gotos

[Daniel R. Levy]

In article <1988Apr11.201934.20594 at utzoo.uucp>, henry at utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes:
> > >> Try to pull that around here, and you'd be in the pond in about ten
> > >> minutes flat.
> > 
> > > Remind me never to buy any software from you guys!
> > 
> > I fail to see any justification for such a remark.  I think an appology
> > is in order.
> 
> Sorry, I consider the remark well-justified and will not apologize.  If
> you read my other postings on the subject, you will see that I consider
> the use of gotos, especially the frequent use of gotos, to be a sign of
> poor organization and "coding before thinking".  Given this opinion, it
> is hardly surprising that I would be reluctant to buy software from an
> organization which endorses routine use of gotos.

You darn well know, if you'd take off your elitist blinders, that the use
of gotos is not an INFALLIBLE sign of "poor organization and 'coding before
thinking'".  Indeed it could well be that Dave Jones and his buddies at
Megatest, in spite of their gotos, may produce code with more functionality,
fewer bugs, and better support than you do, but you'd never know it if you
won't give them a chance to show it.  Gotos are only one metric of style, in
sparse use only weakly related to functionality and bugproofness, and to
declare code that uses them anathema as a matter of broad policy is like
using the Whetstone as your sole criterion for purchasing a computer.

It makes a lot more sense to judge a software producer on their reputation
for other software they have produced, than to judge them on a tiny aspect
of coding style.  There are just too many other variables.  If you are ever
in a position to purchase Megatest's (or any other company's) software, ask
around about how well that company's software (not just the package in
question) has worked in the past and how well it is supported.  Any other
criterion of quality is pure conjecture.
-- 
|------------Dan Levy------------|  Path: ..!{akgua,homxb,ihnp4,ltuxa,mvuxa,
|         an Engihacker @        |  	<most AT&T machines>}!ttrdc!ttrda!levy
|     AT&T Data Systems Group    |  Disclaimer?  Huh?  What disclaimer???
|--------Skokie, Illinois--------|