Legacy Documentation
Mathematica 9 (2012)
This is documentation for Mathematica 9, which was
based on an earlier version of Wolfram Language.
View current documentation (Version 15.0)based on an earlier version of Wolfram Language.
Requesting Input
Mathematica usually works by taking whatever input you give, and then processing it. Sometimes, however, you may want to have a program you write explicitly request more input. You can do this using Input and InputString.
| Input[] | read an expression as input |
| InputString[] | read a string as input |
| Input["prompt"] | issue a prompt, then read an expression |
| InputString["prompt"] | issue a prompt, then read a string |
Exactly how Input and InputString work depends on the computer system and Mathematica interface you are using. With a text-based interface, they typically just wait for standard input, terminated with a newline. With a notebook interface, however, they typically get the front end to put up a "dialog box", in which the user can enter input.
In general, Input is intended for reading complete Mathematica expressions. InputString, on the other hand, is for reading arbitrary strings.
