QCOUNT%

Syntax

QCOUNT% (#pipe_ch)

Location

PIPES (DIY Toolkit - Vol P)

This function is designed to make the use of pipes easier. Provided that the specified channel is linked to a pipe (normally the input end of the pipe), this function will return the number of characters which are waiting to be read from the pipe.

NOTE

The value returned will be the exact number of characters placed into the pipe, which will therefore include the line feed characters and other control characters. Take the example of:

10 OPEN #3,pipe_1048
20 PRINT #3,'HELLO'
30 PRINT QCOUNT%(#3)

The value of 6 is returned, this is because the PRINT statement has added a line feed to the end of the word ‘HELLO’, so that this can be read by an INPUT command.

CROSS-REFERENCE

Refer to QLINK and also the Device Drivers Appendix. See also QSIZE% and QSPACE%.