Braces required for multiline if or if/else statements.

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Metadata

ID: kotlin-code-style/multiline-if-else

Language: Kotlin

Severity: Notice

Category: Code Style

Description

This rule enforces the use of curly braces ({}) for if and if/else statements in Kotlin when their bodies span multiple lines. Omitting braces in such cases can introduce ambiguity, making the code’s control flow unclear and potentially leading to logical errors if additional statements are introduced without careful re-evaluation. This practice is crucial for maintaining code readability and preventing the “dangling else” problem, where an else branch might inadvertently associate with the wrong if statement.

How to remediate

To remediate this, always enclose the multiline body of if and else statements within curly braces. This explicit encapsulation clearly defines the scope of the conditional blocks, enhancing code clarity and maintainability. For instance, transform if (condition)\n statement1\n statement2 into if (condition) {\n statement1\n statement2\n}. Applying braces consistently ensures that your code behaves as intended and is easier to understand and debug for other developers.

Arguments

foo: Blah

Non-Compliant Code Examples

if (true)
    doSomething()
else
    doSomethingElse()

private fun doSomethingFunc() {
    if (1 != 2) // A Comment
        doSomething()
    else // Another comment 
        doSomething()
}

Compliant Code Examples

if (true) {
    doSomething()
} else {
    doSomethingElse()
}

if (true) doSomething()

if (true)
    return 1

if ((now - prev) < CONSTANT_VAL
    && !otherCondition // only in special cases
) {
    log.debug("A Log Line")
    return
}

if (true) {
    doSomething()
    doSomethingElse()
} else {
    doSomethingElse()
    doSomethingElse()
    doSomethingElse()
}