determining if DCE device is ready

[Sean Sheridan Coleman X5672]

I am working on a program that uses the tty serial lines.  i 
would like to be able from my program to sense if the DCE (Data
Communication Equipment) is at the other end and running, ie 
i dont want to have the program connect to a port that has 
nothing plugged into it. Is there a way to see if DATA CARRIER
DETECT is high at the DCE end from a C program.


Thanks in advanced`

Sean Coleman
NIST
coleman at bldrdoc.gov