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  • $\begingroup$ I disagree, actually. See: cseducators.stackexchange.com/q/4427/1293. On the other hand, I write very short methods where it isn't an issue. I strive for Cyclomatic complexity = 1. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 28, 2022 at 14:27
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    $\begingroup$ I see your point about minimizing mentally retained state. However, in my above distinction of eixsts/forall loops this presupposes that the student has already recognized that there is a exists problem, where indeed early return is possible. In this case, the question asks about accessing "all" elements so an early return is not possible and the whole code structure is wrong. So my second point stands that they need to start by analyzing the propositional status of the for loop. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 28, 2022 at 14:49
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    $\begingroup$ Addressing your objections to my first point explicitly: I like deriving code by textual refinment. And your early returns are not amenable to such an approach. In fact, I find early returns kind of a hackerish solution with the main justification that "it works". How do you teach when early returns are possible and when not? $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 28, 2022 at 14:51
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    $\begingroup$ @Buffy Another thought: most programming language lack introspection so data is the only thing that is visible. With early returns you're teaching students a pattern that they need to process completely mentally, and the code is either all right or all wrong, with no visual indication as to the structure of that pattern. So I think you are overloading their mental capacities: they have to consider code paths entirely in their head. Whereas in my approach the code is clearly leveled, with each textual refinment having a clear function. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 28, 2022 at 16:31