Do you use curly braces for additional scoping?

Question

I mean other than using it when required for functions, classes, if, while, switch, try-catch.

I didn't know that it could be done like this until I saw this SO question.

In the above link, Eli mentioned that "They use it to fold up their code in logical sections that don't fall into a function, class, loop, etc. that would usually be folded up."

What other uses are there besides those mentioned?

Is it a good idea to use curly braces to limit the scope of your variables and expand the scope only if required (working on a "need-to-access" basis)? Or is it actually silly?

How about using scopes just so that you can use the same variable names in different scopes but in the same bigger scope? Or is it a better practise to reuse the same variable (if you want to use the same variable name) and save on deallocating and allocating (I think some compilers can optimise on this?)? Or is it better to use different variable names altogether?

Answer 1

I do if I am using a resource which I want to free at a specific time eg:

void myfunction()
{
  {
  // Open serial port
     SerialPort port("COM1", 9600);
     port.doTransfer(data);
  } // Serial port gets closed here.

  for(int i = 0; i < data.size(); i++)
     doProcessData(data[i]);
  etc...
}

Answer 2

I would not use curly braces for that purpose for a couple reasons.

1. If your particular function is big enough that you need to do various scoping tricks, perhaps break the function into smaller sub-functions.

2. Introducing braces for scoping to reuse variable names is only going to lead to confusion and trouble in code.

Just my 2 cents, but I have seen a lot of these types of things in other best practice materials.

Answer 3

C++:

Sometimes you need to introduce an extra brace level of scope to reuse variable names when it makes sense to do so:

switch (x) {
    case 0:
        int i = 0;
        foo(i);
        break;
    case 1:
        int i = 1;
        bar(i);
        break;
}

The code above doesn't compile. You need to make it:

switch (x) {
    case 0:
        {
            int i = 0;
            foo(i);
        }
        break;
    case 1:
        {
            int i = 1;
            bar(i);
        }
        break;
}

Answer 4

The most common "non-standard" use of scoping that I use regularly is to utilize a scoped mutex.

void MyClass::Somefun()
{
    //do some stuff
    {
        // example imlementation that has a mutex passed into a lock object:
        scopedMutex lockObject(m_mutex); 

        // protected code here

    } // mutex is unlocked here
    // more code here
}

This has many benefits, but the most important is that the lock will always be cleaned up, even if an exception is thrown in the protected code.

Answer 5

The most common use, as others have said, is to ensure that destructors run when you want them to. It's also handy for making platform-specific code a little clearer:

#if defined( UNIX )
    if( some unix-specific condition )
#endif
    {
        // This code should always run on Windows but 
        // only if the above condition holds on unix
    }

Code built for Windows doesn't see the if, only the braces. This is much clearer than:

#if defined( UNIX )
    if( some unix-specific condition ) {
#endif
        // This code should always run on Windows but 
        // only if the above condition holds on unix
#if defined( UNIX )
    }
#endif

Answer 6

It can be a boon to code generators. Suppose you have an Embedded SQL (ESQL) compiler; it might want to convert an SQL statement into a block of code that needs local variables. By using a block, it can reuse fixed variable names over and over, rather than having to create all the variables with separate names. Granted, that's not too hard, but it is harder than necessary.

Answer 7

As others have said, this is fairly common in C++ due to the all-powerful RAII (resource acquisition is initialization) idiom/pattern.

For Java programmers (and maybe C#, I don't know) this will be a foreign concept because heap-based objects and GC kills RAII. IMHO, being able to put objects on the stack is the greatest single advantage of C++ over Java and makes well-written C++ code MUCH cleaner than well-written Java code.

Answer 8

I only use it when I need to release something by the means of RAII and even then only when it should be released as early as I possibly can (releasing a lock for example).

Answer 9

Programming in Java I have quite often wanted to limit scope within a method, but it never occurred to me to use a label. Since I uppercase my labels when using them as the target of a break, using a mixed case labeled block like you have suggested is just what I have wanted on these occasions.

Often the code blocks are too short to break out into a small method, and often the code in a framework method (like startup(), or shutdown()) and it's actually better to keep the code together in one method.

Personally I hate the plain floating/dangling braces (though that's because we are a strict banner style indent shop), and I hate the comment marker:

// yuk!
some code
{
scoped code
}
more code

// also yuk!
some code
/* do xyz */ {
    scoped code
    }
some more code

// this I like
some code
DoXyz: {
    scoped code
    }
some more code

We considered using "if(true) {" because the Java spec specifically says these will be optimized away in compilation (as will the entire content of an if(false) - it's a debugging feature), but I hated that in the few places I tried it.

So I think your idea is a good one, not at all silly. I always thought I was the only one who wanted to do this.

Answer 10

Yes, I use this technique because of RAII. I also use this technique in plain C since it brings the variables closer together. Of course, I should be thinking about breaking up the functions even more.

One thing I do that is probably stylistically controversial is put the opening curly brace on the line of the declaration or put a comment right on it. I want to decrease the amount of wasted vertical space. This is based on the Google C++ Style Guide recommendation..

/// c++ code
/// references to boost::test
BOOST_TEST_CASE( curly_brace )
{
  // init
  MyClass instance_to_test( "initial", TestCase::STUFF ); {
    instance_to_test.permutate(42u);
    instance_to_test.rotate_left_face();
    instance_to_test.top_gun();
  }
  { // test check
    const uint8_t kEXP_FAP_BOOST = 240u;
    BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL( instance_to_test.get_fap_boost(), kEXP_FAP_BOOST);
  }
}

Answer 11

I agree with agartzke. If you feel that you need to segment larger logical code blocks for readability, you should consider refactoring to clean up busy and cluttered members.

Answer 12

It has its place, but I don't think that doing it so that $foo can be one variable here and a different variable there, within the same function or other (logical, rather than lexical) scope is a good idea. Even though the compiler may understand that perfectly, it seems too likely to make life difficult for humans trying to read the code.

Answer 13

The company I'm working at has a static analysis policy to keep local variable declarations near the beginning of a function. Many times, the usage is many lines after the first line of a function so I cannot see the declaration and the first reference at the same time on the screen. What I do to 'circumvent' the policy is to keep the declaration near the reference, but provide additional scope by using curly braces. It increases indentation though, and some may argue that it makes the code uglier.