ElseAlwaysExecutes

The else branch of an if-else statement always executes

The else branch of an if-else statement only executes if the condition evaluates to false

In an if-else-statement, only one of the two branches executes.

if (a) {
  a();
} else {
  b();
}

is different from

if (a) {
  a();
}
b();

if (a) {
  a();
} else if (b) { // else means this condition only executes if `!a`
  b();
} else {
  c();
}

is different from

if (a) {
  a();
} // no else, so next statement doesn't depend on `a`
if (b) {
  b();
} else {
  c();
}

Java

The following papers directly or indirectly provide qualitative or quantitative evidence related to this misconception.

Diagram mistakes studied:

ElseAlwaysExecutes
DRAFT