### File Handles for Standard Streams

The operating system associates a file handle with each of the streams as follows:

File Handle | C Stream | C++ Stream
--- | --- | ---
0 | stdin | cin and wcin
1 | stdout | cout and wcout
2 | stderr | cerr, clog, wcerr, and wclog

The file handle and stream are not equivalent. There may be situations where a file handle is associated with a different stream. For example, file handle 2 may be associated with a stream other than stderr, cerr, or clog.

Stream Processing
Standard Streams

Redirect Standard Streams

C Library Functions: Stream Input/Output
Considerations for Programming Stream I/O