1.2.1377. Useless Brackets

Standalone brackets have no use. Brackets are used to delimit a block of code, and are used by control statements. They may also be used to protect variables in strings.

Standalone brackets may be a left over of an old instruction, or a misunderstanding of the alternative syntax.

<?php

// The following brackets are useless : they are a leftover from an older instruction
// if (DEBUG)
{
    $a = 1;
}

// Here, the extra brackets are useless
for($a = 2; $a < 5; $a++) : {
    $b++;
} endfor;

?>

1.2.1377.1. Suggestions

  • Remove the brackets

  • Restore the flow-control operation that was there and removed

  • Move the block into a method or function, and call it

1.2.1377.2. Specs

Short name

Structures/UselessBrackets

Rulesets

All, Analyze, CE, CI-checks

Exakat since

0.8.4

PHP Version

All

Severity

Minor

Time To Fix

Instant (5 mins)

Precision

Very high

Features

block, curly-bracket

Examples

ChurchCRM, Piwigo

Available in

Entreprise Edition, Community Edition, Exakat Cloud