Question

I just discovered that i can give a name to For and While statements. I understand that it is useful if you want to break or continue a specific loop.
But why should i give a name to an If?? It looks useless

name: if(true){
    //do something
}

This compiles without problems

Answer 1

If you have a code block with a name, you can use break to exit it, that is the use I have found for naming blocks.

name: if(true) {
    // do something
    if(/* condition */) {
        break name;
    }
    // do more
}

it also works without the if:

name: {
    // do something
    if(/* condition */) {
        break name;
    }
    // do more
}

This comes up in my work when there are a set of guard conditions on some logic, and another set of logic that will be fallen down into regardless of the outcome of the guards.

A further example where alternative structures are more difficult to read and modify:

block: if(/* guard */) {

  // prep work

  if(/* guard */) {
    break block;
  }

  // prep work

  if(/* guard */) {
    break block;
  }

  // real work
}

though usually I use a bare block and not an if.