Why Doesn't Read() work as Expected?

Question

I'm using Visual Studio 2008 for C#. I can't understand why this simple code does not work as expected. Any ideas? Thanks!

using System;

namespace TryRead
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main()
        {
            int aNumber;
            Console.Write("Enter a single character: ");
            aNumber = Console.Read(); **//Program waits for [Enter] key. Why?**
            Console.WriteLine("The value of the character entered: " + aNumber);
            Console.Read(); **//Program does not wait for a key press. Why?**
        }
    }
}

Answer 1

//Program waits for [Enter] key. Why?

The Read method blocks its return while you type input characters; it terminates when you press the Enter key. Pressing Enter appends a platform-dependent line termination sequence to your input (for example, Windows appends a carriage return-linefeed sequence).

//Program does not wait for a key press. Why?

Subsequent calls to the Read method retrieve your input one character at a time [without blocking]. After the final character is retrieved, Read blocks its return again and the cycle repeats.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.console.read.aspx

Answer 2

You need to use Console.ReadKey() instead of Console.Read().