We are running 2.8 BSD and the Ritchie compiler does indeed flag a = b ? c = d : e; as an error. Pcc doesn't, by the way. Adding parentheses around the 2nd assignment is ok, as it should be. Charles LaBrec UUCP: pur-ee!Physics:crl, purdue!Physics:crl INTERNET: crl @ pur-phy.UUCP