CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javareturn
Kien Alexander Nguyen
Kien Alexander Nguyen

Reputation: 85

Why my code keep asking missing return statement

  public double open() {
    if (status.equalsIgnoreCase("Pending")) {
        status = "Open";
        if (startPrice <= 5) {
            return 0.2;
        } else if (startPrice > 5 && startPrice <= 20) {
            return 0.5;
        } else if (startPrice > 20 && startPrice <= 100) {
            return 1;
        } else if (startPrice > 100 && startPrice <= 250) {
            return 2.5;
        } else if (startPrice > 250) {
            return 5;
        }
    } else if (!status.equals("Pending")) {
        return -1;
    }           
}

Can you explain for my why the compiler keep asking missing return statements. And how can i fix it

Upvotes: 2

Views: 139

Answers (8)

dehlen
dehlen

Reputation: 7389

It is complaining because all your return statements are in if statements. Just delete the else if and return -1 at the end.

Upvotes: 1

Troubleshoot
Troubleshoot

Reputation: 1846

It's all to do with what the return statement is local to. If all of the if statements were false then the method wouldn't return anything because all of the return statements are local to the if statements. The program can't know that the status would otherwise be pending, thus the compiler complains.

public double open() {
    if (status.equalsIgnoreCase("Pending")) {
        status = "Open";
        if (startPrice <= 5) {
            return 0.2;
        } else if (startPrice > 5 && startPrice <= 20) {
            return 0.5;
        } else if (startPrice > 20 && startPrice <= 100) {
            return 1;
        } else if (startPrice > 100 && startPrice <= 250) {
            return 2.5;
        } else if (startPrice > 250) {
            return 5;
        }
    return -1; // no need for an else statement since if an one if statement returned true it wouldn't execute the rest of the code
}

Upvotes: 0

Cruncher
Cruncher

Reputation: 7812

Java is not smart enough to determine that you're guaranteed to return. You need to explicitly tell it by having an else on your ifs, or having return at the end to catch any flow through.

In this case, your if statements were redundant as well. The cleaned-up and working version would look as follows:

public double open() {
    if (status.equalsIgnoreCase("Pending")) {
        status = "Open";
        if (startPrice <= 5) {
            return 0.2;
        } else if (startPrice <= 20) {
            return 0.5;
        } else if (startPrice <= 100) {
            return 1;
        } else if (startPrice <= 250) {
            return 2.5;
        } else {
            return 5;
        }
    }
    return -1;          
}

else if (startPrice > 5 && startPrice <= 20) When you got to this line, you already knew that startPrice > 5. If it wasn't then it would have entered the previous if block.

Upvotes: 1

Prabhakaran Ramaswamy
Prabhakaran Ramaswamy

Reputation: 26094

Do like this

public double open() {
   if (status.equalsIgnoreCase("Pending")) {
        status = "Open";
        if (startPrice <= 5) {
            return 0.2;
        } else if (startPrice > 5 && startPrice <= 20) {
            return 0.5;
        } else if (startPrice > 20 && startPrice <= 100) {
            return 1;
        } else if (startPrice > 100 && startPrice <= 250) {
            return 2.5;
        } else if (startPrice > 250) {
            return 5;
        }
    }
    return -1;
}

Upvotes: 2

Bathsheba
Bathsheba

Reputation: 234715

The compiler doesn't know that status.equalsIgnoreCase("Pending") and !status.equals("Pending") cover all the possibilities. In fact, I'm only guessing that from inspecting the function names.

You need to help it out.

One fix - if this is your intention - is to write

 } else /*if (!status.equals("Pending"))*/ {
     return -1;
 }

Upvotes: 3

Aniket Thakur
Aniket Thakur

Reputation: 68935

What if neither

  1. status.equalsIgnoreCase("Pending")
  2. !status.equals("Pending")

is true?

You need one more return statement.

Upvotes: 1

Martin Seeler
Martin Seeler

Reputation: 6982

change the last if else to just else to provide a fallback solution. You're providing another if condition with if else, so there is no branch if this condition is false, too.

Upvotes: 0

BobTheBuilder
BobTheBuilder

Reputation: 19284

This happens because if :

status.equals("Pending")

returns true, you return nothing.

You can use:

  if (status.equalsIgnoreCase("Pending")) {
      ....
  } else {
      return -1;
  }

Upvotes: 0

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