Packet Mode

Packet Mode

Packet mode is the default if no mode is specified. If stream mode is disabled, the mode defaults to packet mode.

In packet mode READ commands complete as soon as there is some data to return. Packet mode allows you to build an entire TCP segment in the output buffer, and then send it all at one time by issuing a WRITE *-3 or WRITE ! command.

If you issue WRITE *-1 to initiate a TCP SEND operation when there are no characters to be sent, you receive a <WRITE> error. If you issue WRITE of an empty string, you receive a <COMMAND> error.

The maximum size of the string you can send in packet mode is 1024 characters. If you exceed this limit without flushing the buffer, you receive a <WRITE> error.

Because TCP/IP ignores records with a length of 0, you receive a <WRITE> error if you flush the write buffer when there are no characters in it.

A WRITE command from server to client before the server has received a connection request produces a <WRITE> error on the server.