Why use parenthesis on JavaScript return statements?

There are two things about JavaScript’s return which are a little unintuitive:

1. A return statement followed by unreachable code is perfectly valid

   function doSomething() {
       return
   
       // Valid, but will never be called
       doSomethingElse()
   }
   

2. JavaScript will automatically insert a semicolon at the first possible opportunity on a line after a return statement

// JavaScript inserts a semicolon after the `return` statement! 
return; // <--- wrong!

  React.createElement('li', {className: 'Contact'},
    React.createElement('h2', {className: 'Contact-name'}, this.props.name)
  )

So, back to the original question: why use brackets on areturnstatement?

Well, if you place your opening bracket on the same line as return:

return (

No semicolon can be automatically inserted until that bracket is closed.

return (
    ...
) // <-- JavaScript inserts semicolon here

Of course, we could just place the React.createElement on the same line as return, and avoid these superfluous brackets. But then it wouldn’t look as pretty.

tl;dr

If possible, JavaScript will automatically insert a semicolon at the end of the line which the return statement is on. Use brackets to make it impossible.