Date:         Wed, 18 Apr 2007 23:30:10 -0400
Reply-To:     Richard Ristow <wrristow@mindspring.com>
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Richard Ristow <wrristow@mindspring.com>
Subject:      Suggest: Handling syntax error in LOOP, DO IF, etc.
Comments: To: SPSS suggestion line <suggest@spss.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

SPSS's standard handling of syntax errors is to report them, and then
report "This statement not executed"; further parsing and processing
continue as if the statement hadn't been there at all.

When the statement begins a construct - LOOP, DO IF, DO REPEAT - the
result is very confusing: subsequent statements raise errors as if the
original statement had not been there at all.

I suggest that the error handler recognize construct-delimiting
statements when it can, even if they're in error, and recognize that
those constructs are open, for the purpose of further error checking.

It may be necessary (and wise) to replace "This statement not executed"
with "This group not executed" in such cases.