Avoiding 'GOTO' - Help with some code

I have the following code

Code:

---

d = opendir(sf_homedir)
int z = 1;
if (d)
{
while ((dir = readdir(d)))
        {
        if ( strcmp (dir->d_name,x) == 0)
        {
                sprintf(x,"%s.%i",x,z);
                z++;
        }
        }

}

---

My question is this: if it enters the string comparison it will only compare the remainder of the directory - as opposed to starting again, and again and again until it no longer enters the if (strcmp) function. How should I go about this...I'm told I shouldn't use GOTO!!!

Are you intentionally assigning 1 to z every time the loop starts, or is that an typo? Other than that, I'm not really sure what you're talking about.

Code:

---

while( z != 0 )
{
    while( z == 1 && stuff )
    {
        if( exit_condition )
            z = 0;
    }
}

---

Both loops should end as soon as 'exit_condition' is reached.


Quzah.

Sorry that was a typo...I've corrected it now. Basically it reads a file or folder name and compares it. Now depending on whether or not if finds a match it will change the string that is being compared to the current filename/folder. What I want it to do is that if it does find a match to read the whole directory again.

I hope it's a bit more clear this time. I'll explain it again below.

search /home/user for 'dictionary'

if it finds a file or folder in /home/user called dictionary it needs to start searching again but this time for dictionary.1 and then dictionary.2 until no match is found! It needs to start searching the whole directory again from the begining.

What you seem to be doing is counting up until you find a file which does not exist.
You can use fstat() / fopen() / access() to determine if a file exists without searching the whole directory.

Call one of those in a loop, until they return file not found.

This isn't a good example of when goto should be used, but just remember for future reference that goto shouldn't be avoided at all costs, sometimes it's simply the best choice. Of course it is equally bad to use it all the time, but total avoidance can lead to very poorly written code.

when you find the matching string, do something to force readdir to return the first directory again. Perhaps reopening the directory?

> Perhaps reopening the directory?
rewinddir()

But there is no need to scan the whole directory to determine if the file exists.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by valis

This isn't a good example of when goto should be used, but just remember for future reference that goto shouldn't be avoided at all costs, sometimes it's simply the best choice.

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Debatable... Not saying you're wrong, it's just debatable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by valis

Of course it is equally bad to use it all the time, but total avoidance can lead to very poorly written code.

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Or better designed code in many cases.

In my case, after 20+ years of writing C code, I have never used a goto. Not once. gotos can be avoided if you design your code to avoid them.