char data = Serial.read();
if (data == '<')
{
started = true;
value = 0;
inData[value] = '\0';
}
else if (data == '>')
{
ended = true;
}
else if (started)
{
inData[value] = data;
OK, assume "data" is not '<' and not '>', but what if there wasn't anything to read?
"data" would be -1.