Should I use return/continue statement instead of if-else?

Question

In C, C++ and C# when using a condition inside a function or loop statement it's possible to use a continue or return statement as early as possible and get rid of the else branch of an if-else statement. For example:

while( loopCondition ) {     if( innerCondition ) {         //do some stuff     } else {         //do other stuff     } } 

becomes

 while( loopCondition ) {     if( innerCondition ) {         //do some stuff         continue;     }     //do other stuff } 

and

void function() {     if( condition ) {         //do some stuff     } else {         //do other stuff     } } 

becomes

void function() {     if( condition ) {         //do some stuff         return;     }     //do other stuff } 

The "after" variant may be more readable if the if-else branches are long because this alteration eliminates indenting for the else branch.

Is such using of return/continue a good idea? Are there any possible maintenance or readability problems?

Answer 1

My personal approach of choosing one is that if the body of the if part is very short (3 or 4 lines maximum), it makes sense to use the return/continue variant. If the body is long, it's harder to keep track of the control flow so I choose the else version.

As a result, normally, this approach limits the usage of return/continue style to skip some data and avoid further processing rather than process this using one of the following methods (which is better suited by if/else).