FILE.OPEN Function

Syntax

file_pointer as P = FILE.Open(C Filename,N file_open_mode)

Arguments

FilenameCharacter

The name of the file.

file_open_modeNumeric

The Open Mode system variables are:

Variable: Function
FILE_RO_EXCLUSIVE: Read Only (Exclusive)
FILE_RW_EXCLUSIVE: Read or Write (Exclusive)
FILE_RO_SHARED: Read Only (Shared)
FILE_RW_SHARED: Read or Write (Shared)

Returns

file_pointerPointer: Returns a file pointer.

Description

Open an existing file.

Discussion

The FILE.OPEN() method opens a data file for input or output and returns the file object pointer to the file. The Open_Mode parameter determines how the file is to be accessed. You must supply an existing Filename with the appropriate Open_Mode system variable.

When you delete the file object pointer, Alpha Anywhere closes the file.

Example

Open any file and preview the first 20 characters.

dim file_pointer as P
dim filename as C
dim text as C
filename = ui_get_file("Choose File", "Text File (*.txt)", "", "X")
if filename = "" then
    end
end if
file_pointer = FILE.open(filename, FILE_RW_SHARED)
text = file_pointer.read(20)
trace.writeln("First 20 chars: " + text)
file_pointer.close()