From: Paul Lutus <nospam@...>
Date: 2006-11-17T20:05:06+09:00
Subject: Re: Reading from a named pipe

Gc3bcnther Gruber wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> I need to read some text from a named pipe in ruby. The writing is done
> in another (C++) program and I'd like to have Ruby display what is sent.
> 
> I've looked at the IO.pipe function, but there seems to be no way to get
> a NAMED pipe.

Named pipes are opened and read or written as though they were files
(streams). Just open it by path and name.

> The two programs are running under Windows XP, btw.

Are you asking how to create the named pipe? That is an operating system
function, and frankly, I don't know if Windows supports them. The operating
system must support the idea of a named pipe, and if it doesn't, no named
pipe.

> Are named pipes even supported in Ruby?

As inputs and outputs, yes. This can be said of any language that opens and
reads/writes streams. But the pipe itself must be supported and created by
the OS.

> How can I read from one?

Open it like a file.

-- 
Paul Lutus
http://www.arachnoid.com