Question

if(true)
    if($i == 2)
        callMethodOne();
    elseif($i == 3)
        callMethodTwo();
    else
    {
        callMethods1();
        callMethods2();
        //so on
    }
else
    callMethodFiftyFive();      

Is it bad?

Answer 1

I wouldn’t say that it is particularly bad, especially for a small, isolated script. But things like this become problems when you start working with more code, more complex code, and more importantly more programmers.

I would suggest you pick a coding standard and try to adhere to it. For example, PEAR has published their coding standard: Manual :: Coding Standards

Personally, I would at least include brackets around the first block:

if(true)
{                            // Added this
    if($i == 2)
        callMethodOne();
    elseif($i == 3)
        callMethodTwo();
    else
    {
        callMethods1();
        callMethods2();
        //so on
    }
}                            // Added this
else
    callMethodFiftyFive();

I only omit brackets for one-liners, like this:

if (foo)
    bar();

Never for anything more complicated, like:

if (foo)
    if (baz)
        spam();
    else
        eggs();

As it is very easy to forget that you’ve omitted the brackets, and add something inside that first “block”:

if (foo)
    NewCall();
    if (baz)       // WOAH! this now happens regardless of "if (foo)"!
        spam();
    else
        eggs();