Programmers

[Stopdoor]

A

function doThing() {
    if (condition) {
        return 1;
    }
    return 2;
}

B

function doThing() {
    if (condition) {
        return 1;
    } else {
        return 2;
    }
}

Seen a lot of the former practice at my workplace lately and tbh it's totally bothering me, I'd put human readability above most things. Are you all about saving characters? Is the former actually somehow "safer" in your opinion?

(Edit: I should've made the example more dirty to make using a ternary not the easy answer, but yeah, just assume that's not plausible here)

 

[pollo]

B all day and twice on sundays.

 

[Transistor]

A will return 2 no matter what and then only return 1 if the statement is true.
B is the proper form if you are trying to do an either/or thing.

EDIT: Ignore me. I haven't had my coffee yet.

 

[Deleted member 16908]

function doThing() {
    if (condition) {
        return 1;
    }
    else return 2;
}

Wouldn't this work?

 

[Stopdoor]

The first one will return 2 no matter what and then only return 1 if the statement is true.
B is the proper form.

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Pretty sure these would work functionally exactly the same unless something about the logic was later modified.

 

[matcha pocky]

B for sure

if your language has a ternary operator tho I'd take that over both

 

[MinerArcaniner]

B is preferable, for readability's sake.

 

[Ikuu]

A is the way to go, there's no need for the else.

 

[Transistor]

Pretty sure these would work functionally exactly the same unless something about the logic was later modified.

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Not necessarily. A will only return 1 if the condition is true. And then it will return 2 no matter what.

B will return 1 if it is true and 2 if it is false.

EDIT: ignore me. I haven't had my coffee yet

 

[Deleted member 16908]

A will return 2 no matter what and then only return 1 if the statement is true.
B is the proper form if you are trying to do an either/or thing.

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I'm pretty sure both functions work exactly the same. The only way A is returning 2 and not 1 is if the condition isn't true, so it's still an either/or situation.

 

[Basquiat]

A will return 2 no matter what and then only return 1 if the statement is true.
B is the proper form if you are trying to do an either/or thing.

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How are they logically any different? They could both be reduced into a ternary operator.

 

[NaDannMaGoGo]

If that's all the function does I'd choose a for better readability.

 

[Tunichtgut]

B is how i would program it.

 

[Stopdoor]

function doThing() {
    if (condition) {
        return 1;
    }
    else return 2;
}

Wouldn't this work?

Click to shrink...

If your syntax allowed it, it's essentially the exact same as option 1 but then I'd question why you didn't do

function doThing() {
    if (condition) return 1;
    else return 2;
}

or even

function doThing() {
    return condition ? 1 : 2;
}

 

[zombiejames]

I'd go with A.

 

[Deleted member 16908]

Not necessarily. A will only return 1 if the condition is true. And then it will return 2 no matter what.

B will return 1 if it is true and 2 if it is false.

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Maybe in the language you use it works that way, but in most languages "return" closes the function. You can't return 1 and then 2. As soon as you return once, that's it. Function over.

 

[HammerOfThor]

B for sure

if your language has a ternary operator tho I'd take that over both

Click to shrink...

This.

Sometimes it's frustrating when people try to over minimize code. It feels like it's being done for the sake of doing it rather than any technical reasons.

 

[SweetNicole]

A is the correct, clean code way to handle it. It simplifies the logic visually and is less lines of code. That being said, ternary operators are simpler even more so.

After the if with a return statement, there is no need for the else part as the code below the if will only run when the condition stated is not fulfilled.

 

[Jazar]

Funny I was just writing this logic yesterday. I used the else logic but Resharper tool wanted to simplify it to the first. The end of the day IMO it's not a huge deal either way so long as the logic is consise and clear.

 

[Gabbo]

I usually go B for readability

 

[Transistor]

Pretty sure these would work functionally exactly the same unless something about the logic was later modified.

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I'm pretty sure both functions work exactly the same. The only way A is returning 2 and not 1 is if the condition isn't true, so it's still an either/or situation.

Click to shrink...

How are they any different? They could both be reduced into a ternary operator.

Click to shrink...

Maybe in the language you use it works that way, but in most languages "return" closes the function. You can't return 1 and then 2. If you return at all, that's it. Function over.

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Ha! Y'all are 100% right. I haven't had my coffee yet and my brain substituted "print" where "return" was written.

I need my coffee now.

Regardless, I prefer the readability of B

 

[Stopdoor]

If that's all the function does I'd choose a for better readability.

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Seems we're going to meet a bloody end in the readability wars

 

[TheRagnCajun]

B is more intuitive. A looks like it will return 2 even if the condition is true.

 

[grmlin]

I'm all for automatically applied code styles that do that kind of stuff for me, or at least highlight errors. There are only very few rules/code styles I can't deal with.

BUT, different styles from different developers in a team are a no go imo

 

[GYODX]

Not necessarily. A will only return 1 if the condition is true. And then it will return 2 no matter what.

B will return 1 if it is true and 2 if it is false.

EDIT: ignore me. I haven't had my coffee yet

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Functions only return once, though? At least in the languages I'm familiar with.

 

[julia crawford]

Early returns for me.

 

[Deleted member 16908]

If your syntax allowed it, it's essentially the exact same as option 1 but then I'd question why you didn't do

function doThing() {
    if (condition) return 1;
    else return 2;
}

or even

function doThing() {
    return condition ? 1 : 2;
}

Click to shrink...

Those are both good options too.

 

[NaDannMaGoGo]

Seems we're going to meet a bloody end in the readability wars

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Aye, lmao. This isn't gonna end well...

 

[WillyGubbins]

The real crime here is not putting opening braces on a new line.

 

[Transistor]

The real crime here is not putting opening braces on a new line.

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This I can agree with

 

[Stopdoor]

A is the correct, clean code way to handle it. It simplifies the logic visually and is less lines of code. That being said, ternary operators are simpler even more so.

After the if with a return statement, there is no need for the else part as the code below the if will only run when the condition stated is not fulfilled.

Click to shrink...

My brain can process the word "else" faster than anything else, though. I'm just reading out a list of exclusive cases and don't have to worry about somehow one of those cases doesn't accidentally not return and go to bottom 🤔

I should've made the example a tiny bit more dirty to make "ternary" not possible, tbh, I'm more focused on if you had to do logic branches.

 

[rpm]

I'd do a ternary operator over either if possible, but if I had to do it either of those two ways, I'd go with B in this specific instance, if you're doing just an if else, I want to see the else. If instead of just "return 2" it was multiple lines of code, I'd go with A, because my brain sees that as "getting any simple cases out of the way before the real work of the method begins"

The real crime here is not putting opening braces on a new line.

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This is the real debate right here

 

[BeeksElectric]

B because readability is key. If you're the only one who will ever read your code, you can use shortcuts like A, but if you're on a team where someone else will eventually have to work on your code, you have to make sure it's easily comprehensible.

 

[Toad King]

The real crime here is not putting opening braces on a new line.

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Probably a JavaScript programmer, where auto semicolon insertion can bite you in obscure cases if you don't put the opening brace on the same line. It's why every JS linter reports them.

 

[Basquiat]

So type A is called an early exit condition I guess. I'd say the readability you gain from it is only worthwhile if you have functions with multiple nested conditions. Those functions can become painful to read as they end up being longer horizontally than vertically.

 

[Lumination]

Newbies out of school will love the elegance of shorter code. People who have worked a few years will appreciate the explicitness of longer form code.

 

[dragonbane]

If I can I would do:

return condition ? 1 : 2;

But otherwise it's A for me (with proper new line braces :P) unless the function is really long, then I prefer B for readability and consistency.

 

[chezzymann]

I really don't like stuff like jQuery and some of the new ES6 syntax like ? :. I want things to be obvious and readable even if it means a few extra lines of code.

 

[nano]

Would be A in our team. Depending on the length of the condition we would even simplify it more:

int DoThing()
{
    return condition ? 1 : 2;
}

We don't have an universal rule for that, if the condition is a longer expression, we tend to favor readability:

int DoThing()
{
    var condition = foobar || barfoo || foobaz;
    return condition ? 1 : 2;
}

But the else is just noise if it can be converted into a simple return like here. Depends more on the length of the variables/objects we use. We have expressive variable names fairly often and would use a conventional if:

int DoThing()
{
     if(isThisObjectEqualToSomeValue)
     {
          return someConstantThatWeHaveDefinedAbove;
     }

     return someOtherDefaultValue;
}

 

[mute]

A if I'm doing stuff for me

B if I'm doing stuff professionally with other people, and I'll fuss if I catch anyone trying to pull an A at work too.

 

[collige]

https://eslint.org/docs/rules/no-else-return

 

[bombermouse]

Your poll is wrong. Explicit is always better, but A is as explicit as B and early returns like A are the preferred methods by most linters.


Run you code trough a linter and avoid any ambiguity.

https://eslint.org/docs/rules/no-else-return

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This

 

[Vector]

I prefer C:

return condition? 1 : 2;

 

[Chakoo]

It depends on what your intended design is.

If you are trying to make an early exit (like checking if something is is invalid) then A all the way. B gets in the way for this design specially if you work somewhere that has a line character limit restriction (I worked at a place that was a strict no longer than 100 char per line)

If you are trying to handle a fork in the road situation where you need to do X or Y then B is cleaner and easier for a user to read.

Yet if the case is to be just a simple check function (ie isValid()) then this all the ***king way.

function isValidThing() {
    return condition ? 1 : 2;
}

So again, It really comes down to what you are trying to design/build for that given function then "it must always be A/B".

 

[ZeroDotFlow]

A every day. It's not about elegance, it's just more readable. As you deal with larger and larger files or classes, the additional lines of code can quickly make things into a blurry mess as you try to suss out what the code is actually doing. It also makes it clear that this is the final return statement, serving as a bookend to the function. Ternaries are better than both though.

 

[digit_zero]

The readability argument doesn't really hold with me just because writing code in the form of A is so prevalent - I'd expect/hope my coworker immediately understands what is happening there.

That could also be me defending myself for writing it like A every single time.

 

[Saganator]

B. To avoid possibility of confusion. Like when I first looked at A, I mistakenly thought return 2 would happen regardless of the condition, but then I remembered the function would end if the condition was true and 1 is returned.

edit: However if the function was larger I'd probably go with A

 

[DeltaRed]

If the compiler needs a return value then B wouldn't work.

 

[dragonbane]

It depends on what your intended design is.

If you are trying to make an early exit (like checking if something is is invalid) then A all the way. B gets in the way for this design specially if you work somewhere that has a line character limit restriction (I worked at a place that was a strict no longer than 100 char per line)

If you are trying to handle a fork in the road situation where you need to do X or Y then B is cleaner and easier for a user to read.

Yet if the case is to be just a simple check function (ie isValid()) then this all the ***king way.

function isValidThing() {
    return condition ? 1 : 2;
}

So again, It really comes down to what you are trying to design/build for that given function then "it must always be A/B".

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Yeah I find myself use A, B or C depending on the situation.

 

[Serebii]

Not necessarily. A will only return 1 if the condition is true. And then it will return 2 no matter what.

B will return 1 if it is true and 2 if it is false.

EDIT: ignore me. I haven't had my coffee yet

Click to shrink...

You're right in some languages, to be fair