Label (computer science)

A label in a programming language is a sequence of characters that identifies a location within source code. In most languages labels take the form of an identifier, often followed by a punctuation character (e.g., a colon). In many high level programming languages the purpose of a label is to act as the destination of a GOTO statement.[1][2] In assembly language labels can be used anywhere an address can (for example, as the operand of a JMP or MOV instruction).[3] Also in Pascal and its derived variations. Some languages, such as Fortran and BASIC, support numeric labels.[4] Labels are also used to identify an entry point into a compiled sequence of statements (e.g., during debugging).

See also

References

  1. ↑ C Standard section 6.8.6.1 The goto statement
  2. ↑ "GOTO Statement QuickSCREEN". Microsoft. 1988. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
  3. ↑ O. Lawlor. "nasm x86 Assembly". Retrieved 2008-07-03.
  4. ↑ "Differences Between GW-BASIC and QBasic". 2003-05-12. Retrieved 2008-06-28.