xenial (1) return.1posix.gz

Provided by: manpages-posix_2013a-1_all bug

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


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 the value of n is greater than 255, the
       results are undefined. 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


       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2013 Edition,
       Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open  Group  Base
       Specifications  Issue 7, Copyright (C) 2013 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc
       and The Open Group.  (This is POSIX.1-2008 with the 2013 Technical Corrigendum 1 applied.) 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.unix.org/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 .