SCI1.1 File::readString first byte

[doomlazer]

Consider a text file containing the alphabet. If we use the File class's readString with a max size property of 5 and then print the string, the output is 'abcd', if the max size is 1, then we get a blank text box; max size of 2 results in 'a'.

A hex editor confirms that the first byte of the text file is 0x61 (a), so what's up with that 'empty' first byte in the max size property?

[Kawa]

When I started writing this reply, I figured it could have to do with the simple fact that SCI, at least until the 32-bit versions and even then barely, had no concept of an 8-bit value and thus has to read a multiple of two bytes at a time.

But then I looked at your numbers and results again and now I'm thinking it's a null-terminator issue. You asked for five characters, so you got four + the null terminator. You asked for one character, so you got only the terminator, etc.

After all, you gotta know where to stop reading.