How do you use goto loop in Python?

Answered by Willian Lymon

Using the goto loop in Python can be a powerful tool when you need to break out of a deeply nested loop or restart a loop. The goto statement allows you to jump to a specific point in your code, which can be useful in certain situations.

To use the goto loop in Python, you need to import the goto module. You can do this by using the following line of code at the beginning of your script:

“`python
From goto import goto, label
“`

Once you have imported the goto module, you can use the `goto` and `label` keywords to control the flow of your code. The `label` keyword is used to define a specific point in your code that you can jump to, while the `goto` keyword is used to actually jump to that point.

Let’s take a look at an example to see how the goto loop can be used to break out from a deeply nested loop.

“`python
From goto import goto, label

For i in range(1, 10):
For j in range(1, 20):
For k in range(1, 30):
Print(i, j, k)
If k == 3:
Goto .end

Label .end
Print(“Finished\n”)
“`

In this example, we have three nested loops. We print the values of `i`, `j`, and `k` for each iteration of the loop. However, if the value of `k` is equal to 3, we use the `goto` statement to jump to the `end` label, effectively breaking out of all the nested loops.

The `label .end` statement defines the end label, which is the point in the code where we want to jump to. Once we have broken out of the loops, the program continues executing from that point and prints “Finished”.

It’s worth noting that the use of the goto loop in Python is controversial and not recommended in most cases. The goto statement can make code harder to read and understand, and it can lead to spaghetti code if used excessively. It is generally considered better practice to use other control flow statements, such as `break` and `continue`, to achieve the desired behavior.

However, there may be rare cases where the goto loop can be useful. For example, if you are working on a legacy codebase that already uses goto statements, you may need to understand and modify that code. In such cases, it can be helpful to have a basic understanding of how the goto loop works.

The goto loop in Python allows you to break out from a deeply nested loop or restart a loop by jumping to a specific point in your code. While it can be a powerful tool in certain situations, it is generally not recommended to use the goto loop due to its potential for making code harder to read and understand.