Final answer:
The open() call does not return a pointer to the system wide-open-file table, but a file descriptor.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement given is False. The open() call in programming does not return a pointer to the system wide-open-file table. Instead, it returns a file descriptor that represents the opened file. This file descriptor serves as a reference to the file in subsequent file operations.
To manipulate the opened file further, functions like read() and write() can be used with the file descriptor returned by the open() call. The system wide-open-file table is an internal data structure that maintains information about all open files in the operating system.