Spaghetti Code

Spaghetti code is a pejorative term for computer code with a complex and tangled (like strands of spaghetti) control structure. It is characterized by the use of the GOTO instruction or other unstructured, unconditional branching. This type of undisciplined code is almost impossible to trace or debug due to its complexity and disorganization. Instead, code should be structured and modular.

Structured	Spaghetti
START: PERFORM DOG PERFORM CAT PERFORM FISH PERFORM BIRD PERFORM FROG EXIT. DOG: WALK THE DOG RETURN CAT: PUT OUT THE CAT RETURN FISH: FEED THE FISH RETURN BIRD: COVER BIRD CAGE RETURN FROG: SING TO THE FROG RETURN	START: GOTO MAMMALS DOG: WALK THE DOG GOTO CAT MAMMALS: GOTO DOG FISH: FEED THE FISH COVER THE BIRD GOTO FROG CAT: PUT OUT THE CAT GOTO FISH-AND-FOWL FISH-AND-FOWL: GOTO FISH DINOSAUR: BECOME EXTINCT GOTO START FROG: SING TO THE FROG EXIT.

Structured

Spaghetti


START:
   PERFORM DOG
   PERFORM CAT
   PERFORM FISH
   PERFORM BIRD
   PERFORM FROG
   EXIT.

DOG:
   WALK THE DOG
   RETURN

CAT:
   PUT OUT THE CAT
   RETURN

FISH:
   FEED THE FISH
   RETURN

BIRD:
   COVER BIRD CAGE
   RETURN

FROG:
   SING TO THE FROG
   RETURN


START:
  GOTO MAMMALS
DOG:
  WALK THE DOG
  GOTO CAT
MAMMALS:
  GOTO DOG
FISH:
  FEED THE FISH
  COVER THE BIRD
  GOTO FROG
CAT:
  PUT OUT THE CAT
  GOTO FISH-AND-FOWL
FISH-AND-FOWL:
  GOTO FISH
DINOSAUR:
  BECOME EXTINCT
  GOTO START
FROG:
  SING TO THE FROG
EXIT.

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