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MR002: branch-expression

⚠️ Runtime ❌ Not Fixable

MR002: Branch statements ending with expressions that won't be displayed.

Why is this bad?

When expressions are nested inside branches at the end of a cell: - The expressions execute but produce no visible output - Users may expect to see the result (like mo.md() calls) but won't - This can lead to confusion about whether code is running correctly - It violates the principle of least surprise

This is a runtime issue because it causes unexpected behavior where the user's intended output is silently ignored.

Examples

Problematic: 

if condition:
    mo.md("Result A")  # Won't be displayed
else:
    mo.md("Result B")  # Won't be displayed

Problematic: 

match value:
    case 1:
        "Too short"  # Won't be displayed
    case _:
        "Just right"  # Won't be displayed

Problematic: 

if invalid:
    mo.md("Error message")  # Won't be displayed even without else clause

Solution: 

# Assign to a variable that marimo will display
result = mo.md("Result A") if condition else mo.md("Result B")
result

Solution: 

# Create a default variable for response.
result = None
if condition:
    result = expr()
else:
    result = other()
result

In the case where no output is expected:

Alternative Solution: 

# Use a dummy variable to indicate intentional suppression
if condition:
    _ = print("Result A")
else:
    _ = print("Result B")

References