Does `goto` Offer Technical Advantages in C/C Cleanup Block Branching?

Technical Advantages of Using goto in C or C

In this discussion, we delve into examples where goto exhibits advantages in C or C .

Cleanup Block Branching Pattern

An ingenious use of goto is for branching to a cleanup block. This pattern is particularly effective in C, which lacks the idiomatic RAII approach of C .

Consider the following code:

void foo() {
    if (!doA())
        goto exit;
    if (!doB())
        goto cleanupA;
    if (!doC())
        goto cleanupB;

    /* everything has succeeded */
    return;

cleanupB:
    undoB();
cleanupA:
    undoA();
exit:
    return;
}

This pattern offers several advantages:

• Specificity: goto provides an unconditional branch, while alternatives rely on conditional branches with a forced always-true condition.
• Label Clarity: The label documents the branching target without additional comments.
• Code Scanning: Unlike alternatives, goto eliminates the need for scanning intervening code for potential early breaks.

Other Considerations

While the above example showcases the technical merits of goto, it's important to acknowledge that its use should be balanced against potential readability and maintainability concerns. However, when used judiciously, goto can be an effective tool for achieving specific branching goals.

The above is the detailed content of Does `goto` Offer Technical Advantages in C/C Cleanup Block Branching?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!