RE: Is this the Free-Format that we asked for?

["Sims, Ken" <KSIMS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all -

I definitely think GOTO needs to be retained, even within free-format
coding.

I've been programming in various RPG versions for over 20 years, starting on
the S/32.  When structured programming opcodes became available on the S/36,
I started using them.  I do all new development in RPG IV, using file I/O
BIFs rather than indicators.  I use procedures.  I use activation groups.
So I'm not a old f*rt programmer who refuses to use anything new.

But I still use GOTOs where appropriate.

As I see it, the problem is not GOTOs, the problem is too many TAGs.  Twenty
GOTOs all going to the same TAG is not a problem.  Twenty GOTOs going to
twenty different TAGs *is* a problem.

GOTO/TAG is a far better method to "short-circuit" out of a section of code
than having an ugly tangle of embedded "structured" opcodes.  Or to put it
another way, TAGs should only be at the top or the bottom of logical
sections of codes, and the GOTOs only within the same logical section.

Ken
Southern Wine and Spirits of Nevada, Inc.
Opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of
my employer or anyone in their right mind.

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