Label related compiler error

Okay, I can understand where you are coming from.

I this case, I was just playing around with labels for testing the logic of a program. I wasn't planning on using them in the end, just in the design process. Meanwhile I ran into an error, and though I'd ask about it.

Is there a way though, that I can ask questions and have people answer them without trying to solve the "less optimal" underlying design? Perhaps some sort of "magical" key word that indicates I'm looking for answers to my questions, but I'm not looking for help with the underlying design, or the pros and cons of the situation (or a discussion about something unrelated to my questions)?

I think that it is inevitable that you will get replies over and above your original question(s) because most require the code to be seen leaving the door open for comments to be made about it. As Nick said above this is in the interest of people reading the thread who may pick up tips that are unrelated to the original question. I know that I have.

What does happen sometimes is that the discussion moves away from the original point but you can easily bring it back by posting further questions about your problem and/or revised code incorporating changes made as a result of earlier answers. On the whole I think that we benefit from OT comments because, after all, they are easy to ignore if we don't want to read them.

There are some subjects, notably goto and the use of Strings (capital S), that provoke replies that some people don't want to hear, but that is the case in every forum on various subjects that I have belonged to.

wildbill:

ask someone who will (hopefully) cut to the chase and actually tell me the answer to what I am asking, instead of telling me all the reasons it's so bad to do it.

There's an expectation when posting answers here that they're not just for the benefit of the OP. Other folks will take note of what's written, so you'll always get the reasons why goto is bad recited if you ask about using it, just as most any question about dealing with mains voltage garners a warning about the possible dangers.

Some people are special. Special people take precedence. Even ones with years in forums who should know better.

mattallen37:
Perhaps some sort of "magical" key word that indicates I'm looking for answers to my questions, but I'm not looking for help with the underlying design, or the pros and cons of the situation ...

Yes, but that's like asking:

"How do I kill my sister? And I don't want to hear about how killing her is a bad idea, just ... how do I do it?"

Do you not see that this question can't be answered without warning about whether or not it is a good idea?

mattallen37:
... the Arduino error messages are almost always useless, so I tend to disregard them.

If you hadn't disregarded the error message this whole thread wouldn't have been necessary. So a little humility here wouldn't hurt.

It answered your initial question. It wasn't useless.

I'd be more convinced by your attitude, if the error you got had been really strange or obscure.

But it wasn't. The error message told you exactly where and what the problem was.

If you had actually read the error message, you would have solved your problem without having to write
all those weird disclaimers in your first question.

I go out of my way to avoid these forums

Not far enough.

goto tryHarder:

Apparently Special People run on Blocking Code.
It blocks them from noticing much less giving a damn about everyone else, the forum exists just for them.

One reason I disregarded the error, was that it didn't tell me where to put the semi-colon. It just said "expected `;' before '}'". In the original situation, the line number it gave was off by about 25 lines (as is typical with Arduino errors).

Nick, I came right out and said that I tend to dis-regard the errors, implying that this time I made a mistake in doing so. Asking how to kill someone implies you are trying to do something wrong. Asking about a compiler error, or even asking how to use goto does not imply anything more than the programmer is using bad programming practice. There is nothing wrong with using goto. It's a legitimate command, that if mis-used, would probably only mean future debugging troubles.

GoForSmoke, probably 70-90 percent of my forum posts have been to help others, not to ask for help.

As far as I am concerned, this thread should have ended after reply #7. At that point, I had the answer to my question (I was satisfied), and there were several warnings against using goto (everyone else should have been satisfied). What more could one want?

And do you think we could please leave it at that? I'd appreciate it very much if an admin would trim this thread back to (leaving) reply #7.

The original question has been answered, and we have had plenty of discussion about it.

Thread locked.