MiniRobotLanguage (MRL)
GBN. Command
Get Block Elements Count
Intention
How many independent data-items are in a given data-block?
GBN. will tell you the answer to this question..
GBN. can be used to retrieve the number of elements in an block (another word for a data-array). A block can be created using the CNB. - command.
There are two Modes of operation for GBE.:
First, you can write:
CNB.$$BLO|3|Element 1|Element 2|Element 3
GBN.$$BLO
DBP.$$000
ENR.
Second you can do this:
CNB.$$BLO|3|Element 1|Element 2|Element 3
GBN.$$BLO|$$RES
DBP.$$RES
ENR.
In this case the result will be in a variable, instead of on TOS.
For more details on 1.5.1.5. Organizing data items in blocks see there.
Syntax
GBN.P1[|P2]
Parameter Explanation
GBN.P1
In this case P1 is taken as Block-variable. The result (number of blocks in that variable) is placed on TOS.
GBN.P1|P2
In this case P1 is taken as Block-variable, P2 is the variable that will hold the result.
Example
'**********************************************
' GBE./CNB. - Sample
'**********************************************
CNB.$$BLO|3|Element 1|Element 2|Element 3
GBN.$$BLO|$$RES
FOR.$$CNT|1|$$RES
GBE.$$BLO|$$CNT|$$ELE
DBP.Element $$CNT is $$ELE
NEX.
ENR.
Remarks
Blocks are internally checked for authenticity. This is done to prevent hard to track error.
If you change bytes or the length of a block variable externally, the block will not be unpacked anymore.
Data blocks can contain all 256 ASC Characters (even binary files) and are binary-compatible. Therefore whether special folders nor system variables are resolved inside blocks. Variables are resolved one time.
Limitations:
There is no explicit limit on data-items per block. However timing considerations may set you a limit at around 10000 Items, depending on your available hardware. For a larger number of non-binary items, Member-Operations, using SBD. FEM. and SBM. may be significantly faster.
See also:
• 1.5.1.5. Organizing data items in blocks