CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javacode-analysisstatic-analysisstatic-code-analysis
Akash Chavan
Akash Chavan

Reputation: 335

returning boolean variable or returning condition both are same?

I have been give comment to not use variable in the return statement and instead use condition directly in return statement. Is there any difference between line 3 and 4 in the code below?

String str = "Hello Sir";
boolean flag = str.contains("Hello");
return(flag);
// instead ask to use below
return(str.contains("Hello"));

I prefer to use variable, as in complex calculations those are helpful in debugging.

Upvotes: 3

Views: 718

Answers (2)

Me1o
Me1o

Reputation: 1629

i don't see a difference.. basically it is returning the value directly vs returning a variable containing the value..

Edit: OK the answer looked like a rewrite of the question.. what i meant is that its passing a value (true/false) or passing a variable for the system to unwrap it's value (var -> true/false)

so, better performance for the first option.. but nothing worth going against your personal preference for..

Upvotes: -2

GhostCat
GhostCat

Reputation: 140457

There is really no difference here. That variable lives on the stack, so does the value that is returned directly.

So, theoretically, there might be minor minor performance differences between them.

But rest assured: readability is much more important here, therefore I am with you: you can use such an additional variable when it helps the reader. But when you follow clean code principles, another option would be to have a method that only computes that condition and returns the result.

Please note: the "common" practice is to avoid additional variables, so many tools such as PMD or even IDEs suggest you to directly return (see here for a discussion of this aspect).

And finally, coming back on performance. If your method is invoked often enough, the JIT will inline/compile it anyway, and optimize it. If the method isn't invoked often enough, what would we care about a nanosecond more or less of execution time ...

Upvotes: 7

Related Questions