>> My point is that from a coding standpoint, a method or function should have a single entry point,
>
>How can it have more? (unless you're counting overloading which isn't really the same thing)
>

That was a mistype.. I meant single exit point. :)

>Now you've made me hungry. OK: Shall we settle on two return values : the actual return and one out/ref?


Yep. As I said I do that all the time, except I return structures not OUT parameters unless I'm forced to by TryParse....