Thread: if statement

Code:

if (year > 1970)
{
	yearDif = year - 1970;
	printf("Bigger,\n");
}
else 
{
	yearDif = 1970 - year;
	printf("Smaller,\n");
}
printf("The difference in years is %i\n",yearDif);

I hope you indented that code in your editor too.
Use code tags to preserve indentation.
Use brackets when the ifs are two or more lines.

Originally Posted by Elysia

Use brackets when the ifs are two or more lines.

Or use curly brackets in ALL if-statements. That avoids "funny" effects when you have:

Code:

if (something) 
   n++;

and you decide to add a printf to the if branch it so that you can debug:

Code:

if (something)
   printf("Hit something");
   n++;

Now n++ is done whether something is true or not, because there are no braces around the printf/n++ statements.

--
Mats

I don't like brackets in single-line ifs. Just remember the rule that two or more lines require brackets and you'll be fine.

Originally Posted by Elysia

I don't like brackets in single-line ifs. Just remember the rule that two or more lines require brackets and you'll be fine.

And I guess you've never quickly added a line inside an if, to see if gets hit or some such, and then spent several minutes (or worse) on trying to figure out why it all of a sudden behaves completely different?

--
Mats

As far as I can remember, if I added a new line to the if, I always add brackets, so it's never really been a problem to me.

Originally Posted by cpjust

What if you're working on a team and someone who's not so "careful" edits your code and doesn't add the braces?

Then I'd say that one is at fault!
OK, but seriously, if I work alone, then I don't do it. If I don't work alone and I'm not required to do it, I don't. If I don't work alone and I have to do it, I do it. Otherwise not.
This problem can be figured out with a simple debug anyway!

Originally Posted by cpjust

What if you're working on a team and someone who's not so "careful" edits your code and doesn't add the braces? Just remember, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't always pick the other developers on your team.

What if Venus is in alignment with the Moon and Earth and the North Polar Star? Image that. Wouldn't that be a sign to be concern about?
I suppose it can't be helped to have people trying to beat the dead horse all the time.

I have to admit I do the same as Elysia in this respects.
I've never run into the problem of missing curly braces because the first thing I automatically do when adding something additional to an if-statement is make sure it has brackets.
It is similiar to how you would enhance this:

Code:

if (a || b)

to this:

Code:

if ((a || b) && c)

You know you need to add extra brackets when you make such a change, but nobody expects you to write this initially:

Code:

if ((a || b))

True there may be people out there that don't automatically check for such things, and regularly cause such a problem. I'd say that they likely have a tendancy not to learn from their own mistakes, and likely wont get far as a programmer. You get to work with all sorts of code styles in your life. Not everyone is going to write perfect code for you.

Dare I say YAGNI applies?

Well that's my 0.02c anyway.

A mythical monster that eats programmers for breakfast. Or You Ain't Gonna Need It.

Originally Posted by cpjust

OK, let me put it another way.
Without the braces, the only thing you have to prove that you don't have a bug is the indentation. If somebody (maybe even yourself) comes along later and tries to reformat the code, and accidentally messes up the indentation, now you've got nothing, plus it's harder to read. If the braces were there, even without the indentation, you'd know exactly what the code was intended to do.

I recently fixed some bugs where somebody tried to cram two lines into an if statement without braces. Were they brain-dead morons? Probably. But if they would have gotten into the habit of always using braces, that wouldn't have happened.

Maybe I should add another point then:
Efficiency. Do you know that you tend to mess up if-statements by adding two or more lines to an if without adding braces? If yes, you can initially place those brackets there. If not, then you don't have to.
To me, it seems like forcing someone to use another coding style as opposed to what someone usually uses. It's doable, but it doesn't mean you like it.