"return" in def

[MRAB]

Gerard Flanagan wrote:
> On Dec 28, 5:19 pm, Roger <rdcol... at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi Everyone,
> [...]
>> When I define a method I always include a return statement out of
>> habit even if I don't return anything explicitly:
>>
>> def something():
>>         # do something
>>         return
>>
>> Is this pythonic or excessive?  Is this an unnecessary affectation
>> that only adds clock ticks to my app and would I be better off
>> removing "returns" where nothing is returned or is it common practice
>> to have returns.
>>
> 
> It's not particularly excessive but it is uncommon. A nekkid return
> can sometimes be essential within a function body, so a non-essential
> nekkid return could be considered just noise.
> 
If it's a function, ie the result is used by the caller, then explicitly 
return with the value, even if it's None. On the other hand, if it's a 
procedure, ie the result is always None and that result isn't used by 
the caller, then don't use return, except for an early exit.