Structured programming: myths and facts
E.A. Miroshnichenko · Korea-Russia International Symposium on Science and Technology · 2003
All kinds of science have their own myths and technical science is not exclusion. It is possible to list a number of disappointing fallacies, mistakes and wrong beliefs. Such examples can make everyone hesitate whether all common truths of science are actual and final ones, even they are supported by great names like Wirth, Dijkstra etc. One of such well-known truths of science is the theorem, being the foundation of the structured programming. It fights the goto statement in an implacable way and proclaims the only three control constructions: sequence, loop and selection. The structural theorem has long and respectable life; it is used for teaching all programmers at the stage of basics. The problem of such learning is the lack of sensible criticism. The offered report details the problems and fallacies of fighting the goto and summarizes clear and obvious mistakes in definitions of three fundamental control structures. The goal of the report is to separate myths off the facts and advance the theory towards the practice. The main conclusion is that the essence of the structured programming is good but its definition is wrong and has to be corrected in a proper way.