clang-tidy - cppcoreguidelines-avoid-goto — Extra Clang Tools 18.1.8 documentation

# Extra Clang Tools 18.1.8 documentation

## clang-tidy - cppcoreguidelines-avoid-goto

# cppcoreguidelines-avoid-goto

The usage of `goto` for control flow is error prone and should be replaced with looping constructs. Only forward jumps in nested loops are accepted.

This check implements ES.76 from the C++ Core Guidelines and 6.3.1 from High Integrity C++ Coding Standard.

For more information on why to avoid programming with `goto` you can read the famous paper A Case against the GO TO Statement..

The check diagnoses `goto` for backward jumps in every language mode. These should be replaced with C/C++ looping constructs.

    // Bad, handwritten for loop.
    int i = 0;
    // Jump label for the loop
    loop_start:
    do_some_operation();

    if (i < 100) {
      ++i;
      goto loop_start;
    }

    // Better
    for(int i = 0; i < 100; ++i)
      do_some_operation();

Modern C++ needs `goto` only to jump out of nested loops.

    for(int i = 0; i < 100; ++i) {
      for(int j = 0; j < 100; ++j) {
        if (i * j > 500)
          goto early_exit;
      }
    }

    early_exit:
    some_operation();

All other uses of `goto` are diagnosed in C++.