Make that " . . . returning the exit value . . . " I'd better slow down :-) -----Original Message----- From: Allen, Brandon Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2005 3:04 PM To: 'cmarquez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'; Reidy, Ron; oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: RE: Beyond a basic Oracle EXP/IMP shell script: Error Handling & Exit Status? Chris, The $? variable returns the exit code of whatever command was executed immediately before it. In your case, it is exiting the return value of the preceeding 'echo' command. You need to capture the value of $? immediately after the exp command. Regards, Brandon Privileged/Confidential Information may be contained in this message or attachments hereto. Please advise immediately if you or your employer do not consent to Internet email for messages of this kind. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of this company shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it.