Re: an infinate loop

["Marin David Condic" <marin.condic.auntie.spam@pacemicro.com>]

I have not used a goto in any language since at least 1983 - maybe longer,
but prior to that I had a job maintaining ancient Cobol code and I might
have actually used a goto to be consistent with some existing code. I'm
aware of how little necessity there is for the goto as a result of that
practical experience. :-)

I know arguments were made for including the goto in Ada along a variety of
lines. Some of it had to do with automatic translation of existing things
being more difficult if there was no goto. Some of it was undoubtedly to
make it appeal to people who didn't know how to live without one. Some of it
was, as I said, because there was evidence indicating that goto's got put
into languages that tried to leave them out - sooner or later people come up
with some practical consideration that makes it worth having them in the
language. Whatever the reasons, I have no objections to the presence of a
goto in Ada - I just believe they should be used sparingly, if at all...

MDC
--
Marin David Condic
Senior Software Engineer
Pace Micro Technology Americas    www.pacemicro.com
Enabling the digital revolution
e-Mail:    marin.condic@pacemicro.com
Web:      http://www.mcondic.com/


"Matthias Kretschmer" <McCratch@gmx.net> wrote in message
news:3B546F9D.4030809@gmx.net...
>
>
> It is possible to program without using an goto at all (see W.A.Wulf:
> "Programming without goto" or D.E.Knuth and R.W.Floyd (1971): "Notes on
> avoiding goto statement") - and this should be the right way. Jumps/goto
> make the whole thing very unreadable I think and it is difficult to
> prove the correctness. Proving the correctness of
> algorithms/subprograms/programs is maybe unusual (or done by only a
> few), but if you are sure that your way of doing it, is the right way,
> it should be easy to prove. Unproven code just waits for its
counterexample.
>
> Once someone involved in the Ada design in the beginnig told me, that
> the goto statement was mainly implemented to make the language more
> attractive to people who do not want to live without.
>