read_file ?-nonewline? fileName

     read_file fileName numBytes
          This proecure reads the file fileName and  returns  the
          contents as a string.  If -nonewline is specified, then
          the last character of the file is discarded if it is  a
          newline.   The  second  form specifies exactly how many
          bytes will be read and returned, unless there are fewer
          than numBytes bytes left in the file; in this case, all
          the remaining bytes are returned.

          This procedure is provided by Extended Tcl.