Some background: I'm really gunshy of multiple exits from a routine. I've been burned more times than I've not been burned by respecting the rule. It's just a personal coding style; I sincerely hope that Ruby can permit me to have my idiosyncracies. And I don't want to be thought of as a "firebrand". This group is marvelous -- I've never been in one that is so literate and professional. I'll get the hang of politeness yet! Perhaps I should mention that I flunked police charm school... > > | * The "routine" has more than one exit. This violates the "one entry, one exit" rule of structured programming. > > > > I don't care about that principle. It's no good. > > > > matz. > > > IS TOO!!!! Where do memory leaks come from? <bg> >