#R:ihtnt:-201000:hp-dcd:18400004:000:250 hp-dcd!stroyan Dec 12 19:36:00 1983 That's just variable declaration on the fly. main () { junk(1); } junk (j) { int j; j=2; { int j; j=3; { int j; j=4; printf ("%d ", j); } printf ("%d ", j); } printf ("%d\n", j); } prints 4 3 2. Mike Stroyan hpfcla!stroyan