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Is it necessary to have a return statement in a function?
For a function of return type void , a return statement is not strictly necessary. If the end of such a function is reached without encountering a return statement, control is passed to the caller as if a return statement without an expression were encountered.
When a function does not return any value then is used?
If a function is not returning any values, then we use void as the return type. Void functions do not return a value after the function executes but they are used similarly like value-returning functions.
Why are return statements in the middle of a function bad?
If your practices are to use smart pointers and collections in C++ or another automatic memory system, then there isn’t a strong reason for it, and it become all about readability, and more of a judgement call. I lean to the idea that return statements in the middle of the function are bad.
Is it better to have one return statement per function?
This method makes code maintenance extremely difficult and error prone. Structured programming says you should only ever have one return statement per function. This is to limit the complexity. Many people such as Martin Fowler argue that it is simpler to write functions with multiple return statements.
When to write a function with no side effects?
In a function that has no side-effects, there’s no good reason to have more than a single return and you should write them in a functional style. In a method with side-effects, things are more sequential (time-indexed), so you write in an imperative style, using the return statement as a command to stop executing.
How to know if a function is returning something?
See right away that I’m returning something. Catch the result of every invocation of the function with just one breakpoint. Using the commented-out else statements to indicate the program flow and keep it readable, but avoiding massive indents that can easily reach across the screen if a lot of steps are involved.