## The second program.

There is very little point in a program that outputs something but has no input. So for our second program we will use the command INPUT.

`10 PRINT ?Input first number ?
20 INPUT x
30 PRINT ?Input second number?
40 INPUT y
50 PRINT ?X + Y is?, x + y
`

INPUT will get two numbers that you type in the command prompt. It ignores any non-numeric characters, and translates the first number that you see.

The comma separates items to print, and also tells the computer to insert a space.

It is also possible to input strings of characters. To do this, we use what is called a ?string variable?. A string variable always ends with the dollar character ($), and contains text rather than numbers.

`10 PRINT ?What is your name??
20 INPUT n$
30 PRINT ?Hello?, n$
`

When inputting a string, INPUT reads up to the newline (which it discards).

We can use the ?+? operator, but not any others, on string variables.

`10 PRINT ?What is your first name??
20 INPUT fname$
30 PRINT ?What is your second name??
40 INPUT sname$
50 PRINT ?Hello?, fname$ + sname$
`

Notice that this program has a bug. The ?+? operator doesn?t insert a space, so unless you inadvertently added a space the program prints ?FREDBLOGGS?. Try modifying the program by inserting a space between the two names.