linux man page for return

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

NAME
       return - return from a function

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
       Special Built-In Utilities

COPYRIGHT
       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technol-
       ogy -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 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 .

IEEE
/The Open Group						       2003								 RETURN(P)