title: Reading in 4 bytes at a time
body: <p>I have a big file full of integers that I'm loading in.  I've just started using C++, and I'm trying out the filestream stuff.  From everything I've read, it appears I can only read in bytes, So I've had to set up a char array, and then cast it as a int pointer.</p>
  
  <p>Is there a way I can read in 4 bytes at a time, and eliminate the need for the char array?</p>
  
  <pre><code>const int HRSIZE = 129951336;  //The size of the table
  char bhr[HRSIZE];   //The table
  int *dwhr;
  
  int main()
  {
      ifstream fstr;
  
      /* load the handranks.dat file */
      std::cout &lt;&lt; "Loading table.dat...\n";
      fstr.open("table.dat");
      fstr.read(bhr, HRSIZE);
      fstr.close();
      dwhr = (int *) bhr;    
  }
  </code></pre>