From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 1108a1,9a0ff0bffdf63657 X-Google-Attributes: gid1108a1,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,4b06f8f15f01a568 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: f43e6,9a0ff0bffdf63657 X-Google-Attributes: gidf43e6,public X-Google-Thread: fac41,9a0ff0bffdf63657 X-Google-Attributes: gidfac41,public From: dewarr@my-dejanews.com Subject: Re: Software landmines (loops) Date: 1998/09/01 Message-ID: <6sfmt7$4e8$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 386659482 References: <6r1glm$bvh$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <6r9f8h$jtm$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <6renh8$ga7$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <6rf59b$2ud$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <6rfra4$rul$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <35DBDD24.D003404D@calfp.co.uk> <6sbuod$fra$1@hirame.wwa.com> <35f51e53.48044143@news.erols.com> <6sdiav$e0g$1@hirame.wwa.com> X-Http-Proxy: 1.0 x11.dejanews.com:80 (Squid/1.1.22) for client 205.232.38.14 Organization: Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion X-Article-Creation-Date: Tue Sep 01 02:41:43 1998 GMT Newsgroups: comp.lang.eiffel,comp.object,comp.software-eng,comp.lang.ada X-Http-User-Agent: Mozilla/2.02 (OS/2; I) Date: 1998-09-01T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: In article , Patrick Logan wrote: > In comp.object Matthew Heaney wrote: > > : > Actually this section says that there are two different kinds of > : > loops. one that is tested at the top; and another which is tested at > : > the bottom. But in all cases, the elements of structure programming > : > have a single entry and a single exit. A loop that exits in the > : > middle, violates this maxim. > > : I think the issue is meaning vs syntax. When I use an exit from the > : middle, it's to say that "I want to terminate the loop, NOW." > > Almost every time I am tempted to terminate a loop in the middle, I > ultimately choose not to. > > More important than that, IMHO, is that a loop's body not have a lot > of text in it. If it is a five or ten line loop, at the most, then > even if it terminates in the middle it will be easier to read. So a > loop should communicate the control aspect of the operation, the body > should rely on procedures/methods to carry out the bulk of the work. > > This also has the benefit of making the bulk of the work more > reusable. > > -- > Patrick Logan (H) mailto:plogan@teleport.com > (W) mailto:patrickl@gemstone.com > http://www.gemstone.com > Yes, that is really the key point here. The use of continue is almost always better replaced by something else, but not quite always. I actually feel that the provision of the keyword continue in C is a mistake, it encourages people to overuse this kind of skip. In Ada, you need to use "goto Continue_Loop", to get this effect. For those who are not hopelessly goto-allergic, this is just right, it makes you think "do I really need to use this special kind of goto, or is there a better way of doing things?" If the answer is yes, you really need to use this special kind of goto, then go ahead and use it! -----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==----- http://www.dejanews.com/rg_mkgrp.xp Create Your Own Free Member Forum