Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!bcstec!galileo!rfh3273
From: rfh3273@galileo.rtn.ca.boeing.com (Dick Harrigill)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.pascal
Subject: TP6 - Standard Out got closed
Message-ID: <382@galileo.rtn.ca.boeing.com>
Date: 13 May 91 17:20:00 GMT
Organization: be30r
Lines: 27

I've just experienced a strange error with TP6.  I'm using a function
that I've successfully used for years to check the existance of a file:

 FUNCTION this_file_exists (VAR s:string) : boolean;
 VAR f:file;
 BEGIN
  {$I-}
  assign(f,s); reset(f);
  this_file_exists:=(IOError=0);
  close(f);
  {$I+}
 END;

This week, for the first time, passing a bad file name to this file
somehow closed standard output when the close(f) statement was run.
A successive statement such as  writeln('Hi')  yeilds a runtime error
103 - file not open.   I have gotten around the problem by placing an
IF test in the function and not doing the close if the file was not
properly opened.  I am, however, intrigued by this phenomenon.  The
close(f) function should simply (with $I-) give an IOErorr, not
screw other things up.   Can anyone give some insight?

-- 
Dick Harrigill, an independent voice from:     Boeing Commercial Airplanes 
M/S 9R-49  PO BOX 3707                       Renton Avionics/Flight Systems
Seattle, WA  91824                                  Computing Support
(206) 393-9539     rfh3273@galileo.rtn.ca.boeing.com