Unsuccessful attempt in creating/overwriting a file using fopen

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?

Solution

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;
}