What’s the purpose of using braces (i.e. {}) for a single-line if or loop?

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Let’s attempt to also modify i when we increment j:

int j = 0;
for (int i = 0 ; i < 100 ; ++i)
    if (i % 2 == 0)
        j++;
        i++;

Oh no! Coming from Python, this looks ok, but in fact it isn’t, as it’s equivalent to:

int j = 0;
for (int i = 0 ; i < 100 ; ++i)
    if (i % 2 == 0)
        j++;
i++;

Of course, this is a silly mistake, but one that even an experienced programmer could make.

Another very good reason is pointed out in ta.speot.is’s answer.

A third one I can think of is nested if‘s:

if (cond1)
   if (cond2) 
      doSomething();

Now, assume you now want to doSomethingElse() when cond1 is not met (new feature). So:

if (cond1)
   if (cond2) 
      doSomething();
else
   doSomethingElse();

which is obviously wrong, since the else associates with the inner if.

Edit: Since this is getting some attention, I’ll clarify my view. The question I was answering is:

What’s the benefit of using the 1st version?

Which I have described. There are some benefits. But, IMO, “always” rules don’t always apply. So I don’t wholly support

Always use a { } block – even for a single line // not OK, why ???

I’m not saying always use a {} block. If it’s a simple enough condition & behavior, don’t. If you suspect someone might come in later & change your code to add functionality, do.

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