Simple question about if-else statement.

[robgeek]

Hi!
Is there any difference between these two codes? I mean, which one is more correct considering good programming practice or something else?

int anyFunctionName( ) {
	//...
	if(x > y)
		return y;
	else
		return x;
}

or

int anyFunctionName( ) {
	//...
	if(x > y)
		return y;

return x;
}

[plexus]

Nope, it's the same.

About the style: I guess the first version is considered better in terms of good programming practice.

It is also a bit cleaner in this case.

However, I personally would use the second version, because I consider the return y; an escape and the return x; the actual default function exit.

[Peter87]

If you want to return the smaller of x and y I think you should pass the values to std::min and return the value. That way the code clearly shows what you are doing and you minimize the chance of making a mistake while writing those if statement.

return std::min(x, y);

Otherwise, in situations like this, you might want to use the conditional operator.

return x > y ? y : x;

[robgeek]

If you want to return the smaller of x and y I think you should pass...

No, is just an example to illustrate my question. But thanks for your answer.