sysread(FILEHANDLE,SCALAR,LENGTH,OFFSET)

     sysread(FILEHANDLE,SCALAR,LENGTH)

             Attempts to read LENGTH bytes of data into  variable
             SCALAR from the specified FILEHANDLE, using the sys-
             tem call read(2).  It bypasses stdio, so mixing this
             with  other  kinds  of  reads  may  cause confusion.
             Returns the number of bytes actually read, or  undef
             if  there  was  an  error.   SCALAR will be grown or
             shrunk to the length actually read.  An  OFFSET  may
             be  specified  to  place the read data at some other
             place than the beginning of the string.