The GOTO
statement branches unconditionally to a statement label or block label. The label must be unique within its scope and must precede an executable statement or a PL/SQL block. The GOTO
statement transfers control to the labelled statement or block. For more information, see "Using the GOTO Statement".
label declaration ::=
goto statement ::=
Keyword and Parameter Description
label_name
A label that you assigned to an executable statement or a PL/SQL block. A GOTO
statement transfers control to the statement or block following <<label_name>>
.
A GOTO
label must precede an executable statement or a PL/SQL block. A GOTO
statement cannot branch into an IF
statement, LOOP
statement, or sub-block. To branch to a place that does not have an executable statement, add the NULL
statement.
From the current block, a GOTO
statement can branch to another place in the block or into an enclosing block, but not into an exception handler. From an exception handler, a GOTO
statement can branch into an enclosing block, but not into the current block.
If you use the GOTO
statement to exit a cursor FOR
loop prematurely, the cursor is closed automatically. The cursor is also closed automatically if an exception is raised inside the loop.
A given label can appear only once in a block. However, the label can appear in other blocks including enclosing blocks and sub-blocks. If a GOTO
statement cannot find its target label in the current block, it branches to the first enclosing block in which the label appears.
For examples, see the following: