Why is "else" rarely used after "if x then return"?

user_154770 0
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This method:

boolean containsSmiley(String s) {
    if (s == null) {
        return false;
    }
    else {
        return s.contains(":)");
    }
}

can equivalently be written:

boolean containsSmiley(String s) {
    if (s == null) {
        return false;
    }

    return s.contains(":)");
}

In my experience, the second form is seen more often, especially in more complex methods (where there may be several such exit points), and the same is true for "throw" as well as "return". Yet the first form arguably makes the conditional structure of the code more explicit. Are there any reasons to prefer one over the other?

(Related: Should a function have only one return statement?)

function-exit if-statement coding-style java
23 Answers

I would prefer the first option, as it is more human-readable.

As an analogy, compare the next 2 sentences: "If today is raining, then take an umbrella, else take sunglasses." and "If today is raining, then take an umbrella, take sunglasses". The first sentence corresponds to the first block of code from the question, the second one – to the second. The first one is much more clear and readable, isn't it?

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