Anyway to get return value of c program from command line?

Question

I understand if I write a bash script I can get the return value, but is there anyway to get the return value without scripting, and just command line?

Answer 1

In light of the invalidation of the previous answer (good point, Carl Norum), let me re-phrase my comment as an answer:

BASH stores the return value of the previously run command in the variable $?. This is independent of the programming langauge used to write said command (the command can also be a shell internal).