(highest thanks)
two errors uncovered:

I had tried the pipe on the right earlier, but the count failed. In rechecking the code (it is part of a larger program), I discover that I was resetting the value in my while statement, though I am not sure how. The while statement was:
while (<R> && (count < 3))
{ ... }

[download]

Now having removed the count < 3 *and* switching the pipe to the right, we have a winner.

Thank you all. I am astounded and delighted by the responsiveness by the visitors of this site. Truly, near tears to my eyes.

In reply to Got it. by Bliss
in thread Pipe Question by Bliss

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