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From: jab@uokvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Re: Re: Teaching students with GOTO - (nf)
Message-ID: <9000024@uokvax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 29-May-84 01:28:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: uokvax.9000024
Posted: Tue May 29 01:28:00 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 1-Jun-84 08:30:38 EDT
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Nf-From: uokvax!jab    May 29 00:28:00 1984

#R:mcvax:-580600:uokvax:9000024:000:1103
uokvax!jab    May 29 00:28:00 1984

One person just submitted a response to an article to the effect of
"goto's (he was using Algol W as the example) have a place: to exit a program
on an error, and to break out of loops".

You're right, I agree. Algol W isn't the best example, however:
	i) There is an "assert (expr)" statement that halts the program whenever
	   "expr" is not true.
	ii) In Algol W, there is no loop-exiting construct, which is a real
	   pain. Any reasonable language should provide you with one; the
	   constructs in C are in the right direction, although I'd like to
	   be able to specify "break out of the loop I'm in, hopping out of
	   the scope of this loop and the next deeper one" --- operationally
	   a "break 2;" construct.

Such control structures should be provided as part of the language.

Were I teaching a programming class, I would insist on justification of why
people used "goto" statements; if it's not one of the above reasons, I'd view
it as a bad practice and grade off. (Possibly I'd grade off anyway, if they
could have recoded to get around it with little pain.)

	Jeff Bowles
	Lisle, Il