How to capture return code (not exit code)

Question

I have a script that execute some process and return a number based on the job status. This script is triggered on the back background.

i.e.

ksh -x myscript.sh 20150102 &

My question is how can I get the return code of the background process? Is there a way to get return code like for exit code $?

Answer 1

Use wait:

# Start the job:
ksh -x myscript.sh 20150102 &

# Save its process ID
job_pid=$!

# Do some other stuff in the meantime
asdf ghjk
zxcv qwer

# Later, when you want to know what its exit status was:
wait $job_pid
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    echo "Something may have gone wrong" >&2
else
    echo "The world is perfect." >&2
fi

In this context, I'm considering "return code" and "exit code" synonymous. If you mean the terms to have different meanings from each other then I've misunderstood you, but I can't think what the difference might be.