Breaking out of several nested loops (& ANSI C)
Larry Wall
lwall at sdcrdcf.UUCP
Wed Oct 17 03:22:35 AEST 1984
In article <468 at voder.UUCP> gino at voder.UUCP (Gino Bloch) writes:
>Well, I have an opinion too. I imagine trying to find WHERE the break or
>goto takes me to...
So do I, and so do I...
Hypothetical examples of named breaks never ring quite true, because they
neglect the fact that most loops have a semantic value. I think this point
has been neglected by the pro-namers. Named loops (and blocks) are useful
*abstractions*, and it's always nice to be able to name your abstractions.
Arguments about whether your abstraction should be named at the beginning
or the end miss the point. If a loop is to be labeled, it should be labeled
at both ends. I can just see it: the Los Angeles City Council argueing about
whether to post an "Entering Los Angeles" sign at the north end or the
south end of I-5...
_
Now, does that mean we should add named loops to C? me genoito!
I don't think you should turn C into Ada*, for two reasons:
1) Those who think they don't like Ada will think they won't like C.
(Yes, that's what I meant to say.)
2) Those who think they like Ada will already have switched to Ada.
(Yes, yes, I know. Hope springs eternal...)
For all her faults, Ada knows an abstraction when she sees one. C is easy,
but a clever lady is worth waiting for.
Larry Wall
{allegra,burdvax,cbosgd,hplabs,ihnp4,sdcsvax}!sdcrdcf!lwall
*Ada iartoUSDOD(AJPO).
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