Re: Exceptions: Are they GOTOs?

[cosc19z5@Bayou.UH.EDU (Spasmo)]

Robert Dewar (dewar@cs.nyu.edu) wrote:
: Spasmo said

: "Well, exceptions IMO do seem to be a bit unstructured in that control
: is immediately transferred to another block and everything is surpassed
: so that the possible paths of execution may not be obvious, however
: I think this is a very small price to pay for such a beautiful way of
: handling errors."

: This is an odd definition of structure, but if this is your definition
: of structured, then I think your assumption that anything that is not
: structured is bad is wrong. I know you go on to say that exceptions are
: useful, but you should not accept even for a moment the orhodoxy that
: such transfers of control are somehow unstructured and therefore inherently
: bad! I assume you have read Knuth's paper :-)

Well to me structure is when you can logically look at your code and
see where control is heading in a simple top down fashion.  Maybe
that's not the "proper" definition of structure *shrug*. As for
anything unstructured being automatically bad, I wouldn't say
that, however if I can do something, then if feasible I'll
try to do it using the structured technique.

I know that unstructured programming tends to have its applications
like in coding FAs straight from the diagram (easier to do with
gotos than anything else), it's just that in general I like to
avoid it if I can.

Am I a structured programming bigot??? :)


--
Spasmo
"Here's a present just for you
When you open it, you'll be through"
	"Letter Bomb" by the Circle Jerks