Question

In this code fragment:

$results = $this->getAdapter()->fetchAll($query);

if(count($results)) {
    // …
}

…do you consider the if(count()) part to be be a well understood idiom, or confusing code. i.e. should it be

if(count($results) > 0)

???

Answer 1

Using a boolean expression with ‘if’ requires less understanding of a language than using implicit conversions, so I would always prefer the second option (adding “> 0”) – at least if this code is meant to be read by others, too. You never know who will maintain your code. The keyword is “clarity” here.

But I must admit I have written many times code with if’s using an int expression myself, too, because I like its elegance.