Question

I’m writing a function and wondered if it’s best (in regards to performance and coding practices) to handle returning conditions like this:

public function func_1() {
  if ( true == $condition) {
    // Do something
    return true;
  } else {
    return false;
  }
}

or this:

public function func_2() {
  if ( false == $condition ) return false;
  // Do something
    return true;
}

Is there a benefit to encapsulating a bunch of code within an if/else (func_1) or is it best to get the quickest returns out of the way first (func_2)?

Answer 1

Any performance different will be so tiny that it will be very difficult to measure.

I would generally use the second version, simply because it avoids further nesting if you have additional conditions, but for a simple if/else it might be better to keep the else for clarity.

In other words: use what works for you!