Skip and Stop

In Goblin, skip and stop control how execution moves through repeating structures.

They work inside:

• loops (while, for, repeat)
• Sweep operations

Goblin intentionally uses plain-language control words instead of the traditional programming keywords:

• skip instead of continue
• stop instead of break

The meaning is the same—the wording is simply clearer and easier to read.

Skip

skip immediately jumps to the next iteration of the current loop or the next match in a sweep.

What you write

skip

skip

Example (loop)

i | 0

repeat 5
    i += 1

    if i = 3
        skip
    end

    say i
end

i | 0

repeat 5
    i += 1

    if i = 3
        skip
    end

    say i
end

Output

1
2
4
5

When i becomes 3, that iteration is skipped and execution continues with the next one.

Stop

stop immediately exits the current loop or sweep.

What you write

stop

stop

Example (loop)

i | 0

repeat 10
    i += 1

    if i = 4
        stop
    end

    say i
end

i | 0

repeat 10
    i += 1

    if i = 4
        stop
    end

    say i
end

Output

1
2
3

When i reaches 4, the loop stops entirely.

Skip and Stop in Sweep

Sweep also supports skip and stop, but they operate on matches instead of loop iterations.

skip in sweep

Inside a sweep arm, skip cancels the current match and continues scanning for the next one.

sweep file
    "TODO"
        if :contains(self, "ignore")
            skip
        end

        self |= :replace(self, "TODO", "DONE")
end

sweep file
    "TODO"
        if :contains(self, "ignore")
            skip
        end

        self |= :replace(self, "TODO", "DONE")
end

If the matched region contains "ignore", that match is skipped and left unchanged.

stop in sweep

stop ends the sweep entirely.

sweep file
    "TODO"
        if :contains(self, "FINAL")
            stop
        end

        self |= :replace(self, "TODO", "DONE")
end

sweep file
    "TODO"
        if :contains(self, "FINAL")
            stop
        end

        self |= :replace(self, "TODO", "DONE")
end

Once "FINAL" is encountered, the sweep stops and no further matches are processed.

Where Skip and Stop Are Allowed

skip and stop must appear inside a structure that supports them.

Valid locations:

• loops
• Sweep

Using them elsewhere produces an error.

skip

skip

error: R0405: loop-control-outside-loop: ‘skip’ used outside of a loop

Why This Exists

Many programming languages use continue and break.

Goblin instead uses clear verbs:

• skip → skip this iteration or match
• stop → stop the loop or sweep entirely

This keeps control flow readable and consistent across both loops and Sweep.