Re: ALTER, ASSIGN and labels-as-values (was: Unicode in strings)

On Tue, 28 May 2024 04:06:42 -0000 (UTC), "Stephen Fuld"
<SFuld@alumni.cmu.edu.invalid> wrote:

As I said before, you could easily scan the source code and find all
the ALTER statements and create a list of the potential targets similar
to the list in parentheses in Fortrans equivalent functionality. So
your objection is that the possible targets are not listed in one place?

My objection is that the GOTO statement affected by the ALTER GOTO
does not have a form which clearly and unambiguously indicates that it
is potentially alterable by an ALTER GOTO statement.

It looks just like an ordinary GOTO statement to which no ALTER GOTO
statement has been applied.

Surely that should be obvious.

It isn't
 GOTO THAT-LABEL OR MAYBE SOMEWHERE ELSE

it's just
 GOTO THAT-LABEL

but that isn't really what it means.

What has to be "in one place" isn't necessarily all the possible
destinations (although that would be very helpful) but the fact of
alteration being a possibility, which is an unusual thing not normally
applicable to a GOTO.

John Savard