READBLK

The READBLK statement reads a block of data of a specified length from a file opened for sequential processing, and assigns it to a variable.

 

COMMAND SYNTAX

READBLK variable FROM file.variable, blocksize {THEN statemente [ELSE statements]|ELSE statements }

The READBLK statement reads a block of data beginning at the current position in the file and continuing for blocksize bytes and assigns it to variable. The current position is reset to just beyond the last readable byte.

file.variable specifies a file previously opened for sequential processing. If the data can be read from the file, the THEN statements are executed; any ELSE statements are ignored. If the file is not readable or if the end of file is encountered, the ELSE statements are executed and the THEN statements are ignored. If the ELSE statements are executed, variable is set to an empty string. If either file.variable or blocksize evaluates to null, the READBLK statement fails and the program enters the debugger.

NOTE: A new line in UNIX files is one byte long, whereas in Windows NT it is two bytes long. This means that for a file with newlines, the same READBLK statement may return a different set of data depending on the operating system the file is stored under.

The difference between the READSEQ statement and the READBLK statement is that the READBLK statement reads a block of data of a specified length, whereas the READSEQ statement reads a single line of data.

EXAMPLE

OPENSEQ 'MYSLIPPERS', 'PINK' TO FILE ELSE ABORT

READBLK VAR1 FROM FILE, 50 THEN PRINT VAR1

PRINT

READBLK VAR2 FROM FILE, 100 THEN PRINT VAR2

INTERNATIONAL MODE

When using the READBLK statement in International Mode, care must be taken to ensure that the input variable is handled properly subsequent to the READBLK statement. The READBLK statement requires that a “bytecount” be specified, however when manipulating variables in International Mode character length rather than byte lengths are usually used and hence possible confusion or program malfunction can occur.

If requiring character data convert the input variable from ‘binary/latin1’ to UTF-8 byte sequence via the UTF8 function.

It is recommended that the READBLK/WRITEBLK statements not be used when executing in International Mode. Similar functionality can be obtained via the READSEQ/WRITESEQ statement, which can be used to read/write characters a line at a time from a file.

 

jBC