EXIT

Syntax

EXIT loop_variable (FOR loops) or

EXIT loop_name (REPeat loops) or

EXIT(SMS only)

Location

QL ROM

Using the first two variants of this command, the specified loop (either a FOR or a REPeat structure) will be finished and the program will jump to the first statement after the relative END FOR loop_variable or END REPeat loop_name.

The third variant only exists under SMS and will force the interpreter to jump out of the current loop being executed, whether it is a FOR loop or a REPeat loop - the interpreter will just search the program for the next END REPeat or END FOR statement.

NOTE 1

If two or more loops are nested together, it is possible to EXIT the outer loop from within the inner loop:

REPeat loop1
  ...
  REPeat loop2
    ...
    IF condition THEN EXIT loop1 ---+
    ...                             |
  END REPeat loop2                  |
  ...                               |
END REPeat loop1                    |
...                    <------------+

Such a structure is not regarded as elegant by some people because it is not possible to draw a structogram from this.

NOTE 2

If a program is badly written, this can lead to confusion - for example, try:

100 REPeat loop
120   PRINT 'Hello'
130   EXIT loop
140 END REPeat loop
150 END REPeat loop

The interpreter fails to notice the misplaced END REPeat at line 150.

The first time that EXIT loop is encountered, the interpreter leaves the loop at line 140 - however, line 150 forces the interpreter to execute the loop a second time. This time, EXIT loop forces the interpreter to jump out the loop at line 150. The same thing happens if you use FOR … END FOR instead of REPeat … END REPeat

This feature allows you to jump back into a loop from anywhere in the program (although this should be avoided). Compare what happens if NEXT loop is used instead of END REPeat loop in line 150, EXIT loop will always exit the loop at line 140. This means that NEXT loop can also be used to jump back into a loop from anywhere in the program (although again, this should be avoided).

Note that in any event, these latter two features will only work if the named loop has already been RUN (setting up the loop variables)!!

CROSS-REFERENCE

Please see FOR and REPeat for more details.