Programming peeve of the Day

Lost User

Ah ok I see you have a problem with 'if ... else' ;P [Edit] Is see in your profile "In real life, a research chemist." Yep, better stop programming. This because programming follow strict rules while chemistry has only exceptions ;P

PIEBALDconsult

Is snot.

if ( !condition )
{
// Do something else
}

return ;

NotTodayYo

Chris Maunder wrote:

Your rewrite is how it should be done.

Why? It's not as clear as to what the code will do. Plus, returning from inside an if is bad form.

Mike Hankey

Got it before I did! :)

The less you need, the more you have. JaxCoder.com

Maximilien

when you refactor some code and are too afraid to remove else clauses.

I'd rather be phishing!

realJSOP

I like single exit points... That code would drive me nuts too...

".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013

Greg Utas

What's wrong with returning from inside an if? The rule about only returning at the end of a function leads to convoluted code where a flag is repeatedly used to bypass stuff just to reach the end of the function. Pure dross.

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Sander Rossel

No religion in the lounge! ;p

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Mike Hankey

I believe to be totally proper it should be;

if ( !condition )
{
// Do something else
return;
}

return ;

The less you need, the more you have. JaxCoder.com

Lost User

hehe :thumbsup:

PIEBALDconsult

If I had a lawn... :mad:

NotTodayYo

Greg Utas wrote:

The rule about only returning at the end of a function leads to convoluted code

As opposed to it not being clear when and where something can be returned.

Mike Hankey

We have a saying here in the south; Hold my beer[^].

The less you need, the more you have. JaxCoder.com

Chris Maunder

You're asking if it's worth having a pointless whinge about something others do that's outside of one's control? What a silly question!

cheers Chris Maunder

Chris Maunder

Bonus points to JSOP! I actually like having two exit points at most 1st at the very top if your initial sanity checks on input parameters fail. Get that out of the qay early 2nd at the very end of the routine.

cheers Chris Maunder

Nelek

That's what I like too. If the function is something easy... just one return at the end. If the function is something normal size... what you said. If the function is big... I do a second function to "check all needed stuff" at the beginning and then what you said.

M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.

Nelek

If the return is within an "check initialized stuff" at the beginning... nothing. If there are 3 or more returns... it might get so confusing / convoluted as having only one at the end.

M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.

Rick York

If you have allocated anything that is not an automatic object that can be risky. I have dealt with a few customers who had explicit code-style prohibitions against multiple return statements. Given the rest of the nonsense we had to deal with from them that was pretty much ignored. I hated those SFBs so much I refuse to buy any of their products ever again. To give a clue, they used to be referred to as a purveyor of expensive ink.

"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"

Rick York

I take a similar approach but I don't limit myself to just one return there. I let each sanity check have its own return statement because I find easier to deal with when debugging. Following the input sanitization I try to not have any returns unless a value is returned and then only at the bottom.

"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"

Greg Utas

It's quite clear, right in the return statement. If the only return is at the end of the function, you have to find all the places that can set the returned value, and figure out whether that value survives to the end of the function or gets updated.

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The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.