) for each character. Simple text or ASCII files only use 128 different characters and can be encoded by 7 binary digits. Examples of binary files are most programs, most word- processed files, most graphics files, and most sound files. If you don't know a file is ASCII, it is probably a binary file.