C goto Statement

C goto Statement

In this tutorial, you will learn to make the goto statement in C programming. Also, you will realize when to use a goto statement and when not to use it.

The goto statement allows us to move control of the program to the predefined label.

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Syntax of goto Statement

goto label;
... .. ...
... .. ...
label: 
statement;

The label is an identifier. When the goto statement is encountered, the control of the program jumps to label: and starts executing the code.

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Example: goto Statement

// Program to calculate the sum and average of positive numbers
// If the user enters a negative number, the sum and average are displayed.

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {

   const int maxInput = 100;
   int i;
   double number, average, sum = 0.0;

   for (i = 1; i <= maxInput; ++i) {
      printf("%d. Enter a number: ", i);
      scanf("%lf", &number);
      
      // go to jump if the user enters a negative number
      if (number < 0.0) {
         goto jump;
      }
      sum += number;
   }

jump:
   average = sum / (i - 1);
   printf("Sum = %.2f\n", sum);
   printf("Average = %.2f", average);

   return 0;
}

Output

1. Enter a number: 3
2. Enter a number: 4.3
3. Enter a number: 9.3
4. Enter a number: -2.9
Sum = 16.60
Average = 5.53

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Reasons to avoid goto

The use of a goto statement may lead to code that is buggy and hard to follow. For example,

one:
for (i = 0; i < number; ++i)
{
    test += i;
    goto two;
}
two: 
if (test > 5) {
  goto three;
}
... .. ...

Also, the goto statement allows you to do awful stuff, for example, leap out of the degree.

That being stated, goto can be valuable at times. For instance: to part from nested loops.

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Should you use goto?

If you think the use of the goto statement improves your program, you can utilize it. That being stated, goto is once in a while valuable and you can make any C program without using goto altogether.

Here’s a quote from Bjarne Stroustrup, creator of C++, “The fact that ‘goto’ can do anything is exactly why we don’t use it.”

Please feel free to give your comment if you face any difficulty here.

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C Flow Control