&gt; Didn&#x27;t they know functions in 1987? ;)<p>In all seriousness: only just barely. I entered the undergraduate C.S. program at the U. of Kansas in 1983. The faculty were constantly saying, &quot;We&#x27;re doing <i>structured programming</i> now!&quot; -- as if they weren&#x27;t quite convinced yet, and needed to remind themselves.<p>I think this letter does correctly point out that, while simple selection &amp; iteration constructs are sufficient to do anything we want, concise, readable code requires more. And so now we have -- yes -- return, and also break, exceptions, etc. (I&#x27;m rather surprised that the idea of a multi-level break, which has been proposed for more than one PL, has never really caught on.)<p>P.S. Perhaps we could title your comment <i>&quot; &#x27;GOTO Considered Harmful&#x27; Considered Harmful&quot; Considered Harmful</i>.