just curious if there is a way to read and write binaries?

other than using a hex editor .
that is what i use to hack MS Windows .lib's

for *nix i just recompile the source

You can do a binary open in C and Perl; possibly other langs.
Actually, on *nix, there's no difference in the open(), its the use of read() or freed() and/or seek().
http://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=135323
http://www.nextdawn.nl/c-tutorial-binary-file-io

Exactly how do you mean that? Binaries are created by compiling source code.

He could mean binary data files, that's what I assumed, although legal reverse engineering of code is the same principle.

I noticed when trying to open a binary(as in a compiled program) in a gui text editor, it says it can't read it, like it doesn't know 1's and 0's? i guess you could call it "reverse engineering", if by that you mean forming it back into a format humans could actually understand. im familiar with C but not how the computer reads the compiled binary.

I doubt a gui editor will handle it, that's not what they are for. There may be an 'advanced' option somewhere in the menus...
You'll prob have to go cmd line; try vi/vim or you can use od http://linux.die.net/man/1/od

command line is actually my preference, gui makes me feel like an idiot and typically just takes more work to do anything. any programs that can convert binary to a more human format?

Try that od cmd with the relevant params. Provides a dual col display; eg hex codes for a ew bytes, then the equiv (if possible) in ACII (ie human readable).
Note that it can't reverse compile; that's specialised task.

To comply with LQ rules I'd like to ask exactly what you are trying to do and is it strictly legal?

im curious about how computers work. i have been interested in how things and computers work since a wee child, but there is a giant gap between hardware and software like a giant black hole that i'm just trying to figure out.

Ok, just be aware that reverse engineering/decompiling someone else's code is frequently illegal.
I believe(?) it's allowed for 'interoperability' purposes in some(!) jurisdictions. Maybe a moderator will come along and clarify.
Feel free to work on GPL (Linux stuff) as it comes with the src anyway.
Alternately, write a short C prog & compile & link it, then see if you can de-compile it.

If your interest is merely didactic, you should first start with assembler. That's the closest you are going to get to the hardware nowadays. You could open a binary program in an hex editor, but all you are going to see is a lot of number in base 16 which will make absolutely no sense to you, unless you know all the assembly mnemonics from memory (that's why first of anything, your'd need to learn assembly to make any sense at all of what you see in an hex editor.

Hexadecimal editors usually provide options to view number in binary format and the ascii equivalents as well. But that depends on the editor you choose.

curiosity killed the cat? sniff sniff
(i hope i didn't break a trademark)

[edit]Goodness ... waiting two hours to "save" a response is not
a good idea ;D[/edit]

its kinda awkward trying to learn from two sides of a spectrum and trying to meet in the middle, I didn't expect to get so many responses. ridiculous.