Shifting meanings: "Spaghetti Code"?

[Sridhar Ayengar]

Chuck Guzis wrote:
> In an EETimes online article today, I read the following paragraph:
> 
> "Among its other features, Morrison said COSA allows more dynamic 
> changes in software than traditional methods, enables fast pre-
> empting of threads and brings a new level of traceability to 
> processes. It is also easier to debug because it does not use the 
> structures of nested if-then-else statements known as spaghetti code 
> popular in conventional programming languages."
> 
> Nested "IF-THEN-ELSE" is now spaghetti code?  I'd always understood 
> the term to mean code with lots of conditional GOTO statements  (In 
> FORTRAN, sprinkle in a bunch of computed and assigned GOTOs and 
> you're talking real pasta).
> 
> When did the meaning change?  Was it when the GOTO statement was 
> pretty much deprecated in just about every modern programming 
> language?  I can recall when "structured programming" was popularly 
> held to mean "no GOTOs".

I don't think the meaning has changed.  I think the person who was 
talking doesn't really know spaghetti code when he sees it.  I draw the 
line at computed GOTO.  I wouldn't even consider conditional GOTO to be 
"spaghetti".

Although, I might consider assembler code where every second instruction 
is a jump to be spaghetti code.

Peace...  Sridhar