Why is this program valid?

Question

Reading this fascinating question made me remember a code snippet I stumbled across a few weeks ago; it gave me quite a few minutes of confusion until I figured out why it works, maybe it will be interesting for others as well.

<?php

http://example.com/some-article
$items = get_items();
// etc.

Obviously the programmer wanted to add an explanatory link as a comment before the code block, but forgot to add the // to the beginning. Nevertheless, the code works fine. Can you tell why?

I guess the code colorer helps a lot with the answer :). – kapa Aug 15 '12 at 22:02 — kapa, Aug 15 '12 at 22:02

score 20 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 15 '12 at 22:02

20

The http: is a goto label, and the rest of the line is commented out.

edited Aug 15 '12 at 22:02

kapa

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answered Aug 15 '12 at 21:59

Brandon

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and you sir, type faster than me LOL – Keval Domadia Aug 15 '12 at 22:01
1

Well, it is not really converted into anything, it IS a goto label :). – kapa Aug 15 '12 at 22:01
Heheh... this question was a bonus on the final exam for one of my classes at my university. I felt so stupid when the lecturer gave us the answer to that one. xD And very true, bažmegakapa. – Brandon Aug 15 '12 at 22:02
@BrandonJ.Dusseau Just edited the answer so I could upvote it ;). – kapa Aug 15 '12 at 22:05

Why is this program valid?

1 Answers1