On Sat, Feb 20, 2010 at 4:49 PM, Trevor Orr <[email protected]> wrote: > My preference is to always use the { } no matter how many statements to > execute in an if statement. What are do the rest of you use?
A few years ago I would avoid braces where they weren't necessary, thinking that the code was less cluttered and more elegant. Like others who've replied, I no longer think that way -- it's better to be clear and concise with code, both for sharing with other developers and for one's own benefit down the road. (I usually find "down the road" to be a few days or weeks later when I'm working out some kind of unexpected behaviour and end up adding else's to my if statements anyway.) A number of authors I've read over the last 20-25 years also refer to a 6 month rule in some manner or another - if you won't be able to read your own code in 6 months, it's not fit [and/or to share]. By always using the braces, even when it's not strictly necessary, there is less room for misinterpreting the relevant section of code. -- Scott Elcomb http://www.psema4.com/ @psema4 Member of the Pirate Party of Canada http://www.pirateparty.ca/
