Is there ever a reason to use goto in modern .NET code?

Question

I just found this code in reflector in the .NET base libraries...

    if (this._PasswordStrengthRegularExpression != null)
    {
        this._PasswordStreng         


        

Answer 1

With respect to this point:

So - is there a good reason for code like this that I'm missing? Was this code extract just put together by a shitty developer? or is .NET reflector returning inaccurate code?

I disagree with the premise that these are the only three possibilities.

Maybe it's true, as many others have suggested, that this simply isn't an accurate reflection of the real source code in the library. Regardless, we've all been guilty (well, I have, anyway) of writing code "the dirty way" for the purpose of:

1. Getting a feature implemented quickly
2. Fixing a bug quickly
3. Squeezing out a slight performance gain (sometimes with justification, sometimes not so much)
4. Some other reason that made sense at the time

That doesn't make someone a "shitty developer." Most guidelines such as "thou shalt not use goto" are mainly put in place to protect developers from themselves; they shouldn't be treated as a key for distinguishing between good and bad developers.

As an analogy, consider the simple rule many of us are taught in grade school English: never end a sentence with a preposition. This isn't a real rule; it's a guideline to help prevent people from saying things like, "Where's the car at?" It's important to understand this fact; once you start treating it like an actual rule, instead of a guideline, you'll find yourself "correcting" people for perfectly good sentences like "What are you afraid of?"

With this in mind, I'd be wary of any developer who called another developer "shitty" because he used goto.

I'm certainly not trying to defend goto, per se--just arguing that its use doesn't indicate incompetence, by any means.