Hello there. I used the code below to read and print the bitmap file attached (bitmap.bmp), which contains the character ASCII 26 (or 1A-hexa). This special character is used by MSDOS as an end of file marker.

import IO
import IOExts

main :: IO ()
main = do
bmFile <- openFileEx "bitmap.bmp" (BinaryMode ReadMode)
charloop bmFile 0

charloop :: Handle -> Integer -> IO ()
charloop bmFile 70 = hClose bmFile
charloop bmFile n = do
   hSeek bmFile AbsoluteSeek n
   a <- hGetChar bmFile
   putStrLn [a]
   charloop bmFile (n+1)

This program did not stuck after reading the special character, but if you change putStrLn by putStr you will notice that a strange thing happens: after reading the special character, the program won't show any more characters. Why does it happen?

Thanks,

Andre Furtado