<SYSTEM_TASK:>
Solve the following problem using Python, implementing the functions described below, one line at a time
<END_TASK>
<USER_TASK:>
Description:
 def ins_packages():
 """Count installed Slackware packages """

    count = 0
    for pkg in os.listdir(pkg_path):
        if not pkg.startswith("."):
            count += 1
    return count