Assigning a value to a local variable and then returning that at the end is considered a good practice.
I have no idea when it was considered a good practice. To me, switch is usually * an indicator that a design error was made. I would rather put my effort into thinking how to avoid a switch than into wondering how to return a value from a switch.
A few examples
Long list of if statements in Java
How to avoid switch-case statements in Java
Converting many 'if else' statements to a cleaner approach
Methods having multiple exits are harder to debug and can be difficult to read.
The same goes for a method that has a lot of breaks - that's what you are going to do if you choose the "local-variable approach".
In my opinion, none of these
// 1
switch (input) {
case "A":
return "1";
case "B":
return "2";
default:
return "0";
}
// 2
String varibleToReturn = null;
switch (input) {
case "A":
varibleToReturn = "1";
break;
case "B":
varibleToReturn = "2";
break;
default:
varibleToReturn = "0";
}
return varibleToReturn;
// 3
return switch(digitInDecimal) {
case 0 -> '0';
case 1 -> '1';
case 2 -> '2';
default -> '?';
}
makes a significant difference, or a slight improvement. Yes, Java-12's switch would give more conciseness and expressiveness, but the fundamental idea remains the same.
Must I wait for Java 12 where switch can be used without temporary variables and breaks?
What does it mean? :) No, the deadline is tomorrow, you have to work with what you've got at hand now.
*I am not underestimating the usefulness of switch. It may come in handy, for instance, when you programme at low-level, or you write an optimization.
I am just saying that in the real world, with Springs, and Hibernates, in a world of patterns, switch is obsolescent.
Answer from Andrew on Stack OverflowVideos
How does a Switch Statement differ from an If-else statement?
What happens if a break statement is omitted in a Switch Case?
What is Knowledge Pass, and how does it work?
Assigning a value to a local variable and then returning that at the end is considered a good practice.
I have no idea when it was considered a good practice. To me, switch is usually * an indicator that a design error was made. I would rather put my effort into thinking how to avoid a switch than into wondering how to return a value from a switch.
A few examples
Long list of if statements in Java
How to avoid switch-case statements in Java
Converting many 'if else' statements to a cleaner approach
Methods having multiple exits are harder to debug and can be difficult to read.
The same goes for a method that has a lot of breaks - that's what you are going to do if you choose the "local-variable approach".
In my opinion, none of these
// 1
switch (input) {
case "A":
return "1";
case "B":
return "2";
default:
return "0";
}
// 2
String varibleToReturn = null;
switch (input) {
case "A":
varibleToReturn = "1";
break;
case "B":
varibleToReturn = "2";
break;
default:
varibleToReturn = "0";
}
return varibleToReturn;
// 3
return switch(digitInDecimal) {
case 0 -> '0';
case 1 -> '1';
case 2 -> '2';
default -> '?';
}
makes a significant difference, or a slight improvement. Yes, Java-12's switch would give more conciseness and expressiveness, but the fundamental idea remains the same.
Must I wait for Java 12 where switch can be used without temporary variables and breaks?
What does it mean? :) No, the deadline is tomorrow, you have to work with what you've got at hand now.
*I am not underestimating the usefulness of switch. It may come in handy, for instance, when you programme at low-level, or you write an optimization.
I am just saying that in the real world, with Springs, and Hibernates, in a world of patterns, switch is obsolescent.
But I found an old but high-ranked answer that says to avoid multiple return statements:
Assigning a value to a local variable and then returning that at the end is considered a good practice. Methods having multiple exits are harder to debug and can be difficult to read.
So I wonder, is that answer still relevant due to switch changes?
This is a common misconception, it originates form the phrase: "Single entry, single exit." (Page 24) All this originates from an other era, one that lead to structured programming languages and eventually to object oriented programming languages (like Java).
Don't worry about multiple return statements, there is nothing wrong with it.
Well, switch feels "lighter" in many cases than an if/else if ladder, in my opinion. Basically you don't have that much syntax with braces and parentheses in the way of your code. That being said, switch inherits C's syntax. That means you have break and only a single scope for variables unless you introduce new blocks.
Still, the compiler is able to optimize switch statements into a lookup table and perform compile-time checking for literals when dealing with enumerations. So, I'd suggest that it's usually preferable to use switch over if/else if if you're dealing with numeric or enum types.
Switch has one advantage when it comes to clarity:
switch (i) {
case 1:
// do something
break;
case 2:
case 4:
// do something
break;
case 5:
// do something
break;
}
If the code for 2 and 4 are identical, it may be more clear than:
if ( i == 1 ) {
// do something
}
if ( (i == 2) || (i == 4) ) {
// do something
}
if ( (i == 5 ) {
// do something
}
It's also easier for you (or another programmer) to split out the 2 and 4 cases.