With an `if` it's probably superfluous and therefore bannable without cost, but sometimes it can make a `while` loop so much more concise - since the alternative would be to write the same code before the loop and at the bottom of the loop. It is the cost of inexpressive languages.

In many people’s head-parser, the first one looks like an equality check (but is in fact assignment). The parens try to clue people into “this is an assignment expression!” I think, but personally I wouldn’t allow an assignment expression in an if statement even with parens.