the test compared numericly if though it could contain a string, and I

while cvsup; do

  att=`expr $att + 1`

  echo "testcurl: failed CVS update attempt number $att."

  if [ $att -gt 50 ]; then

    cvsstat="BADNESS"

  if [ $att -gt 10 ]; then

    cvsstat="111"

    break # get out of the loop

  fi

  sleep 5