[Development] Suggesting update brace placement following a multi-line if condition

[André Hartmann]

Hi Elvis,

this is exactly the style I use in my personal projects, and just as 
you, I find this very consistent.

But I uses it sparely, because such long if conditions are always a sign 
that something is overcomplicated. I prefer to use helper variables that 
are assigned before the if-condition, which almost always increases the 
readability and also helps to debug the code.

Regards, André

Am 18.07.26 um 10:12 schrieb Elvis Stansvik:
> Den fre 17 juli 2026 17:28André Somers via Development <development at qt- 
> project.org <mailto:development at qt-project.org>> skrev:
> 
>     __
> 
>     Hi,
> 
> 
>     On 16-07-2026 11:14, Marc Mutz via Development wrote:
>>     Hi,
>>
>>     The current style guide¹ asks for attached braces on if
>>     statements, incl. when the if condition spans multiple lines (#6):
>>     // Correct if (address.isEmpty() || !isValid() || !codec) { return
>>     false; }
>>     I've been bothered by this for years, since I think this is
>>     totally unreadable. In particular, if the last line of the if is
>>     on the longer side, the body of the then branch is almost
>>     impossible to distinguish from a continuation of the condition.
>>
>>     I would therefore like to propose to allow placing the opening
>>     brace on a separate line if the if condition is multi-line:
>>     // (now also) Correct if (address.isEmpty() || !isValid() || !
>>     codec) { return false; }
> 
>     I agree. I find this more readable. But I would prefer to have
>     logical groups of the condition be either broken one per line, or
>     all on the same line. So:
> 
> 
>       // Correct
>       if (address.isEmpty() || !isValid() || !codec) {
>           return false;
>       }
> 
>     or
> 
> 
>       // (now also) Correct
>       if (address.isEmpty()
>           || !isValid()
>           || !codec)
>       {
>           return false;
>       }
> 
> If we're going to have a bit of suggestion bingo in here, I have to 
> throw in:
> 
> if (
>      address.isEmpty()
>      || !isValid()
>      || !codec
> ) {
>      return false;
> }
> 
> I.e. not only putting each group on its own line, but also letting it be 
> there by itself without any (, ) or {. I think that lets you focus on 
> what the group is saying best, without any "distraction" on the line.
> 
> Realize some people may not like this "tall" style, but thought I'd 
> throw it in there since it somewhat sneakily dodges the question of the 
> opening brace - it's consistent with other situations in that it's kept 
> with the ), but there's a bit of "air" between conditions and body.
> 
>     But also this:
> 
>       // (now also) Correct
>       if ((address.isEmpty() && !isValid())
>           || !codec)
>       {
>           return false;
>       }
> 
> 
>     Cheers,
> 
> 
>     André
> 
> 
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