It’s often said that forgoing curly brackets in a single-line if statement reduces maintainability and readability. However, what about this approach?
if (lemons) { document.write("foo gave me a bar"); }
This is more compact, and the curly brackets aren’t easily forgotten if expanded. Are there any clear issues with this, and what considerations should I keep in mind?
I feel like it’s as readable as a ternary operator, though ternaries are sometimes criticized for their readability.
From my experience, the classic one-line if with curly brackets is always the safest bet. For instance, you can write it like this:
if (lemons) { document.write("foo gave me a bar"); }
It’s compact but still readable, and it avoids confusion, especially when dealing with more complex conditions. Plus, using curly brackets is great because it makes sure you won’t run into issues if you decide to add more logic later on. It’s the best approach, especially in collaborative or production code where clarity is important.
Absolutely, I completely agree with @tim-khorev approach. Now, if you’re aiming for something more compact, you can try the ternary operator. It looks like this:
lemons ? document.write("foo gave me a bar") : null;
The ternary operator is great for one-liners, but it does have its caveats. It works best for simple conditions or assignments. If you try to use it for side effects like document.write(), you might run into readability issues.
For instance, when the operation inside becomes more complex, it can get harder to follow. So, while it’s a neat trick, it’s not always the clearest.
Right, @panchal_archanaa! And for even more compact syntax, you can use the logical AND operator. Here’s how:
lemons && document.write("foo gave me a bar");
This is about as concise as you can get. The right-hand side only executes if the left side is true, so it’s perfect when you don’t need an else condition.
But here’s the thing- while it’s super compact, it can lead to side effects if you’re not careful. For example, document.write() can be risky in certain contexts, and if you’re not careful, it can produce unexpected behavior.
So, while this is great for small, quick operations, I’d say just be mindful of the potential pitfalls.