RETURN(1)                  POSIX Programmer's Manual                 RETURN(1)



PROLOG
       This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The OS
       implementation of this interface may differ (consult the corresponding
       OS manual page for details of OS behavior), or the interface may not be
       implemented on OS.

NAME
       return -- return from a function or dot script

SYNOPSIS
       return [[_n]]

DESCRIPTION
       The return utility shall cause the shell to stop executing the current
       function or dot script. If the shell is not currently executing a
       function or dot script, the results are unspecified.

OPTIONS
       None.

OPERANDS
       See the DESCRIPTION.

STDIN
       Not used.

INPUT FILES
       None.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
       None.

ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS
       Default.

STDOUT
       Not used.

STDERR
       The standard error shall be used only for diagnostic messages.

OUTPUT FILES
       None.

EXTENDED DESCRIPTION
       None.

EXIT STATUS
       The value of the special parameter ''??''  shall be set to _n, an unsigned
       decimal integer, or to the exit status of the last command executed if
       _n is not specified. If _n is not an unsigned decimal integer, or is
       greater than 255, the results are unspecified. When return is executed
       in a trap action, the last command is considered to be the command that
       executed immediately preceding the trap action.

CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS
       Default.

       The following sections are informative.

APPLICATION USAGE
       None.

EXAMPLES
       None.

RATIONALE
       The behavior of return when not in a function or dot script differs
       between the System V shell and the KornShell. In the System V shell
       this is an error, whereas in the KornShell, the effect is the same as
       exit.

       The results of returning a number greater than 255 are undefined
       because of differing practices in the various historical
       implementations. Some shells AND out all but the low-order 8 bits;
       others allow larger values, but not of unlimited size.

       See the discussion of appropriate exit status values under exit.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS
       None.

SEE ALSO
       Section 2.9.5, Function Definition Command, Section 2.14, Special
       Built-In Utilities, dot

COPYRIGHT
       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
       from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information Technology --
       Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
       Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the
       Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open
       Group.  In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the
       original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The
       Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can
       be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

       Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are
       most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source
       files to man page format. To report such errors, see
       https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .



IEEE/The Open Group                  2017                            RETURN(1)
