running function in if statement - good or bad practice?

[Agony]

$gallery_cache = new cache('gallery_content.php',$cachetime);if($gallery_cache->check_cache() !== false){}else{    $gallery_cache->start_cache();//stuff    $gallery_cache->end_cache();}

Thats the code for the part. As you can see the first if itself is empty {}.

check_cache returns: return include($this->file) on or false.

 

So im checking it for false to run another function or do nothing ( since if its not false it returns the include already).

 

[Ingolme]

There's no need for an empty code block. Just use the logically inverse statement:

if($gallery_cache->check_cache() === false) {    $gallery_cache->start_cache();    //stuff    $gallery_cache->end_cache();}

[Agony]

indeed that's a better way. but calling a function inside if like that by itself isn't unusual practice?

[Ingolme]

There's no problem with doing it. If the function returns a value that is going to be evaluated then there's no problem.

[davej]

In some languages such as C you will often see both an assignment and a logical comparison together...

while ((c = getc(fp)) != EOF) {//process character}

...however this can be somewhat confusing -- so it is often discouraged...