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To:	rc@hawkwind.utcs.toronto.edu
Subject: Re: Thoughts on a builtin read 
Date:	Tue, 21 Sep 1993 11:15:26 -0400
From:	Alan Watson <alan@oldp.astro.wisc.edu>
X-Mts: smtp

>This is an inconsistency. I'd very much prefer the usual
>        "x = `read"
>    or  "x = `` ( $some_ifs_list ) { read }"

Something along the lines of:

fn read {
   if (builtin read LINE) {
      echo $LINE
      return 0
   } else {
      echo $LINE
      return 1
   }
}

I would not mind Malte's suggestion as the primitive -- it seems fairly
easy to convert one to the other with a simple function.