Goto (goto, GOTO, GO TO or other case combinations, depending on the programming language) is a statement found in many computer programming languages. It performs a one-way transfer of control to another line of code; in contrast a function call normally returns control. The jumped-to locations are usually identified using labels, though some languages use line numbers. At the machine code level, a goto is a form of branch or jump statement. Many languages support the goto statement, and many do not (see language support).
The structured program theorem proved that the goto statement is not necessary to write programs; some combination of the three programming constructs of sequence, selection/choice, and repetition/iteration are sufficient for any computation that can be performed by a Turing machine, with the caveat that code duplication and additional variables may need to be introduced. At machine code level, goto is used to implement the structured programming constructs.
In the past there was considerable debate in academia and industry on the merits of the use of goto statements. Use of goto was formerly common, but since the advent of structured programming in the 1960s and 1970s its use has declined significantly. The primary criticism is that code that uses goto statements is harder to understand than alternative constructions. Goto remains in use in certain common usage patterns, but alternatives are generally used if available. Debates over its (more limited) uses continue in academia and software industry circles.
goto is a statement found in many computer programming languages.
Goto may also refer to:
In places:
In fictional characters:
Gotō (後藤, 五藤, 五島) is a Japanese surname. People with the name include:
Watching me fall
Into the flames
Of a broken soul tonight
No stone overturned
This graveyard of mine
Allows me no peace
[Chorus]
Sleep as day dies
Sleepwalk with the dead
Wander aimlessly through the night
Love and regret
Course through my veins
As I slowly fade away
Please let me sleep
Just one last night
Before I must wake
[Chorus]
And I walk with these ghosts
And I walk with these ghosts
And I walk with these ghosts...
[Chorus]
Sleep as night falls
Sleepwalk with the dead
Hope keeps me alive