hello all!

i am fairly new to processing and my programming skills lack to go any further on this without your help.

so, thing is: i am retrieving data from a website (http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database), which causes a sewing machine connected to an arduino, to do one stitch per dot (".") - for each reported case of death.

this is as far is i got:

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import processing.serial.*;
import prohtml.*;

HtmlList htmlList;
Serial myPort;
PrintWriter output;

String URL = "http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database";
String tempstring;
int range;

void setup(){
 size(100,100);
 htmlList = new HtmlList(URL);
 output = createWriter("range.txt");
 //myPort = new Serial(this, Serial.list()[1], 19200);
 }

void draw(){
 for (int i=0; i<htmlList.pageList.size(); i++){
   String ts = htmlList.pageList.get(i).toString();
   int t = ts.indexOf("ibc-range");  
   if(t > -1){
   tempstring = htmlList.pageList.get(i+3).toString();
   }
 }
 
 range = int(tempstring.substring(0,5)); //
 println(range);

 for (int i=1; i<=range; i++)
 {
   println(".");
   println(((range-i)-range)*(-1));
   output.flush();
   output.println(((range-i)-range)*(-1));
   //myPort.write(".");
   delay(1000);
   }
}


my problems:

- my draw function loops continuously. it should stop, as it reaches the current state, which is 88100, and just add +1 each time as the counter is updated.

- i need an output file, on how many stitches are already done. my solution, the PrintWriter output, won't work i think, cause each time the program runs, the file would be created once again. how should i do that?

- then i need to import the data from that file and turn it into a variable, "cnt", which holds the information, on how many stitches are done so far. - by loadStrings?

- it would replace the i in the for loop with (i=cnt; i<=range; i++). but how would i uptade "cnt" after the loop?

- what then leads me back to the output file and how it should be created.

that's it. i know, there's quite a lot i don't know, but any comment on how to get this run properly, would be very very much appreciated.

very thanks in advance.
lowell.