CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javaif-statementreturn
A13X
A13X

Reputation: 436

A Return inside and outside an If Statement

This is probably a fairly easy question to answer, but it has been bugging me some time.

If there is a return statement inside an if statement, inside a method (in the Java language), but I add another at the end as a catch-all and to avoid the error, are both return values going to be fired one after the other if the if statement is true?

An example:

public int getNumber() {
 if( 5 > number) {
 return 5;
 }
 return 0;
 }

Result: Method returns 5, and then via stacks logic, returns 0 shortly thereafter.

Or, do I need to use an outside variable like so:

int num = 1;
public int getNumber() {
 if( 5 > number) {
 num = 5;
 }
 return num;
 }

Result: Method changes variable num to 5, then num is returned for use. I suppose in this case, the return statement wouldn't necessarily be required depending on the variable's usage.

Thanks in advance.

Upvotes: 9

Views: 106494

Answers (3)

JohaanThejus
JohaanThejus

Reputation: 11

A return statement just stops the execution of its respective method immediately and returns the value it was assigned. So yes the first example would work just fine

NOTE: the second example is more readable than the first one because only one return statement is being used.

Upvotes: 0

rgettman
rgettman

Reputation: 178253

No, both values aren't going to be returned. A return statement stops the execution of the method right there, and returns its value. In fact, if there is code after a return that the compiler knows it won't reach because of the return, it will complain.

You don't need to use a variable outside the if to return it at the end. However, if your method is long and complex, this technique can help readability and clarity because only one return statement is used.

Upvotes: 12

Xabster
Xabster

Reputation: 3720

Only the first return statement hit is used. The method then terminates.

There are some code conventions that frown on multiple return statements because they might be hard to read, but I'm not one of them. :)

Upvotes: 1

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