# Conditionals

Conditionals are a common part of any application, but there are a few simple conventions you can follow which makes them easier to parse when scanning through a file.

# Avoid if/elseif/else chains

It is often easier to reason about the execution path of conditional behaviour using Guard Clauses, rather than chaining one or more elseif or else statements, or using compound conditions.

In general, handling error conditions early in your conditional block works best; it allows you to see upfront any conditions that would cause an error.

// Good
public function update($service)
{
    if (Gate::denies('update-service', $service)) {
        abort(403);
    }

    // Handle success condition...
}

// Bad
public function update($service)
{
    if (Gate::allows('update-service', $service)) {
        // Handle success condition...
    } else {
        abort(403);
    }
}

# Avoid nested conditionals

Whenever possible, avoid deep-nesting and look for opportunities to either extract complex conditional logic to methods or return early.

# Compound conditionals

Compound conditional statements - those chained together with && or || operators - are typically a good candidate for refactoring to using guard clauses. If the compound statement is required, extract the logic to a readable method name within your application. Readable method names demonstrate clear intent and reduce cognitive overhead parsing complex statements.

# Ternary operations

Unless you are dealing with very short ternary conditions, each expression should be on its own line.

// Good
return $this->type
    ? $this->type->ContactTypeID === ContactType::TYPE_ACCOUNT_OWNER
    : false;

// Bad
return $this->type ? $this->type->ContactTypeID === ContactType::TYPE_ACCOUNT_OWNER : false;

Avoid nesting ternary operations. They are trickier to reason about and don't necessarily execute in the order you expect.