If, else and nothing else
When I was still very new to programming I had a bad habit of writing bloated code. One of my worse areas was when it came to the usage of If statements. Often times I would write a whole if/else block when I could had just as easily gotten the same results in just one line of code.
public class IfExample {
public static void main(String[] args){
boolean getBoolValue;
int a = 1, b = 2;if(a > b){
getBoolValue = true;
} else{
getBoolValue = false;
}
}
Instead of writing the whole if/else statement instead you can just directly take the result of the test condition.
getBoolValue = a > b;
Some prefer to put parentheses around the comparison, however they are optional. I personally prefer a more minimalist code style.
Be the ternary
So what if you need something other than a boolean value? Enter the Java ternary operator. Which looks like this:
String isEven = (3 % 2 == 0) ? "Yes" : "No";
The element before the “?” is the test condition that is to be performed. The element before the “:” is the value that will be returned if the test condition is true and the element after the “:” is what will be returned if the test condition is false.
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October 2nd, 2009 - 04:09
It’s not alwas the best thing to have a short line of code. Software is always changing and other people will have to change your code.
if (a > b) {
is more readable, because it’s a lot closer to our natural language.
If a greater then b do that.
For
getBoolValue = a > b;
you have to think about if it’s a condition or not.
It’s an implicit condition.
And for the sake of readability, I prefer using the explicit expression.
And I have another point about shortening.
You can shorten the if expression like this.
int boolValue = true;
if (a < b) {
boolValue = false;
}
October 6th, 2009 - 08:53
Be minimalist when it will lead to better code design. For you new guys out there try not to make the code “too cute” with look what I learned today type of stuff.
Having said that, I think that it is great that you are hungry for learning new things. Your code and career will certainly be benefit from it.