Language Reference

GOTO Statement

jumps to a new statement

GOTO label;

where label is a labeled statement. Execution jumps to this statement. A label is a name followed by a colon (:).

The GOTO (or GO TO) statement directs IML to jump immediately to the statement with the given label and begin executing statements from that point. Any IML statement can have a label, which is a name followed by a colon preceding any executable statement.

GOTO statements are usually clauses of IF statements. For example:

  
    if x>y then goto skip; 
    y=log(y-x); 
    yy=y-20; 
    skip: if y<0 then 
       do; 
         more statements 
       end;
 

The function of GOTO statements is usually better performed by DO groups. For example, the preceding statements could be better written as follows:

  
    if x<=y then 
       do; 
          y=log(y-x); 
          yy=y-20; 
       end; 
       more statements
 

CAUTION: You can only use the GOTO statement inside a module or a DO group. As good programming practice, you should avoid using a GOTO statement when it refers to a label preceding the GOTO statement; otherwise, an infinite loop is possible.