This rule applies whenever an if
statement is followed by one or more else if
statements; the final else if
should be followed by an else
statement.
The requirement for a final else
statement is defensive programming.
The else
statement should either take appropriate action or contain a suitable comment as to why no action is taken. This is
consistent with the requirement to have a final default
clause in a switch
statement.
Noncompliant code example
if x == 0 {
doSomething()
} else if x == 1 {
doSomethingElse()
}
Compliant solution
if x == 0 {
doSomething()
} else if x == 1 {
doSomethingElse()
} else {
return errors.New("unsupported int")
}
Exceptions
When all branches of an if
-else if
end with return
or break
, the code that comes after the
if
implicitly behaves as if it was in an else
clause. This rule will therefore ignore that case.