if test; then stuff and if test then stuff are functionally equivalent. I wouldn't say one or the other `is preferred.' I use the former because I think it's a little more readable because more compact. But it's really a matter of style, like whether you write if (test) { (multi-statement block) or if (test) { (multi-statement block) I have a stronger opinion about those who use overly- cryptic constructions like test && { shell commands } because it means exactly the same thing as if test; then shell commands but is more obscure to read. But again it's a question of style, not of dogma. As an aside, I think one excuse that is sometimes used for that sort of construct is when it's test || { commands } because Bourne's original shell had no not operator. For a long time after shell functions appeared, I would add this function to any of my shell scripts that needed it: not() { if "$@"; then return 1 else return 0 } so I could say if not test; then commands fi Modern Bourne-shell descendants have a built-in ! operator: if ! test; then commands fi I'm not keen on most of what has been stuffed into bash and ksh and the like, but ! is a real improvement. I believe POSIX mandates it, and I think they're right. Norman Wilson Toronto ON