noun In programming, an instruction that jumps execution straight to another labeled point in the code, skipping the normal top-to-bottom flow.
- Overusing goto statements can make code very hard to follow.
verb To jump to a specific point in a program using a goto instruction.
- She and her hosts could not understand one another until Hopper remembered some COBOL commands. "MOVE," she said, pointing to herself. "GOTO Osaka Hotel." The Japanese immediately understood and delivered her to her lodging.
— Computer Languages, Time-Life Books (1990)
- Next - goto the next entity defined in the module
— Gerald C. Cohen, Structured Representation for Requirements and Specifications (1991)
- The old BASIC program would goto line 100 whenever an error occurred.
- There is no way of falling into or GOTOing a procedure. The procedure can only be invoked by name as a subroutine.
— Douglas S. Stivison, Introduction to Turbo Pascal (1987)
