Do not use a semicolon on the same line as an if, for, or while statement because it typically indicates programmer error and can result in unexpected behavior.

Noncompliant Code Example

In this noncompliant code example, a semicolon is used on the same line as an if statement:

if (a == b); {
  /* ... */
}

Compliant Solution

It is likely, in this example, that the semicolon was accidentally inserted:

if (a == b) {
  /* ... */
}

Automated Detection

Tool	Version	Checker	Description
CodeSonar		LANG.STRUCT.EBS	Empty branch statement
Klocwork		SEMICOL
LDRA tool suite		11 S, 12 S, 428 S	Fully Implemented
Parasoft C/C++test	9.5	CERT-EXP-19	Fully implemented
PRQA QA-C		3109

Related Guidelines

Bibliography