executing a shell command within a function

Hi, I’m coding a function that will create a set of directories using execution of shell commands within the function. Then the function saves different sizes of images in each directory. Later in the function I open one of these directories to list the content in them. The problem is that the directoris don’t exist when the function is trying to list the content in them. When I execute the function again with exactly the same parameters there is no problem, then the directories exist! I’m thinking that the shell commands are somehow set in some kind of buffer or queue and are not executed until the rest of the php code is executed? Could this be true? If anyone has anything to say on this I’d appreciate it. BTW I'm using RH8.0 and PHP 4.2.2   Kveðja, Sævar Öfjörð ofjord@reddast.is þetta reddast - hönnunarlausnir www.reddast.is