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@@ -1229,6 +1229,31 @@ Call @var{proc}, passing it @var{port} and closing @var{port} upon exit
of @var{proc}. Return the return values of @var{proc}.
@end deffn
+@deffn {Scheme Procedure} binary-port? port
+Return @code{#t} if @var{port} is a @dfn{binary port}, suitable for
+binary data input/output.
+
+Note that internally Guile does not differentiate between binary and
+textual ports, unlike the R6RS. Thus, this procedure returns true when
+@var{port} does not have an associated encoding---i.e., when
+@code{(port-encoding @var{port})} is @code{#f} (@pxref{Ports,
+port-encoding}). This is the case for ports returned by R6RS procedures
+such as @code{open-bytevector-input-port} and
+@code{make-custom-binary-output-port}.
+
+However, Guile currently does not prevent use of textual I/O procedures
+such as @code{display} or @code{read-char} with binary ports. Doing so
+``upgrades'' the port from binary to textual, under the ISO-8859-1
+encoding. Likewise, Guile does not prevent use of
+@code{set-port-encoding!} on a binary port, which also turns it into a
+``textual'' port.
+@end deffn
+
+@deffn {Scheme Procedure} textual-port? port
+Always return @var{#t}, as all ports can be used for textual I/O in
+Guile.
+@end deffn
+
@node R6RS Binary Input
@subsubsection Binary Input