Routines (alphabetical) > Routines: R > READ_WAV

# READ_WAV

The READ_WAV function reads the audio stream from the named .WAV file. Optionally, it can return the sampling rate of the audio stream.

## Syntax

Result = READ_WAV ( Filename [, Rate] )

## Return Value

In the case of a single channel stream, the returned variable is a BYTE or INT (depending on the number of bits per sample) one-dimensional array. In the case of a file with multiple channels, a similar two-dimensional array is returned, with the leading dimension being the channel number.

## Arguments

### Filename

A scalar string containing the full pathname of the .WAV file to read.

### Rate

Returns an IDL long containing the sampling rate of the stream in samples per second.

## Keywords

None.

## Version History

5.3 | Introduced