Best practice on if/return

programming practices

I want to know what is considered better way of returning when I have if statement.

Example 1:

public bool MyFunction()
{
   // Get some string for this example
   string myString = GetString();

   if (myString == null)
   {
      return false;
   }
   else
   {
      myString = "Name " + myString;
      // Do something more here...
      return true;
   }
}

Example 2:

public bool MyFunction()
{
   // Get some string for this example
   string myString = GetString();

   if (myString == null)
   {
      return false;
   }

   myString = "Name " + myString;
   // Do something more here...
   return true;
}

As you can see in both examples function will return true/false but is it a good idea to put else statement like in first example or it is better to not put it?

Best Answer

Example 2 is known as guard block. It is better suited to return/throw exception early if something went wrong (wrong parameter or invalid state). In normal logic flow it is better to use Example 1

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