Requesting Input

The Wolfram Language 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 (RefLink[Input, paclet:ref/Input]) and (RefLink[InputString, paclet:ref/InputString]).

Interactive input.

Exactly how (RefLink[Input, paclet:ref/Input]) and (RefLink[InputString, paclet:ref/InputString]) work depends on the computer system and the Wolfram Language 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, (RefLink[Input, paclet:ref/Input]) is intended for reading complete Wolfram Language expressions. (RefLink[InputString, paclet:ref/InputString]), on the other hand, is for reading arbitrary strings.