charIn

>>-charIn-+----------------------------+-----------------------><
          +-(-+-------+--+---------+-)-+
              +-start-+  +-,length-+

Returns a string of up to [length] characters from the input stream. The stream advances advances the read pointer by the number of characters read. If you omit [length] , it defaults to 1. If you specify [start] , this positions the read pointer before reading. The [start] value must be a positve whole number within the bounds of the stream. If the value is not a positive whole number, a syntax condition is raised. When the value is past the end of the stream, the empty string is returned and the NOTREADY condition is raised. If the stream is not already open, the stream attempts to open for reading and writing. If that fails, the stream opens for input only.