VMS Help PASCAL, Input Output, Text File, READLN  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

  The READLN procedure reads lines of data from a TEXT file.

  Syntax:

     READLN [[( [[file_variable,]] {variable-identifier
     [[:radix-specifier]]},... [[, ERROR := error-recovery]]) ]];

  The 'file_variable' is the name of the file variable  associated
  with  the  TEXT  file  to  be read.  If you omit the name of the
  file, the default is INPUT.

  The 'variable-identifier' is the name of the variable into which
  a   file  component  will  be  read;  multiple  identifiers  are
  separated by commas.  If you do not specify any  variable  name,
  READLN skips a line in the specified file.

  The 'radix-specifier' is one of the format values BIN,  OCT,  or
  HEX.  These values, when used on a variable identifier, read the
  variable in binary, octal, or  hexadecimal,  respectively.   You
  can use a radix specifier only when reading from a TEXT file.

  The 'error-recovery' specifies the action  to  be  taken  if  an
  error occurs during execution of the routine.  By default, after
  the first error, the error message is printed and  execution  is
  stopped.

  The file must be in inspection mode before READLN is called;  it
  remains in that mode after the procedure's execution.

  The READLN procedure reads  values  from  a  TEXT  file.   After
  reading   values  for  all  the  listed  variables,  the  READLN
  procedure skips over any characters  remaining  on  the  current
  line  and  positions the file at the beginning of the next line.
  The values need not all be on a single  line;  READLN  continues
  until  values have been assigned to all the specified variables,
  even if this process results in the reading of several lines  of
  the input file.

  EOLN returns TRUE after a READLN procedure only if the new  line
  is empty.

  See the "Compaq Pascal Language Reference Manual" for a complete
  description of the READLN procedure.