As in the Unix API, files need to be ``open'' before being ready to be read or written. But while the Unix API returns a simple integer to represent a ``file handle'', the GNOME VFS API provides a special object type for that, called GnomeVFSHandle.
GnomeVFSHandle objects are created using the ``open'' or ``create'' calls
GnomeVFSResult gnome_vfs_open_uri (GnomeVFSHandle **handle return, GnomeVFSURI *uri, GnomeVFSOpenMode open mode)
GnomeVFSResult gnome_vfs_create_uri (GnomeVFSHandle **handle return, GnomeVFSURI *uri, GnomeVFSOpenMode open mode, gboolean exclusive, guint perm)
and destroyed by using the ``close'' call:
GnomeVFSResult gnome_vfs_close (GnomeVFSHandle *handle)