Re: Exceptions: Are they GOTOs?

[dewar@cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar)]

Robert Dunn said

"Second.  Can we kill this thread?  It is getting rather redundant.
To answer the question as to exception=goto is simple.
Does execution resume at the statement after the statement on which
the exception occured (was raised)?  If it does, then exception<>goto.
If it does not then exception=goto."

A fascinating definition, by which if statements, while statements etc
are all gotos!

Robert, you are free to define things anyway you want, but if you want to
use a really bizarre and unusual definition like this (any change in flow
of control is a goto), then you sure need to make clear that you are using
this word very differently from anyone else.

Of course the issue of whether exceptions are gotos is very much a
definitional one, and is a rather silly way to frame a reasonable
question: namely are exceptions a useful and appropriate control
structure. And the answer to that is clearly yes -- there may not be
a complete consensus on this, but close to it I would think!