RE: GOTO statement considered harmful (was Is this the Free-Format that we asked for?)

On Fri, 3 Nov 2000, Buck Calabro wrote:

> Scott Klement wrote:
> 
> >Old code that can't be rewritten will still be in fixed-format style,
> >not in the new free-format syntax...  Old code really isn't an issue
> >with the free-format stuff at this time.
> 
> Scott,
> I greatly respect your opinion and wish to heaven I could agree with it.
> Old code is everything.  A typical chore for me is to take existing RPG III
> code, CVTRPGSRC it, eyeball the code I need to change (and pray it's a
> subroutine!), add my changes using RPG IV syntax; converting my subr to a
> proc, etc.  I end up with a strange hybrid of 500 lines of untouched RPG III
> code and a few dozen shiny new RPG IV lines.  I don't want GOTO for new
> development, I want it so I can perform maintenance activities without
> having to completely re-design old code.  That's what we're talking about.
> The problem with GOTO is that it represents sloppy design, sloppy thinking.
> 

Hi Buck,

My current impression is that you won't be able to directly convert old
code to the new free-form syntax.   Conditioning indicators no longer
exist.  Resulting indicators no longer exist.  Factor1/Factor2/Result no
longer exists.  Many op-codes have become BIFs.  

Free-format code will be newly written. 

It is on this assumption that I'm basing my opinion that GOTO can be
removed.  If you have to re-write the code to make it free-form, it'd be
better to make the programmer THINK rather than just do everything the
way he always did.

And, of course, fixed format will still allow GOTO.  

If I am incorrect in my assumption, then I'd have to agree with you that
GOTO can't be safely removed.

(I wrote a whole reply to the rest of your message, but realized that I
wasn't saying anything new, or anything that hadn't already been argued
50 times on the list in the past week, so I decided to just delete it,
I'm really getting tired of this whole topic!)



+---
| This is the RPG/400 Mailing List!
| To submit a new message, send your mail to RPG400-L@midrange.com.
| To subscribe to this list send email to RPG400-L-SUB@midrange.com.
| To unsubscribe from this list send email to RPG400-L-UNSUB@midrange.com.
| Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com
+---