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goto


goto

 

  1  definition  found 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  goto 
 
    (Or  "GOTO",  "go  to",  "GO  TO",  "JUMP",  "JMP")  A 
  construct  and  {keyword}  found  in  several  higher-level 
  programming  languages  (e.g.  {Fortran},  {COBOL},  {BASIC},  {C}) 
  to  cause  an  {unconditional  jump}  or  transfer  of  {control}  from 
  one  point  in  a  program  to  another.  The  destination  of  the 
  jump  is  usually  indicated  by  a  {label}. 
 
  In  some  languages,  a  label  is  a  line  number,  in  which  case 
  every  statement  may  be  labelled,  in  others  a  label  is  an 
  optional  alphanumeric  {identifier}.  In  any  case,  the 
  destination  label  usually  follows  the  GOTO  keyword. 
 
  Use  of  the  GOTO  instruction  in  {high  level  language} 
  programming  fell  into  disrepute  with  the  development  and 
  general  acceptance  of  {structured  programming},  and  especially 
  following  the  famous  article  "GOTO  statement  {considered 
  harmful}".  Since  a  GOTO  is  effectively  an  {assignment}  to  the 
  {program  counter},  it  is  tempting  to  make  the  generalisation 
  "assignment  considered  harmful"  and  indeed,  this  is  the  basis 
  of  {functional  programming}. 
 
  Nearly(?)  all  {machine  language}  {instruction  sets}  include  a 
  GOTO  instruction,  though  in  this  context  it  is  usually  called 
  branch  or  jump  or  some  {mnemonic}  based  on  these 
 
  See  also  {COME  FROM}. 
 
  (2000-12-13)