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Comments on Is omitting braces for single statements bad practice?

Parent

Is omitting braces for single statements bad practice?

+9
−4

Consider this code:

while(arr[index] != 0)
    index++;

vs

while(arr[index] != 0) {
    index++;
}

Personally, I prefer the first. The fact that the braces are not needed makes them -- unnecessary. :)

To me, it's just clutter that wastes a line. Or 2 if you're one of them that also want the opening brace on a new line. The line waste can be avoided though, if you do like this:

while(arr[index] != 0) index++;

I often do that, and I like the style. Partially because it makes those loops stand out from loops with braces.

One argument I've heard for always using braces is that if you want to add another statement, then you need to remember adding braces or you will have bugs that can be hard to find. For instance, this would be an endless loop:

while(arr[index] != 0) 
    println("No zero found");
    index++;

While this is technically true that this mistake can be done, I find it a bit meh as an argument. If you're using an editor that autoindents the code, this mistake would be spotted immediately. And since using such an editor is something that you should do anyway, the point of this argument is a bit moot.

Plus, even though I have often coded without such an editor, I cannot remember ever doing that mistake. It feels like a mistake that one could do if you're used to Python. But adjusting coding standards of C, C++, Java and such to not confuse Python coders does not really seem like the right path to go.

Apart from this argument, I have not really seen anything else than the consistency argument. That always using the same style is consistent. Well it's true, but consistency is not ALWAYS good.

Have I missed something here? What do you say? Is omitting braces for single statements bad practice?

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2 comment threads

Put the `{` on the next line and you wouldn't waste any lines. (1 comment)
General comments (5 comments)
Post
+13
−0

Not using braces is considered bad practice by widely recognized industry coding standards (MISRA-C:2012 rule, 15.6, CERT C EXP19-C and others).

Once upon a time I liked to skip out braces too, but every C (or other language) programmer using that style will ultimately write missing brace/indention goof-up bugs. Someone mentioned the "Apple goto fail" bug as one example, which I think is the single-most expensive software bug ever written. I used to write such bugs too now and then, until I abandoned that style. Particularly in long and complex else-if chains and such.

The CERT-C link above gives an excellent example:

if (invalid_login())
  if (allow_guests())
    privileges = GUEST;
else
  privileges = ADMINISTRATOR;

The else here ties to the inner if statement. Oops.


It is true that auto-indenting, auto-completion IDEs should reduce the chance for such bugs, but in my experience such IDEs are not nearly as smart as they could be - they often cause more bugs than they fix. For example if I delete a { in the start of a statement in existing code, then type it again (because I replaced the whole if condition), the stupid auto-complete IDE will give you this:

if(x) {}
  foo();
}

And if I don't notice that extra } and continue to type:

if(x) {}
  if(y) {
    foo(); 
}

Not quite what I intended.

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1 comment thread

General comments (5 comments)
General comments
Lundin‭ wrote about 4 years ago

But in the end experienced C programmers have already been through missing semicolon, missing brace hell. It's an initiation rite that everyone learning C must go through. After you have coded for some 5+ years you can spot and fix these kind of bugs even if you wake up in the middle of the night with your face stuck to the keyboard. ("Uuuh... where am I... oh, statement missing, meh *click click*... uuuh what time is it...")

klutt‭ wrote about 4 years ago · edited about 4 years ago

Your first example is also something that would be solved by autoindentation. Plus that if I wrote that , I would put braces around the outer if plus the else. Like if(x) { if(y) a=k; } else { a=m; }. And also, autoindentation would solve the problem. It was autocompletion that caused the problem in the second example. :)

ghost-in-the-zsh‭ wrote about 4 years ago

"the single-most expensive software bug ever written" I think the Mars Climate Orbiter is up there, too (no pun intended).

Ayxan Haqverdili‭ wrote over 3 years ago

Your CERT C link is broken.

Lundin‭ wrote over 3 years ago

@Ayxan Haqverdili‭ I'll try to replace it with another, please try again now.