Alternative for using goto for 'on case' situation

I feel a bit like a noob for asking, but is there a better altnerative for using structures like:

Code:


on *:text:#: {
if ($1) { goto $1 } | else { halt }
:1 | echo -a choice #1 | halt
:2 | echo -a choice #2 | halt
:3 | echo -a choice #3 | halt
}

or

on *:text:#: {
if ($1 == 1) { echo -a choice #1 | halt }
if ($1 == 2) { echo -a choice #1 | halt }
if ($1 == 3) { echo -a choice #1 | halt }
}

Aside from correcting the ON TEXT events so that they use the correct format, the 2nd structure could use if/elseif/else rather than several if's with halt's.

I'm going to presume that the scenario you gave is a generalization, and not specific to your actual needs.

Originally Posted By: RusselB

Aside from correcting the ON TEXT events so that they use the correct format, the 2nd structure could use if/elseif/else rather than several if's with halt's.

alias blah {
if ($1 == 1) { blah }
if ($1 == 2) { blah }
if ($1 == 3) { blah }
}

alias blah {
if ($1 == 1) { blah }
elseif ($1 == 2) { blah }
elseif ($1 == 3) { blah }
}

I use elseif mainly for stacking if-statements, does is have any added value in this scenario?

Quote:

I'm going to presume that the scenario you gave is a generalization, and not specific to your actual needs.

Correct.

heya STING! /goto is usually the alternative proposed, the usual method being a string of if statements. though it doesn't serve as a general purpose example without some further consideration, there are are other ways to take advantage of some of /goto's features:

Code:

  if ($istok(1 2 3, $1, 32)) goto $1
  if ($1 != $null) {
    echo -a default!
    halt
  }
  echo -a null!
  halt  
  :1
  echo -a 1!
  halt
  :2
  echo -a 2!
  halt
  :3
  echo -a 3!
  halt

the first line, the $istok() check, is just to ensure that $1 exists in your set of selections, otherwise you'd get an error saying the label you want to goto doesn't exist. now, you can perform a little trickery by coming up with a label corresponding to a value of $1 that you never expect to have and use the following:

Code:

  var %goto = $1
  goto $1 .
  :1
  echo -a 1!
  halt
  :2
  echo -a 2!
  halt
  :3
  echo -a 3!
  halt
  :.
  echo -a null!
  halt
  :%goto
  echo -a default!
  halt

if $1 is $null then /goto %goto . becomes /goto .

if it isn't $null but isn't one of the valid selections, %goto serves as the default case

this isn't really an alternative as you requested, just something else to think about when using /goto

Originally Posted By: jaytea

this isn't really an alternative as you requested, just something else to think about when using /goto

Thanks, the $istok & goto %goto are good tips.
I think I'll stick with the goto's. It's only for dialog event handling, so no real large need for speed efficiency there

Originally Posted By: STING

Originally Posted By: RusselB

Aside from correcting the ON TEXT events so that they use the correct format, the 2nd structure could use if/elseif/else rather than several if's with halt's.

alias blah {
if ($1 == 1) { blah }
if ($1 == 2) { blah }
if ($1 == 3) { blah }
}

alias blah {
if ($1 == 1) { blah }
elseif ($1 == 2) { blah }
elseif ($1 == 3) { blah }
}

I use elseif mainly for stacking if-statements, does is have any added value in this scenario?

it only serves to prevent mIRC from going through subsequent if conditions should one of them succeed which, if you're using /halt in each of them, doesn't happen anyway. if you aren't, the elseif approach provides a comfortable way of including a default case (else {})

You're also better off using RETURN rather than HALT in most situations, though ELSEIF is a better option, imo.

There are a variety of ways you can avoid the need for GOTO and even avoid many ELSEIF lines. Sometimes, just using variables creatively can save you a lot of lines of code. Or, for only a couple possible inputs, $iif() might be a good option. It all depends on exactly what you're trying to do. A real example is more likely to get you good advice than a fake example.

in this case i think that /goto avoids several conditions then
it avoids many unnecessary calculations