Best practice in setting return value (use else or?)

Question

Whenever you want to return a value from a method, but whatever you return depends on some other value, you typically use branching:

int calculateSomething() {
  if (a == b) {
    return x;
  } else {
    return y;
  }
}

Another way to write this is:

int calculateSomething() {
  if (a == b) {
    return x;
  }
  return y;
}

Is there any reason to avoid one or the other? Both allow adding "else if"-clauses without problems. Both typically generate compiler errors if you add anything at the bottom.

Note: I couldn't find any duplicates, although multiple questions exist about whether the accompanying curly braces should be on their own line. So let's not get into that.

Answer 1

I use both, depending on the method. For example, in a method that decides something, i think that

public boolean isSunday(Calendar cal) {
  if (Calendar.SUNDAY == cal.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK))
    return true;
  else
    return false;
}

captures the intent of the method better. It is stateless, it is not supposed to be extended, and it is closed in that the if-clause generates all values the method may ever return.

If the method calculates something, or retrieves information, i like the second variant more:

public String getAnswer(int question) {
  if (isAvailable(preciseAnswerService)
    return preciseAnswerService.answer(question);
  return defaultAnswer(question);
}

Here, the fact that one answer is chosen over the other depends on the state of the answerService. We might extend the method later by adding a preciseAnswerCache, or retrieve the answer from somewhere else.

Answer 2

I prefer a third approach, especially when dealing with Booleans:

int calculateSomething() { 
    int value = y; // whatever the default value is
    if (a == b) { 
        value = x;
    }

    return value;
}

I find it more natural in that you don't have return statements everywhere in the logic flow, however there are times when it's better to use the second form. The above is just my preference by default.

Answer 3

I prefer to have one return clause that is not inside a loop, if- or else-branch. Therefore, I opt for the second version.

My reason: In PL/SQL (and probably other languages too), the compiler doesn't notice the omission of a return statement, but the program throws an exception if a function doesn't end with an explicit return statement.

Answer 4

Like Lenny222 says in the comments, it is indeed just a matter of taste.

I personally prefer the second form, as it is

• more concise
• better readable (imo)

I think the else-clause in the first form is just plain redundant, and so adds clutter.

Answer 5

In Java you can write :

int calculateSomething() { 
    return a == b ? x : y;
}

Answer 6

There is no point to use else after return.

LLVM Coding Standards says the same:

...do not use 'else' or 'else if' after something that interrupts control flow — like return, break, continue, goto, etc. For example, this is bad:

case 'J': {
  if (Signed) {
    Type = Context.getsigjmp_bufType();
    if (Type.isNull()) {
      Error = ASTContext::GE_Missing_sigjmp_buf;
      return QualType();
    } else {
      break;
    }
  } else {
    Type = Context.getjmp_bufType();
    if (Type.isNull()) {
      Error = ASTContext::GE_Missing_jmp_buf;
      return QualType();
    } else {
      break;
    }
  }
}

...The idea is to reduce indentation and the amount of code you have to keep track of when reading the code.