In the context of file handling, what does 'closing a file' prevent?

Closing a file is a crucial step in file handling because it ensures that all data is properly written to disk and that system resources associated with the file are released. This action prevents data loss by ensuring that any changes made to the file are saved, as open files may have cached data that hasn't been written to disk. Additionally, closing a file prevents resource leaking. Operating systems have a limit on the number of files that can remain open at the same time, so not closing files can lead to the exhaustion of system resources, which may cause errors or crashes in applications. Thus, properly closing files is an important best practice in programming to maintain data integrity and system stability.