I don't agree with returning anywhere; I think it's important to "return" exactly once, and that includes not using "break", "continue" and "goto" to perform lo

I don't agree with returning anywhere; I think it's important to "return" exactly once, and that includes not using "break", "continue" and "goto" to perform logical short-cuts in most cases. (I've been writing code for 20 years.) One reason is to have result or loop variables, which help debugging. You can ask debuggers to watch the value change, or print it, and so forth. Almost always create variables; ignore premature-optimization "experts" who think they've sped stuff up because they used fewer variables. Cleanup isn't repeated. I despise "hunting" for return statements to ensure the same 3 things always happen. Yes, maybe functions shouldn't do so much; but if you're stuck maintaining something you didn't write, you still have to be able to apply a change correctly. Another problem with multiple returns is inconsistent types. I've seen code where one person did "return false" and another did "return 1.0" in the same function; whereas, if you're forced to type "isOK = 1.0", you'll see the problem immediately. And a single return point keeps overly-complex logic in your face, so that you have good incentive to fix it. You're less likely to put off refactoring an ugly and oversized function if you keep having to scroll through it to figure out what a single case is doing. Less code is ultimately good for maintainability.