Copy LinkCopied!Early Returns

Some functions need to check various conditions before running their instructions. Suppose you have a function that does complex calculations when the player gets hit. Something like:

func player_hit(damage: int) -> void:
  if player_health > 0:
    if player_is_invincible == false:
      player_health -= damage

Early returns allow to avoid nesting:

func player_hit(damage: int) -> void:
  if player_health < 0:
    return
  if player_is_invincible == true:
    return
  player_health -= damage

In this example, if anything prevents the function from functioning, it will return, interrupting itself. Not only does this avoid deeply nesting if statements, but it also makes mistakes a little less likely.

This example is very straightforward, but in longer pieces of code, it often happens that you write a piece of code outside the boundary of the conditional by mistake. Early returns make that type of mistake impossible.