282: Mainline

Although you can rely on the rule that if-false statements belong to the nearest unmatched if statement, it is better programming practice to use braces to avoid potential misreading.

In the following example, it is clear that the question mark should be replaced by warm, for the braces clearly group the if-false statement with the second if statement.

if (temperature > 25) { 
  if (temperature < 50) 
    cout << "It is normal." << endl; 
  else cout << "It is too ?." << endl; 
} 

On the other hand, in the following example, it is clear that the question mark should be replaced by cold, for this time the braces clearly group the if-false statement with the first if statement.

if (temperature > 25) { 
  if (temperature < 50) 
    cout << "It is normal." << endl; 
  } 
else cout << "It is too ?." << endl;