Structured programming

A programming paradigm that organizes control flow around sequence, selection, and iteration. It favors bounded, composable control structures over arbitrary jumps such as unrestricted GOTO statements.

Sequence: An execution pattern in which instructions run one after another. It is the simplest of the three control structures underlying structured programming.
Edsger W. Dijkstra: A Dutch computer scientist whose work shaped programming languages, algorithms, and software engineering. His 1968 letter argued that unrestricted jumps make programs harder to understand.
Dijkstra's algorithm: An algorithm for finding shortest paths from one source in a graph with nonnegative edge weights. Its stepwise refinement illustrates how structured reasoning can organize an algorithm.
Unstructured programming: A programming style that relies heavily on arbitrary jumps rather than structured control constructs. It represents the jump-driven style that structured programming set out to replace.
Selection (programming): A control structure that chooses among execution paths based on a condition. Conditionals let structured programs branch without arbitrary jumps.
Go To Statement Considered Harmful: Edsger W. Dijkstra's 1968 letter criticizing unrestricted use of GOTO statements. The letter gave the structured-programming debate its most influential early statement.
Hoare logic: A formal system for reasoning about program correctness using assertions before and after commands. Its proofs benefit from the clear entry and exit points of structured constructs.
Object-oriented programming: A programming paradigm that organizes software around objects combining data and behavior. It adds an organizing principle beyond the control-flow structure emphasized here.
Iteration (computing): Repeated execution of instructions, usually controlled by a condition or count. Loops express repetition while keeping its entry and exit conditions explicit.
Structured programming theorem: A result showing that programs can be expressed using sequence, selection, and iteration. It supplied a formal basis for the paradigm's three core control structures.

Linked from 11 pages